In the past 4 years I’ve spent my birthday in 3 different cities. I’d just moved to Sydney when I celebrated my 25th birthday, just moved to Melbourne when I turned 26, and had only been in Auckland 2 weeks when I celebrated my 27th.
Turning 28 was bittersweet; I was leaving Auckland the next day and returning to England, so even though my birthday was a celebration, and I spent it having dinner with my favourite people I’d met when I moved there, it was also a goodbye.
This year, my 29th, I was going to celebrate my birthday in London, where I’ve lived for almost 9 months now.
Then, I spotted a cheap flight to Amsterdam for the first week in July on the Easyjet website and had to book it. Obviously.
I’ve never been to Amsterdam before so I’m really excited, not only because I’ll be exploring a completely new city but also because every time I travel somewhere new in Europe it makes me realise than maybe I CAN juggle a full time job with travel and life and sleeping and eating and blogging and writing and, y’know, breathing.
So what will I be getting up to Amsterdam?
I’ll arrive quite late in the evening so once I’ve got the train from Schiphol airport I’ll be checking straight into Westcord City Centre Hotel. I chose this hotel because it’s really central and perfect for the exploring I’m going to be doing in the Jordaan district too.
Day 1: The best way to start exploring somewhere new, I think, is by walking. And even though I have no problem wandering aimlessly around somewhere as pretty as Amsterdam with my camera in hand I decided that it might be nice to go on a free walking tour to get my bearings and learn about the history of the city and its canals.
After the tour I’m planning on having a wander over to Waterlooplein Flea Market – I first heard about this market through my friend Frankie’s blog, and as I know she’s also a lover of vintage/flea markets, I’m super excited to visit this one.
Photo: Joanne Hill
Day 2: My Birthday! Remember when I did the Eating London food tour? Well, I’ll be beginning my birthday celebrations by going on an Eating Amsterdam food tour, during which I’ll have the chance to sample some of the city’s best food in the Jordaan neighbourhood and learn a lot about Amsterdam’s culture and history – the tour even includes a trip on the canal!
Afterwards I’ll be meeting up with one of the friends I made while I was living in Auckland; an English girl who now calls The Netherlands home, to have dinner and drinks.
Day 3 and Day 4: I have nothing planned for these days yet but, as is usually the case when I travel, I’m sure I’ll find something to do! Online tickets are already sold out for this day at The Anne Frank Museum (although I could queue up on the day), and the bike tours I’ve been looking at (so I can explore some of Amsterdam’s beautiful countryside) are either booked up or outside of my relatively small budget
That said, I know there’s lots of free things to do; walk around Vondelpark, get the obligatory photo at the I Amsterdam sign (of course), get a view of the city from the top of NEMO museum (and maybe have a coffee while I’m up there), and check out some of the other markets. Stopping for frites, pancakes, coffee, and apple pie is also a must.
My Amsterdam trip comes to a close at the end of Day 4 when I’ll be making my way back to the airport and catching my flight home to London.
I’ll also be keeping you guys up to date with what I’m up to as the lovely people over at Tep Wireless have loaned me a pocket wifi device. So remember to follow along on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram where I’ll be sharing photos and updates throughout my trip.
Have you ever been to Amsterdam? If you have any tips I’d love to hear them in the comments below