And last, but not least, our final leg of our honeymoon! It only happened about six months ago (I have a year, right?)!
Time to jog my memory...
After our magical time in Copenhagen, we skipped over to The Netherlands to check out Amsterdam and its surroundings for the last three nights of our honeymoon.
Once we landed, we hopped on a train over to Zaandam, a small city about 45 min outside Amsterdam's city center where some of the original Dutch windmills still stand. We stayed at this crazy, wacky, cartoon-looking hotel, Inntel Hotel, that was surprisingly really awesome (totally recommend it) and was definitely a nice change up from Airbnb.
Since it was a Sunday, the city itself was pretty quiet and mostly shut down for the day, but we managed to make a right turn and found a cute, lively, cobblestone street to grab some dinner on. Once we sat and glanced at the menu at Wonders, we were instantly excited by the fact that we were no longer in Kron-land, and the Euro was here! We went crazy and ordered a ton of food (seriously... like 2 racks of ribs) and drinks, and sat back and enjoyed the evening's passing. We even got to watch some Euro-kids playing soccer in the streets.
The next morning, we headed to go see the windmills of Zaanse Schans. We rented bikes and rode around this magical Dutch place filled with small, fairy-tale cottages, still rivers, and even SWANS and BABY SWANS!
It was so cool to explore this area by bike since it was incredibly hot out and helped save on time. Even though I didn't get photos of it all, Zaandam is filled with a bunch of cute cafes and little shops that we could've easily spent the day going to.
Pro tip: bring cash with you here! We did not, and almost none of the places took credit cards.
Sticky from humidity and sun-beatten from our ride, we headed into bustling Amsterdam and checked into our Airbnb in De Pijp. This place was listed as a private room but it was really a one-bedroom that sat on the corner, so we had fun views of all the people zooming through with sounds of bike bells. It was already so overly charming I wanted to die.
We took it easy for the rest of the day and just walked around checking out the sites and planning on our next full day.
Our last day! We woke up early, picked up some coffee and sandwiches, rented some more bikes (because that's what you do in Europe) and headed over to the Van Gogh museum.
This museum was one of the best I had ever been to. Impeccably curated, you can easily make your way through its 4 stories without being overwhelmed and without taking up your entire day. We absolutely loved it and recommend it to anyone visiting Amsterdam.
Pro tip: visit in the morning to avoid large crowds.
Super energized by the city, we got back on our bikes and rode around, checking out all the charming architecture and beautiful parks (and people). We fell in love with Amsterdam.
So as luck would have it, our flat was right next to The Avocado Show. It got me at the name. We had to go. Besides the interior just being the cutest, it offered an awesome avocado-everything menu that you could never imagine. Danny ordered the burger that came with "avocado buns", which, when you hear that, you think green bread, right? Wrong, it was actually an avocado sliced through the middle, its two halves acting as buns. It was not a use-your-hands kind of burger! I also got an avocado Daiquiri. Everything was so delicious!
Full of healthy fat, we headed to the Anne Frank Museum. I did not take any photos out of respect of the establishment, but it was truly a surreal experience and still blows my mind.
Pro tip: make reservations online ahead of time!
As the temps started to cool, we picked up some beer and rented a paddle boat and romantically bobbed around the canals.
Since it was the last night of our honeymoon, we finally splurged on fancy dinner at Cafe Caron. Of course, I ordered the lamb-shank.
And it wouldn't be a trip to Amsterdam without exploring the Red Light District to check out the ladies and some "coffee" shops... which is about the time we found churros....
Our "Hanimoon" was the most wonderful and insightful ten days - and of course, it went by too fast. We hope to re-visit some of these places again together and travel further into each of them. Thank you, Europe.
Love,
Dandi
Where we stayed...
Inntel Hotel Amsterdam Zaandam
Our Airbnb
Where we ate & drank...
Wonders
Cannibal Royale
The Avocado Show
Cafe Caron
Where we went...
Zaanse Schans
The Van Gogh Musuem
Anne Frank House
