Hey folks! Well, I’ve been recounting last year’s amazing round the world adventure I undertook, and last time I wrote about it (last week) I finished my time in the United Kingdom and hopped the Eurostar to Europe – Amsterdam to be exact. The reason for the short stop in Amsterdam was to connect to a flight to the next continent in Africa.

I was using my points and wanted to try KLM Business Class, and I thought I might as well take the train and then fit a quick day in Amsterdam before heading to a month in Africa.

The Eurostar was comfortable, on time, and a good experience bar the waiting area which was packed and steaming hot. Finding my accommodation, which was not central, involved a metro train and then tram and walk. It wasn’t actually as bad as it sounds, it would take around 30 minutes, except that one minute before the train got to the station it didn’t just rain, it thundered down. There was running for shelter and waiting, eventually though it stopped raining and I made my way to the Diamond Capsule Hotel, not really a capsule as most people imagine it but a small room that actually I was pretty happy with, costing 70 Euro a night which was by far the cheapest single option I could find, with its own bathroom. There’s a video review due out later on my YouTube Channel this year!

Anyways, Amsterdam! My memories of this city from my only visit back in 1999 weren’t particularly positive, I just didn’t really warm to the city, think I felt a bit lonely and lost back then. This time around I was determined to see more of the place and as I tend to do I drew up a list of places to see in the day. I will say straight off the bat I liked it a lot more than last time. The weather was good – cool but on the day I explored, not raining at all and even with blue sky at times. I remember it being terribly gloomy back in 1999 in July I think it was. This time, it was late June so similar time of the year. Anyways, into Amsterdam with a day to see it, and just to add a level of difficulty, I decided to try and see it for free!

So, here we go – the Sights of Amsterdam – for FREE (almost)

OBA Oosterdock Library (Near the Chinese Ship)

This was a library recommended online as a free place to check out when in Amsterdam. It’s in a lovely spot on Oosterdock which I figured was ‘East Dock’ – and just outside it in the water was this Chinese looking boat which houses a restaurant which might have been worth trying if I had the time. There are, of course, numerous canal tours you can take in various locations, such as just outside the train station which is behind a large square, partially over water, and in that area you’ll find people making speeches, meeting up with others, a fair bit of hustle and bustle and also you can find boats doing tours. I was actually going to do one, but was told the boat about to leave was full and it would be an hour until the next one, so I decided to press on with the tour I had designed for myself.

I don’t know that this library, although big and impressive, is worth visiting. It’s a modern design and has many floors, like seven, eight or more, and riding the escalator is a bit of fun. I suppose if you’re in the area you could check it out, a quick ride up the escalator. It’s cool, but I can’t imagine it will blow your socks on. Which is good, because you can’t go in there in bare feet. It is also on a walk from Amsterdam Central Train Station to the NEMO Science Museum, housed in an interesting large modern building, which could be worth a visit – especially if you have kids.

Basilica of St Nicolas

Basically just opposite and a little to the left of Amsterdam Central, the Basilica of St Nicholas is free to visit and a beautiful church. It’s not super old dating back to the late 1800s, it is basically the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Amsterdam, and St Nicolas is the patron saint of Amsterdam. It’s not the biggest church by any means, but has some nice stained glass windows and a beautiful dome.

Oude Kerk Amsterdam

The ‘Oude Kerk’ in Amsterdam literally translates to ‘Old Church’, and dates back to the late 1200s/early 1300s and was originally a Roman Catholic Church until it became a ‘Reformed Church’ in around 1578. It’s a large church, and is on the edge of the Red-Light District.

Although it still holds services, the Oude Kerk today is also used as an art space, and there was a strange exhibition on whilst I was there by Korean artist Kimsooja, consisting of various things in the sparse space including balls of material that looked a bit like bean bags. I was trying to keep the day free but was surprised by the 13.50 Euro entrance fee, presumably for the exhibition. If you want to visit for free you may be able to get into the service. It’s large and mostly empty, but ancient and different and there are a couple of rooms off to the side still as they were many centuries ago.

Red Light District and Museum of Prostitution

As I mentioned, the Oude Kerk was just as I was entering the Red Light District. Which is a strange one really, and throngs of people every day wander it like I did out of curiosity. And indeed loads of people visit specifically FOR the Red Light District.

But it’s an odd one and I wasn’t super comfortable wandering the streets past loads of windows with sex workers standing there. You do have to be careful too, photography is not allowed and even walking the streets NOT pointing the camera at the windows (ie pointing straight down the middle of the street) isn’t permitted. Yes, I was pulled up.

The ‘Reds Light Secrets – Museum of Prostitution’ is a way to perhaps have some point to visiting the Red Light District, undoubtably the most famous red light district in the world, and see what it’s like I guess from the other side of the window. I think it was around 15 – 20 Euros from memory. I’m not sure I would recommend it particularly, but to hear some stories from sex workers is worthwhile I guess. I think the sex industry is somewhat safe in Amsterdam and regulated compared to other parts of the world, but don’t expect to find this museum full of the darker side of the industry. It is mostly ignored, but there is an inherent danger that sex workers face regardless of how well regulated the industry is.

Dam Square and Royal Palace

This large square has a white monument to the ‘victims of the Second World War’, and whilst I was at the square there was a small face off happening between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protesters – nothing major, only a handful of people but it felt like it could get physical but people were smart enough to walk away. The square is backed by the Royal Palace, which I believe is open at times and can be visited for around  22 Euros.

Begijnhof

This wonderful little spot, a community that began back in the Middle Ages. It’s called a ‘hofje’ – a small collection of (now) historic buildings around a courtyard. There are two churches here, one a Reformed Church which has English services. It’s a rather pretty little community you can visit for free most days and not super well known so it wasn’t super busy when I was there.

Flower Market – Bloemenmarkt

Starting at the Munttoren, an historic tower worth a photo on a bridge, the Bloemenmarkt is a flower market specialising in tulips and it follows the canal along for 200 – 300 metres at a guess. Of course, Amsterdam is famous for tulips so this seemed like a ‘must visit’, but honestly it wasn’t particularly interesting.

This is where my Amsterdam tour ended. As I said, I had previously visited Amsterdam and I can recommend visiting the Anne Frank House and the Rembrandt Museum from that 1999 visit, where I also did a canal tour which seems like a logical thing to do for the first timer. There are still a HOST of museums, galleries and experiences in Amsterdam, but when things tend to start at 15 – 20 Euro, well, your day can get expensive real fast. Amsterdam has never been a cheap city to visit, but it is in Western Europe. I remember it being the most expensive place I visited back in 1999 in Western Mainland Europe, although the UK and especially Iceland were significantly more expensive back then.

Thanks for visiting today! Take care wherever you are in the world, and… May the Journey Never End!