Four Days in Amsterdam: Part II

January 4, 2017 1 Comment

Good morning!! It looks like I do have some time to get a few more posts up. I’m currently in Berlin, Germany (alone) so cozying up in the hostel with some tea and their free computer access is a pretty good evening/ early morning plan. Except this is a German keyboard so the ‘y’ and ‘z’ are switched so I apologiye for anz tzpos. I’ll be sure to check back in with Berlin posts, but for now, let’s get back to AMSTERDAM! If you’re just starting, check out day one here.

While day one was all about getting to know the city, the second day was when we started doing the things we (ok, I) wanted to do in Amsterdam. Amsterdam is full (seriously…FULL) or museums and things to do and see, but my top plans were:

Anne Frank House
Heineken Experience or another brewery tour
Canal cruise
Eat Stroopwaffels
Eat pancakes
Eat cheese (check)
Eat
Go to a coffeehouse (check)
Go to the Red Light District (check)

We started with breakfast, per usual.

With full bellies, the first thing was….Heineken Experience.

I did a lot of reading before the trip and read that a Brewery Tour in Amsterdam is a must, either at one of the big, bad ones- like Heineken, or one of the smaller micro-breweries. I read that Heinken Experience was great- really informative and entertaining. We walked alllllll the way there. Through the forest, over the bridges, etc.

As you can see, it was so much foggier (and colder!) than the first day. Boooo. We crossed through the museum area…

Turned the courner, and into view came the huge line….wrapping around the building. *cue sinking heart and numbed toes*. We grabbed some burritos (because why not?) and then sttled into the 45-minute-line-that-was-really-well-over-an-hour. We warmed ourselves with plyometric exercise and photos offered by the Heinken Experience.

This smile is so forced. I was so cold…

When we finally, FINALLY made it inside, we bought tickets and started the tour.

The tour was semi-informative, but nothing to write home about. It wasn’t an actual tour- they had employees stationed throughout the brewery who were there to give you various tidbits of information.

We should have figured, since the line was so long, but the building was completely packed with people. Both of us agreed that it was difficult to hear and we didn’t really learn too many new things about making beer. They don’t actually currently brew any beer at that brewery, since they have outgrown the facility. Instead, it was converted into The Heineken Experience and is now a Disney-ish attraction, full of effects and even a “ride” where they turn you into a beer. Oooooh boy…

My feelings, exactly.

Needless to say, we were both ready for the free beers provided during and at the end of the tour.

Long story, short, don’t go to the Heineken Experience. For the price they charge, it’s just not worth the money and time. Save your money and drink beer in a bar. With that being said, if you do want to go, BUY YOUR TICKETS AHEAD OF TIME!!!!!! You still may need to wait in a line, but it won’t be nearly as long as ours was. Learn from my mistakes!!! You can buy tickets on their website, and they’re good any day within a year of purchase. Alternatively, buy your tickets from a third-party tourist booth and save 2 Euros per ticket, but they may make you wait in a line at the door.

After all that fun (….lol) we needed dinner (comfort food, to drown our sorrows of having paid for the Heinken Experience**). We walked back towards the center of Amsterdam with an idea that we would have Thai- inspired food at Wagamama, a restaurant we had walked past the night before.

It’s “family style”, in that you sit at big, picnic-style tables with other people (but you can’t eat their food, unfortunately). They actually put you so close to other people, that your arms are touching so it was a litttttttle crowded, but a fun experience.