We got off our cruise in Amsterdam!! We booked an Airbnb, an actual houseboat, outside the city. It was across from a windmill that had a bar/restaurant at the bottom. More on that later.
So, we walked through the city from the Central Station and the first thing I will say is, “if you are on red, you’re dead.” Lol!! Tour guide told us to be careful and stay out of the “red” bike lanes. She wasn’t kidding. Best advice.
I have lived in New Orleans and what struck me was how similar in energy this area was and how much I couldn’t wait to get out of it. We wandered into the red light district in the afternoon and it gave me the creeps. Like 50 men to every woman and just not my vibe. We had one more night aboard the ship and I was not looking forward to this leg of our journey.
But the next day, we headed over to the This Is Holland exhibit and I enjoyed the “ride”. Made me want to see more of Holland next time. Then we were able to head to our houseboat Airbnb outside the central city and I fell in LOVE with Amsterdam. It was a calmer pace and we ate lunch by the canal. Then we walked the streets for a few hours just enjoying the sites. Grabbed some charcuterie stuff at the grocery and ate dinner looking out our boat windows watching boats glide by. So relaxing.
Next day we headed over to the Maritime Museum and I really enjoyed it. I was not too enthused about it originally but turned out to be very interesting. Spent the afternoon wandering around our neighborhood some more and we were planning on getting a bite at the windmill restaurant but it was PACKED!! We ate at the American sort of place behind it, which was good and our waitresses were both American so we got a lot of interesting info on the city.
That was all we got…two and a half days. Would love to go back and see more of Holland next time. I know we didn’t do the big art museums but that’s okay. Honestly, the view from our houseboat was so enchanting that I wanted to sit there all day and just watch the world go by.