Don’t Accidentally Buy Pot Brownies
Amsterdam, Anne Frank Museum, and Keukenhof
Trip Report
Where we stayed
Our apartment in Amsterdam ~ we used airbnb to book it
Hubby, Marc, checking out the wifi
We paid less for an apartment for 3 nights than a hotel would have cost us for 1 night. Hotels in Amsterdam = EXPENSIVE!
This is a link to the apartment we stayed in, loved it, hostess was awesome!
I personally love staying in apartments when traveling and I have a post coming about that process soon!
We got to Amsterdam via an overnight ferry from London. Check out rail and sail packages from Stena Line. I have a blog post all about it.
Day 1: Welcome to Amsterdam
The train station in Amsterdam was minutes, by foot, from our apartment. We were really glad we had light luggage because it was a walk up (no elevator) and we were on the 3rd floor. (Remember, in Europe, the ground floor is 0, so this really means 4th floor in USA speak.) We checked out our new digs, and settled in for an hour or so, checking out the wifi, the kitchen, etc. Then we went out to explore the neighborhood. We walked up and down several streets and then it started to drizzle. As we headed back toward the apartment, we decided that I would pick up a few simple groceries for the next few days, and some pastries from the coffee shop, while Marc went to the corner pizza shop and ordered and waited on a pizza for our dinner. I did not get the brownies in the window I had had my eye on. It went something like this.
Me: <smiling> Hello, English?
Young man behind counter: Yeah….English is fine.
Me: <pointing> I’d like a couple of those brownies, please.
Young man behind counter: Sure. What dosage?
Me: Dosage? Like size? They look all look the same?
Young man behind counter: <laughing softly> Ma’am, do you want marijuana brownies?
Me: <blank stare>
Young man behind counter: Uhhhh…These have pot in them, some light, some medium, some heavy – dosage – we have different flavors too
Me: Uhhhh, any normal … just chocolate ones?
Young man behind counter: Try the café across the street. In Amsterdam, coffee shops sell coffee, pot, and items with pot in them.
Welcome to Amsterdam: We sell pot legally.
I probably should have read this before our trip.
Don’t accidentally buy pot brownies in Amsterdam
We had pizza and leftover muffins for dinner. No brownies.
Day 2: Anne Frank Museum
On the emotional side: Prepare yourself for this. I could barely speak by the time we left. Bring tissue.
On the practical side: Be prepared to walk a lot, stand a lot, and climb stairs. Buy your tickets online and print them out before your trip. The downside to this is that you must book a specific day and time. The upside: You will save time. We saw people wait more than 2-3 hours (in the rain) to get in. We know this because a lady in a bright red raincoat with ducks on it, was just entering as we were leaving and we had been inside well over 2 hours. Pretty sure she was the only tall redhead in a red raincoat with ducks on it in the vicinity.
Since we had purchased our tickets online, we walked past the super long “snaking around several buildings and across several side streets” line, past the main entrance. To the left of that entrance, there was a little window with a locked door beside it, for tours and times, and a little sign stating they didn’t sell tickets there. I was ignored until I held up my tickets. We had gone to the area early to eat lunch, shop, and explore the area, but we didn’t find as much to do in the area as we thought we would. We had a 5:30 pm tour time stamped on our tickets and we were ready before 2 pm. Hmmm, what to do? I explained to the nice lady at the counter that we were early and very jet-lagged as we had just arrived in Amsterdam. I went on to explain that were afraid we were going to fall asleep and miss our time if we went back to our apartment and came back. I asked if it was possible to go early. She smiled and said she needed to check the queue. 3 minutes later, we were buzzed through. I can not promise that this will happen, but if you find yourself in a similar situation, it may be worth a shot. Incredible walk through history. Again, bring tissue.
Day 3: Keukenhof ~ The Happy Place
After the emotional rollercoaster of the Anne Frank house, Keukenhof was the happy place. Flowers, windmills, great little cafes, huge Dutch shoes, and a giant human leapfrog pad, what more could one ask for? Again, we bought tickets online before our trip, so no standing in line once we got there. We probably saved 20-30 minutes or so by having our tickets in hand.
We spent the time around visiting the Anne Frank Museum and Keukenhof, walking along the canals, visiting windmills, and Dam Square.
DAY 4: Bye, Bye Amsterdam, Hello Paris
We took the TGV train from Amsterdam to Paris. It took about 3 hours.
I probably should have read the book below, before our trip.