Travel Diary: How to Spend a Week in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is beter met vrienden 💐💐💐

Nov 05, 2023

Welcome to another one of my European summer travel diaries. I visited Amsterdam from June 11th to 18th this summer. One of my best friends, Emmy, joined me in Amsterdam for the next portion of my trip.

Amsterdam was a special stop on my trip because my close friend from high school, Femke, moved there last year. Though I’ve always wanted to visit Amsterdam, having a local friend show us around made the trip that much sweeter. It was a really cool feeling to have a home base in another country.

Femke affectionally describes her home city as a “really big village”, a sentiment I completely agree with after spending eight days in it.

I am going to recap my week in this beautiful city and hopefully reading this post can give you some ideas of what to do if you were to spend a week in Amsterdam yourself.

Shall we?

Day 1

I flew into the Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport from Lisbon. This was the second country on my 9 week long trip. I went straight to Femke’s place to keep my stuff but we didn’t end up sleeping there because her friend Natalie was also visiting. First day antics were walk around, see the canal, grab pizza for dinner, and of course, we couldn’t end our first night without paying a visit to one of the city’s many coffeeshops.

Day 2

My first full day in ‘dam and I was on my own to explore. Emmy didn’t come until day 3 and Femke had work, so it was a good chance for me to get acquainted with the city. There is something special about traveling by yourself and being left to your own devices. I took the opportunity to do some shopping (no surprise there) and try an authentic a dutch delicacy, the stroopwafel. Unlike the ones you get for free on Delta flights, the real thing is huge and warm and delicious. I had about half before I was too full.

Day 3

Emmy came this day! Femke works at Marbles Vintage, one of the many very cool vintage shops scattered around Amsterdam. I joined her at work while waiting for Emmy to land. I got to try on some pieces that I picked out and some that Fem curated for me.

Emmy met us at the store and we ventured off to find food. We quickly discovered that Amsterdam has a surplus of frites and several different types of mayo and dipping sauces [we probably had frites in a cone five times at the very least that week]. After eating and exploring a bit, we checked into our Cityhub and got ready for a canal tour.

Since so much of Amsterdam’s history and identity is tied to the canals, I thought a canal tour would be the perfect outing for Emmy’s first day! I booked the excursion via Airbnb experiences, and we were lucky to get a small group on an intimate wooden boat called The Orion. It was a beautiful sunny day on the Orion and afterwards we had ramen for dinner.

Of course, we couldn’t finish Emmy’s first day without trying a new coffeeshop. We went to Happy Feelings which ended up being one of our favorite coffeeshops from the whole trip.

Day 4

Today was all about walking around and soaking in the natural beauty of this semi-circle city! Emmy and I inevitably found our way to another coffeeshop. The Green Place ended up being our #1 favorite out of all the ones we went on our trip. Though their stock is on the pricier side compared to other coffeeshops, they boast a wide range of strains and have pictures hanging of celebrities who visited, the most notable being Snoop Dogg.

One thing to note if you do visit Amsterdam: do not try to bike. Unless you are a pro cycler or someone who bikes every single day and is used to navigating busy cities, do not attempt to do so here. I think Amsterdam is known for having more bikes than people, that’s how common the mode of transportation is there. Anywhere you go you’re bound to see more bikes parked than cars. Be careful on foot too — every time we crossed the street I had to look in front of and behind me, as well as left and right, because there is always the high likelihood that a bike is coming right at you from one of many angles.

Day 5

Day five was well-spent. Emmy and I started the day with a stroll through Vondelpark — one of Amsterdam’s many lush public parks

We caught up with Femke and Natalie to have a girl day. Our mission was to hit all the best thrifts. It was so much fun and we got to go to many different stores, some selling a wide variety of secondhand and some selling different specialty clothing.

After all that shopping, we ended the day with a well deserved dinner at Tozi.

Day 6

Other than marijuana, the other vice Amsterdam is home to is magic truffles.

For some reason, magic truffles — the masses of mycelium found underground that contain the fruiting body of psilocybin mushrooms — are sold legally in Amsterdam, while the actual magic mushroom is not. While psilocybin truffles do not provide the same visual effects or “trip” of psilocybin mushrooms, for the spiritually inclined, truffles are just as valuable and can leave you with a changed perspective on life and that same “ineffable” feeling you might get from a shrooms trip.

Before coming to Amsterdam, Emmy and I had both never had a magic truffle experience. We purchased ours at a legit smart shop, When Nature Calls, that sold all types of functional mushrooms, both for spiritual development and for everyday dosing. We set ourselves up in Oosterpark so that we could be in nature and get the full experience. One thing about magic truffles is that you do not “trip” or lose touch with reality, so we didn’t have to worry too much about the set and setting for our safety.

After a handful of hours at the park, we took a car to Femke’s to get ready for the night. We went to Parallel, a new venue concept that describes themselves as an open-minded nightclub with futuristic music. Near the nightclub, they also have an outdoor space with food and drinks and live music during the summer. We got to meet some of Femke’s friends who were just darling and ended up taking the ferry back across the water which was a cool experience. And of course, we couldn’t end the night without another visit to The Green Place.

Day 7

By now, you can probably tell that thrifting was a major part of this trip. I found out that IJ-Hallen, the largest thrift/flea market in all of Europe, was happening when we were in Amsterdam. Because of how large it is, you have to buy tickets in advance. They cost about €5 and let me just tell you you will not be disappointed. The venue for the market is a sprawling outdoor lot and the sheer amount of vendors is bizarre. I got a silk yellow top, vintage from Italy for €10 and a black lace top for about €2. Plus a long sleeve top with roses and lace for €3, and a sparkly animal print halter for €5. We were there for hours, there were some serious bargains and I can’t imagine that I even got to everything, it was that massive.

A peek at just some of the vendors. I did not have time to take many pictures because I was focused on finding the best clothes.

After we parted ways, Emmy and I had dinner at Foodhallen, maybe the biggest food hall in Amsterdam that also happened to be right next to our hotel. They have so many vendors and I think we went about three times that week. Everything we had was good and I would highly recommend you seek it out if you find yourself in Amsterdam.

Day 8

Today was a sad day because it was the day our trip had come to an end. After saying our goodbyes to Fem and Nat, we had to say Vaarwel Amsterdam and on to Sweden!

But do not worry, we will be back.