9 Things to do in Amsterdam

My dad's birthday is August 12th and about a month prior to it, he asked me what I thought about sending him to Europe for the first time to celebrate & of-course I said to "Go for it!". He narrowed it down to 3 top choices: Amsterdam, Paris and London.

As a flight attendant, I have the ability to put my parents, spouse, and (future) children on my flight benefits. Flying standby means you fly based on seat availability so if there's an open seat-it's all yours, and if not then you wait lol. We have a travel website accessible to us employees with the flight loads so that we know our chances and likelihood of making flights. I say this because the chances of making the Amsterdam flight seemed the greatest so I told my dad to go ahead and book a hotel room at the NH Barbizon Palace. It's a gorgeous hotel in the middle of everything. You can see the canal straight from the hotel room and the Red Light District is directly behind it.

One little thing to add- I told my dad that I had to work on his birthday so I wouldn't be able to make it to Amsterdam. Originally I had 3 days off in between two trips and didn't think it would be smart to fly standby for just a day when I could work the trip instead for the same amount of time. However there are legalities to how many days we can work in a row; for every 7 days we need to have a day off. Long story short I found a swap board post with someone that had an Amsterdam trip looking to swap for anything else to give her an extra day off. It mutually worked out for us both because my trip could give her the extra day off she needed and I was able to work a trip to Amsterdam. (I love the flexibility of this job!)

I kept it a secret that I had worked out the trip to Amsterdam for his birthday. My dad and my second mom flew there and little did they know I had a 24 hour layover the very next day. I love surprises! Lol I arrived early in the morning and took a nap at my hotel first. I came there not knowing exactly how I would pull off the surprise and around noon I woke up to plan. I wanted to show up at their hotel, but had to make sure I got the timing right so that when they were leaving to go out I would just pop up. I told my dad to stay connected to the hotel wifi because I had to call him about something important and he said ok I'll wait in the lobby for your call. Perfect! I strolled on into the hotel lobby 10 minutes later and surprise! Happy Birthday dad! Lol and we went on with our day outing. I'll post some things below that we did or I have done/would like to do on my other trips there.

Things to Do

1. Buy a Hop on Hop off Canal Tour- Its 21 Euros for a day pass. They take you up and down the canal and you can get off and on any stop you like or just enjoy the ride around. You can bring little snacks with you also. My first time I brought some fruit and a salad and just enjoyed canalling around.

2. Adam's Lookout: Our first stop. Tickets here are 12 Euros per person. You take a fun elevator ride to the top of the building and get a 360 panoramic view above Amsterdam. They also have swings on the very top for an extra 5 or 6 euros. You will feel like you're swinging off of the edge and it looks pretty fun. It's also supposed to be the highest swing in Europe! You can also take some fun pics before you go up!

3. Anne Frank and Van Gogh Museum- I still haven't personally done these yet. There are always extremely long lines and I opt out, but I definitely want to check them out in the future. I've heard the tours are great.

4. Red Light District: Walk around up and down the cobblestone roads here during the day and night. Just be prepared for lots of bars and restaurants. There are always tons of people from around the world so also prepare for large crowds. And yes they have legal prostitution here so window shopping once it gets dark is common.

Note: Coffee shops are not for coffee. Cafe shops are for coffee. ;)

5. Rent a bike. Amsterdam is filled with bikes everywhere and it can be a fun adventure to ride up and down the roads like locals do.

6. Heineken factory: Amsterdam is home of the famous Heineken beer. You are given tickets for two beers and learn all about the history and brewery process. There are also beautiful views of the city from the top!

7. Keukenhof Garden: famous for its tulips and windmills. It's so beautiful here. You must go around the springtime, from late March to mid May are the best times to visit. It depends from year to year so keep track of the season for the best time to see them bloom. It's worth it!

8. Amsterdam is similar to New York City in that you can eat from restaurants with tastes from all over the world. Argentinian steak to Middle Eastern shawarma's are all in the Red Light District area. Whatever you have a taste for you will most likely find it. So much that I barely know what "Dutch" food is besides the yummy fries and stroopwafels.

9. Check out the IAMSTERDAM Sign. They're posted around the city in various spots. Two spots I know of: 1. In front of the airport and 2. In front of the Van Gogh museum. You can stand on top of the letters and come up with a cool pose. If you're height challenged like me then pick a smaller letter to make sure you can get down without ending in the hospital. Lol

We had an awesome time and my dad enjoyed his surprise. Birthdays are important to me and I'm happy I was able to provide such a unique experience for my dad's 55th. It means the world to me that I have the ability to show my parents the world at my age. No matter how big or small the gesture is, it's all about taking advantage of the time we have with them. :)

Happy Birthday Dad!

These photos are a collection of the 5 times I've been to Amsterdam. Have you ever been? What are some other recommendations you have? Post your comments and questions below. I would love to hear your feedback!

Xoxo