Extraordinary Travels #2 - Amsterdam (city)

Take a tour through the city of Amsterdam.

I decided to break up my Amsterdam photos because there are just too many photos to upload at one time. I decided to break it up into 3 posts: the first sharing photos of the city of Amsterdam, the second sharing photos from the Banksy Exhibition and third/last sharing photos from the Rijksmuseum.

I hope you enjoy exploring the city of Amsterdam through these photos and stay tuned for parts 2 and 3 :) Thanks for following and your support.

---

I flew in from London to meet Mr K who flew in from Sydney. We met at the airport and headed straight for the city centre. Before checking in, we were both hungry so we looked around and decided to try the first restaurant we saw with a long line out its doors and so we stumbled upon a pancake house. They served giant pancakes so we tried one savoury and one sweet with some fresh mint and ginger and lemon tea. We struggled to finish the pancakes but victory was won. The pancakes were a little heavy but still very tasty. The staff were also very friendly and helpful. The only thing I'd like to note is that you may not want to visit this restaurant if you are afraid of bugs (especially those with wings). If you do dine here during the summer/springtime and are seated outside beware of the bees! Because each table has bottles of honey and maple syrup, it attracts lots of bees. However, the locals seemed unfazed by them so we stayed to finish out meals (and occasionally swatted away the bees).

After our meal, we checked into Bilderberg Hotel Van Luyken. I would definitely stay here again and highly recommend this hotel - the location is great; being close to museums, city centre, and parks. The staff were very efficient, friendly and helpful. They also have a bike rental service (you can see the yellow bikes lined up outside) which we used to ride around beautiful Vondelpark.

This place was a favourite. We visited this pub twice during the few days we were in Amsterdam and even ordered the same dishes - the croquettes, meatballs and cheese are delicious and I was surprised to find they are all served with American mustard as a condiment. We washed it down with cold beers and took in the views around us.

Another meal which deserves a separate mention is the humble smoked mackerel sandwich. When Mr K first told me about how much he enjoyed this sandwich last time I was a little sceptical - smoked fish in bread with mayo? How good could it be?

If I could only choose one meal to have again right now, this would be it. I fell in love. It may not be the most appealing sandwich out there but it sure is delicious - it's slightly smoky, soft and flavorsome. We found a nearby deli which made these and Mr K and I got one each (sorry, not sharing) where we asked for some pickles to be added for a bit of crunch (and also because I love all pickles). If you don't like mackerel there are many other types of fish you can try. I tried the smoked eel but I think mackerel is still my favourite. (Fellow Sydneysiders, if anyone knows where I can find this in Sydney, please let me know!)

---

The rest of the photos were taken over the course of the next few days of the city, parks and delicious meals we discovered across the city. Enjoy!

(It was a warm day in Vondelpark so we stopped for a gelato from a small stand in the middle of the park)

(I took this photo on our last day. We were lucky enough to enjoy the sun and warm weather during our stay and on the day of departure, the weather turned and there were storm warnings. We quickly said our farewells to the beautiful city and set off to our next city.)

If you enjoyed this post please hit follow, upvote and stay tuned for parts 2 and 3! All photos were taken with my Fujifilm x100t.

Thanks for your support.

THE.ORDINARY