Exploring the bylanes of Amsterdam

Tripoto
15th Dec 2012
Photo of Exploring the bylanes of Amsterdam 1/5 by VINJABOND
Amsterdam Centraal Station.
Photo of Exploring the bylanes of Amsterdam 2/5 by VINJABOND
Cafe TisFris
Photo of Exploring the bylanes of Amsterdam 3/5 by VINJABOND
Alice and I
Photo of Exploring the bylanes of Amsterdam 4/5 by VINJABOND
''I Amsterdam'' sign
Photo of Exploring the bylanes of Amsterdam 5/5 by VINJABOND
Alice and I having snacks

DAY 1 // Amsterdam

Amsterdam was one of the first cities to entice me to travel around the world when I first heard about it back in high school. After over 4 months of travel I  finally arrived I Amsterdam with Alice after a pleasant train ride from Prague.
Seconds after leaving the Amsterdam Centraal Station , one of the first breaths I took was of someone smoking  weed. We walked slowly through the city to Hotel Plantage and checked in. Amsterdam is so beautiful. The walk took so long because of the amount of photos we took as well as the fact that everything is a sight for sore eyes. They made a mistake with booking so we ended up getting a 5 person room for just the 2 of us. While our room was getting prepared we took a walk around the center and grabbed lunch.
After returning to our hotel, we went to the nearest coffee shop called Het Ballonnetje and purchased a gram of Mexican Haze. After a little toke, we went to a grocery store to stock up on some snacks.
I love Amsterdam .
 

DAY 2 // Amsterdam / Lifestyle

A late start for our first full day in Amsterdam was caused by excessive consumption of the Mexican Haze we got the day before.
We had brunch at Cafe TisFris  which is across the street from Rembrandt’s former residence. The Rembrandt House, now a Museum was the first attraction #Alice and I visited since arriving here and it was surreal walking through the place that Rembrandt slept, worked and lived in. Later on after lunch we visited a couple of street #markets and shops until finding a coffee shop to lounge in. This time, I got some Northern Lights and we stayed in the coffee shop to try it out. We must have stayed for at least 2 hours.
It was unreal to sit down by the window toking a blunt with a busy Amsterdam going on right outside and knowing this is perfectly fine. I think Amsterdam could be my new home.
 

DAY 3 // Amsterdam / City

I’ve been to more than 70 cities across 13 countries and I realized that Amsterdam is the first city I could see myself living in. It's quite a place, visually, historically and atmospherically. Amsterdam is such a small city filled with canals but with so much to offer as a tourist or a native. It feels like home to me. With another late start today, we had lunch at Bij Ons, a tucked away Dutch bistro in the center and then walked around the streets for a few hours ending up at Foam. A photography Museum. A very bad one.
Later on we went back to the hotel to roll a blunt that we smoked on a canal near the center. We then immediately walked over to Pathe Tuschinski to watch the Hobbit movie. The movie was alright but it was the theatre that was really a treat. Probably the most beautiful movie theatre I have been to.
 

DAY 4 // Amsterdam / Center

When Alice and I purchased train tickets to Amsterdam, we thought 5 days would be plenty considering how small this city is. A mistake…
We left the next day  and still had much to see that we knew we  wouldn’t make it to. But that only means I’ll be back here. We had breakfast we made ourselves in our hotel room then just walked around the parts of Amsterdam we have yet been to. Again, everything was so pretty, even the ugly things about the city. Although the NEMO Museum is targeted for grade students, we went anyways and had a lot of fun messing around with the interactive science exhibitions.
By nightfall we arrived at the Anne Frank House Museum. The building itself, especially the facade is ultra modern and well, too clean and perfect. Not expected of a home from the Nazi Germany era. But once you get passed all the heavy renovations, it is quite an experience. Alice and I went to a coffee shop later and burned a blunt.
 

DAY 5 // Amsterdam / Last Day

On our first night here Alice and I took out a map and made grand plans to see everything in Amsterdam but here we were on our last day and only half of that “itinerary” had been completed.
But it was a damn good 5 days that I would never forget. After checking out of our hotel we went to the Centraal Station to drop our bags off in lockers so we can explore the city before departing. Our first stop was suppose to be the Van Gogh Museum but will be closed for a few more months. We then walked to the famed “I Amsterdam” sign in front of Rijksmuseum for the obligatory photo as shown above. Our next stop was Vondelpark  park then the Green Light District.
For the last couple of hours in Amsterdam, we lounged around coffee shops sampling their merchandise but the main goal was to find “special” brownies and cupcakes for the train ride back to Prague.
I bid my goodbye to Amstredam, I will be there again.

Photo of Amsterdam, The Netherlands by VINJABOND
Photo of Hotel Plantage, Plantage Kerklaan, Weesperbuurt en Plantage, Amsterdam, The Netherlands by VINJABOND
Photo of Het Ballonnetje, Roetersstraat, Weesperbuurt en Plantage, Amsterdam, The Netherlands by VINJABOND
Photo of Eetcafe Tisfris, Sint Antoniesbreestraat, Amsterdam, The Netherlands by VINJABOND
Photo of The Rembrandt Suite, Herengracht, Centrum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands by VINJABOND
Photo of Northern Lights B.V., Herikerbergweg, Amsterdam-Zuidoost, The Netherlands by VINJABOND
Photo of Bij Ons, Koster Gijzensteeg, Gouda, The Netherlands by VINJABOND
Photo of Pathé Tuschinski, Reguliersbreestraat, Centrum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands by VINJABOND
Photo of Science Center Nemo, Oosterdok, Nieuwmarkt en Lastage, Amsterdam, The Netherlands by VINJABOND
Photo of Anne Frank House, Prinsengracht, Grachtengordel-West, Amsterdam, The Netherlands by VINJABOND
Photo of Rijksmuseum, Museumstraat, Amsterdam Oud-Zuid, Amsterdam, The Netherlands by VINJABOND
Photo of Vondelpark, Amsterdam, The Netherlands by VINJABOND