{"id":482,"date":"2015-04-15T00:11:19","date_gmt":"2015-04-14T23:11:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stuffbysofia.com\/blog\/?p=482"},"modified":"2015-04-15T00:24:47","modified_gmt":"2015-04-14T23:24:47","slug":"amsterdam-a-brilliant-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stuffbysofia.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/amsterdam-a-brilliant-place\/","title":{"rendered":"Amsterdam | A brilliant place (not for the obvious reasons)"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you are looking for a brilliant city<\/strong> – filled with lovely people and great things to do – Amsterdam<\/strong> is a good choice. Forget the rumours, Amsterdam is much more than what you had heard when you were sixteen.<\/p>\n

For years, Amsterdam did not sound like an attractive destination. The “obvious” reasons definitely do not rock my boat. However, the s.o. and I hadn’t been away in forever and we needed a destination interesting enough and close enough for the 3.5 days we had at our disposal. We both hadn’t been to Amsterdam so in a kind of “meh” moment, we decided to go.<\/p>\n

Well, were we wrong or were we wrong? We had an *absolutely* brilliant time in Amsterdam.<\/strong> This is a city that respects its history and exhibits it in great and inclusive ways. Absolutely everyone speaks English (and they look like a million bucks). If you want culture, great food, amazing design, picturesque roads and a vibrant night life, Amsterdam will not disappoint. On top of that it’s a really small city (don’t know how they pack everything in but they do) which makes it perfect for a shorter\u00a0break as you can walk absolutely everywhere.<\/p>\n

Here’s some of the things we did – hope you’ll find em useful.<\/p>\n

Prep
\n\"Amsterdam\"<\/a><\/h3>\n

We checked out\u00a0the iAmsterdam website<\/a> *before* our\u00a0trip. It’s the official page and packed with useful info. We got the\u00a0iAmsterdam visitor’s card<\/a> which is incredibly good value – especially since we wanted to go to a number of the museums you get free entrance to and we also wanted to do a canal tour (you get one for free). Check the list though – the card will not give you free entry to the Rijksmuseum, only a discount.<\/p>\n

In the photo you can see me proudly displaying the second card I got since like an idiot I lost the first. Might be a good idea for them to implement some sort of replacement system.<\/p>\n

I also pre-booked tickets for the Rijksmuseum<\/a>. *DO THIS* unless you are prepared to wait over an hour to get in. And you have to get in<\/strong> – if only to see the Night Watch (more on that later).<\/p>\n

A canal tour\u00a0\"Amsterdam\"<\/a><\/h3>\n

\"Amsterdam\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Amsterdam\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Amsterdam\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"EYE<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Bimhuis<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Nemo<\/a><\/p>\n

The card gives you a free canal tour. They say it’s better to do them at night as the canal lights make for quite a treat. We actually did our tour quite late – so half of it was in daylight and the other half not. I know tours like that sound horribly touristy but I swear by doing things like that on the first day. They give you a great overview of *where* things are and a general sense of the city.<\/p>\n

Getting lost all the time
\n\"Amsterdam\"<\/a><\/h3>\n

\"Amsterdam\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Amsterdam\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In Amsterdam you will get lost. Accept this. Even after you read this:<\/p>\n