I 💗 Amsterdam. Three Days In Europe.

Amsterdam is an absolutely unique place on Earth. It is filled with freedom and life and the buzz on the streets never seems to stop no matter what time of day or night it is. I definitely understand why people from all over the world are drawn to this place and most of us have it on their travel bucket lists - you feel it as soon as you reach the city.

I booked out last years trip to Amsterdam months in advance as a surprise gift for my boyfriend  - a little city break, 4 days off work, 2 travelling days and 2 full days to experience the city on full. This was our first proper couples city break - just me and him- and we were exited for it. Now some will say that 2 days is not enough to explore the beauty of it, and they might be right, maybe one more day would be good to add to but in those 2 and a half days that we had to inhale the culture was plenty for us to fall in love with Amsterdam. 

We arrived in late afternoon and after dropping our bags at the hotel rushed to find our way to city centre. Our hotel was located a bit out of the city centre so we had to find the ultimate way to get to where the life is happening. We decided to skip the busses and taxis, grabbed a copy of the map in the lobby and went exploring on foot. Now here is where I have to admit - I had no idea where were we going, just hoping we were moving in the right direction. My partner was more confident in his navigation skills so I left it all for him to get us to the centre. It took us a while, but we were in a great exploring mood and eventually we found our way to the city centre. 

We were walking around embracing the culture and the buzz thinking through the plan for tomorrow - Dead body exhibition, multiple Sex Museums, Canal boats, Tulip Fields, we wanted to see it all. I can see why a lot of people might frown upon Amsterdam, some might see it as completely disrespectful an objectifying towards women but if you do have strong opinions like that, you do need to leave that opinion at home and just embrace Amsterdam for all it is, for being different and wild in its own ways. 

After walking around the city and making a few plans for the next day it was almost time for dinner. There were a lot of options but they all seemed very similar to me, maybe because I was getting tired after a day of travelling and walking around, but we settled for pasta - can't go wrong with that.

After dinner it was a bit too early to go back to the hotel but a bit too late to plan anything for the evening. We do not go clubbing, that something that we enjoy the least, but it was OK since Amsterdam does not sleep, and when all the shops and civilised areas close down for the day - Red Light District keeps on buzzing. It was very strange to see all the women in the windows, mostly naked, teasing and trying to lure the men in closer. They are mostly young and confident in their bodies and job preferences. They did not cover their faces or wore masks, on contrary they expressed themselves as open as you can imagine and it clearly worked on some men on the streets. We made a decision on leaving the museums for the morning and kept on wandering around the district. The amount of "coffee shops" on a single street was ridiculous. They were always full of people and you could smell them from miles away. I am not familiar with smoking anything but cigarettes (and stopped that as well now) so I had no clue of what to look for and what is the difference but you walk in for the experience. Walked in several ones and they were way too crowded for my liking so we found one that was a bit on an empty side where the man behind the counter actually had time to talk to us about it. Educational, to say the least, but going Amsterdam and not exploring all about it is the same as setting up a Christmas Tree and not celebrating Christmas.< > We jumped into a taxi afterwards, got to our hotel room and snuggled in bed, waiting for the next day to come so we can continue our adventures.

In the morning we got up relatively early, and crabbed a bus to the city centre to go get breakfast - coffee and pastries on Dam Square is something I will not forget. It is the little moments like these that make it all worth it in life. 

After having breakfast it is logical to go and test your stomach, right? I was so exited to find out that the Body Worlds exhibition The Happiness Project was taking place in Amsterdam the same time we were there! Oh, my god. I have visited it before, but it was something worth seeing again. For the ones who are not sure what it is - it is a dead body exhibition, but they are displayed as alive, doing your every day things but with either no skin on, or cut in half  etc. I know I do not make it sound too attractive but it is much more pleasant to see than you might think.
Unfortunately no photos were allowed in the exhibition but google it up - it is worth seeing. After that - Red Light Secrets - Museum of prostitution. It had several rooms with the history, equipment, costumes and confessions. Plus you had a chance to see what the working girls see from the windows -  put the mask on and go grab a seat at the window. After that - Sex Museum, Cannabis Museum and everything that had "museum" in the name  - we were there. Went on the hunt for I HEART AMSTERDAM letters that are moving around the city season by season. Went to get some souvenirs to bring back with us for memories, sent off a couple of postcards (as a must) to the family and one more romantic dinner in one of the craziest cities in the world. The museums were all worth visiting, I do warn you that it will not be everyone's cup of tea, and that is OK.
Next day our plane was scheduled only for the evening so we still had the whole morning to absorb the city. We checked out, left our bags at reception for the day and went on one of these romantic boat cruises through the canals. The city opened up in an absolutely new way to us. We saw the delicate side of it, not the crowded buzzing streets but quiet parts of it, beautiful buildings, bridges, people living everyday lives. It filled with emotions and feeling that we have seen it all, seen all Amsterdam is about and fallen in loved with it.

It was a short city break but we did not waste a minute while were there. And as much as I know that not everyone will be excited by Amsterdam's craziness but everyone needs to experience it, needs to see how different "normal" is for this city and how free you feel when you sit by the river watching boats go by waiting for the dark when the alleys start turning red and the city takes another dramatic turn. Definitely visiting it again some day. One day that we will need to feel free from the world again but for now, I will be embracing the memories from the scrapbook we have.