A Weekend in Amsterdam

When we were planning our trip to Italy and Croatia this past spring, we never dreamt it would include a weekend in Amsterdam, but things have an odd way of working out at times, so off we went.

We had originally planned on taking trains to most of our destinations, which is super easy here in Europe. We drove 30 minutes from our home in Normandie to our local train station where they offer free, long-term parking and hopped on a train to Paris. After a few days there, we took a train to Lyon, then to Geneva and finally Milan, enjoying several days or more, in each city.

However; our plan came to a screeching halt in Milan; there are no trains to Split or Dubrovnik from there, and other options were quite inconvenient and limited. So we searched available fights. There are multiple direct flights this time of year from Milan to Split, but not in March. We found that all flights went through some distant city – Barcelona, Amsterdam or London. That’s how we found ourselves in Amsterdam for a weekend in March.

This iconic, northern city was on our must visit list, so we chose it as our hop-off point for the weekend. I was quite surprised to see Amsterdam packed with tourists in March; the city was overflowing! We got a chuckle when seeing these guys in their Where’s Wally garb.

We only had two days here so we chose to wander on our own, enjoying the narrow streets, quaint alleys, canals and courtyards. We enjoyed a canal tour on a small boat that ventured into the narrow, less trafficked canals.

We enjoyed a delicious lunch at de Belhamel on Easter Sunday. We had wanted to visit the Van Gogh Museum, but even in March, the only available ticket times were later in the week. C’est la vie.

As we wandered through the back streets I kept asking myself; what is that smell? Ah, I remember now, from my university days. It permeates the city.

In my humble opinion, I don’t think Amsterdam is known as a foodies’ city. However; they do have some delicious offerings. Our son-in-law told us that it was very important that we have a Stroopwafel while in the city. We enjoyed one at a delightful little cafe where the server didn’t even charge us; on the house, she said.

My initial thoughts of Amsterdam are quite positive; I love the diversity, inclusion and freedom to be yourself. It’s an easily walkable city and the tram and train systems are easy to navigate and run frequently. The only thing I didn’t like (other than the crowds) was the smell of marijuana wafting throughout the city.

After our quick weekend in Amsterdam, we took our next flight to Split, and enjoyed three weeks in Croatia, which was absolutely fabulous. We arrived back to our local train station seven weeks later to find our car faithfully waiting for us right where we left it, and headed home to plan our next vacation.

We’re currently in Cardiff, Wales after enjoying a week in Dublin, Ireland – more on these locations in the coming weeks. If you’re interested in knowing where we are and what were doing right now, check out theTravelsketcher’s posts which reflect our current locations and activities.

As always, I would love to hear from you, so leave a message if you’d like.

Wishing you grand adventures and conveniently connecting flights,

Tricia