Here is the first video from our travels with Adam in Amsterdam – STATravelInsider Travels Of Adam | Amsterdam Day 1 | STA Travel
Our very first #STATravelInsider hit the streets in search of some Unexpected Adventures on the first day of his long weekend in Amsterdam!
Waking up at the very cool “St Christopher Hostel” right in the beating heart of the action, Adam’s thirst for new adventure was ready to be quenched. One of the best ways to see a city if it’s your first time and to help get your bearings, is to take a bus tour. Adam jumped on the ‘Hop on Hop off City Sightseeing” tours, for a sweet morning ride: taking in a number of the famous sights of the city, including Anne Frank’s house, the Heineken Brewery and the Van Gogh Museum.
Once off the bus and back at Central Station it was time to have a look around the city with our first local guide: Awesome Amsterdam’s Shoshannah, a fellow American, who’s been living in the city for four years. As it’s the best way to get around the city, we rented some bikes and Shoshannah led the way.
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It’s worth saying that while cycling is probably the best way to see a lot of the city, you need to make sure you’re prepared, the cycles paths are really busy and fast moving, and you don’t just share it with other bicycle riders, but mopeds and even the odd Rickshaw makes an appearance. So that, mixed with cars, buses, trams, pedestrians and their pets, makes for interesting times in the fast paced world of Amsterdam cycle lanes!
Undeterred, Adam and Shoshannah had a great time cycling around the city, taking in some of Amsterdam’s best street art on Spuistraat, and looked at the super cool, De Slang, a squatter house.
Other grear things to do in that area include:
- Coffee at Caffe il Momento
- Get a cupcake at Van Ness Cupcake, and eat it while looking at the street art across the street
- Go have drinks on a terrace by the canal at Cafe van Zuylen
After, all cycle routes took us down to The Pijp, which is the cool, hipster hangout, lots of bars, coffee shops, street markets, record stores, a real hipster paradise.
Adam had his first StroopWafel, a caramel/waffle/sugary concoction, which the Dutch go mad for with a good coffee, so it seemed only right that we grab a fresh coffee. We sat down for a Flat White and a bit of downtime to watch the world go by.
Recharged, Adam was ready to get back in the saddle and head back to St Christopher’s, for a shower, change and then out for the night.
A reservation at one of Amsterdam’s coolest cocktail bars was the dream way to start the evening, Adam and Shoshannah went down to uber cool, and super sophisticated “Door 74” Speakeasy.
The Cocktail menu is amazing but quite expensive if you’re travelling on a budget, so if you can get a reservation then, it may be only for one or two drinks.
From Door 74 it was back down to the Pijp, which had made a real impression on Adam in the day time, so he was keen to explore in the evening. We found ourselves in the super friendly Cafe Gollem on Daniel Stalpertstraat full of Amsterdammers, a really friendly team and most importantly a solid selection of beer!
To check out more about the Pijp, Check out Shoshannah’s blog Awesome Amsterdam.
To see more about Adam’s travels check out his blog
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