In 2017 I had the chance to speak at FOSDEM in Brussels, and I used this opportunity to do a bigger travel through a few countries in Europe. After visiting a few cities in Belgium, I went up to the Netherlands and visited a few cities. Amsterdam was one of them.

Stay

This time I asked a few friends if I could borrow a room at their house and they accepted to host me and my wife for a few days.

Right after coming to Amsterdam, one friend hosted me for one day and we went out in the snow to meet other friends who were around because of FOSDEM. I still have amazing memories of this day.

Next day I met my wife and we went to visit another friend, who hosted us for a few days. They were amazing hosts too. Even went with us to see some places too.

No places to recommend here, but I’m quite happy with how things happened.

Transport

We used trains and trams a lot to navigate the city. I got one of their cards and just topped it up whenever needed. I had a problem with one of the top ups in the a random machine on the streets, but other than that, nothing to complain.

Places

Many places to recommend on this trip.

  • The Anne Frank Museum: I was prepared, as I read the Anne Frank diary before visiting. It was quite interesting to see the place and link with the stories I read. It’s a sad and complicated story, but everybody should know it so we can [collectively] never let it happen again.
  • Rijs.. Museum: Amazing museum, totally worth visiting.
  • Van Gogh Museum: It’s small and quite different from others. If you’re into Van Gogh, it’s definitely worth it. If you don’t care much, maybe it will not be for you.
  • Red light district: It’s quite different than anything I saw before in that lines. Definitely worth a visit. These kinds of things usually make me things on the cultural differences and what is acceptable in different places.
  • Zaanse Chans: That was quite a nice visit. The place is beautiful, and the wildmills are classic Netherlands symbols.

Food

  • This is not the only place I got this, but I would definitely recommend having some stoopwafels with a hot beverage. :)