Amsterdam, Netherlands: A City of Canals (And Pancakes!)

Amsterdam has been one of the biggest surprises of our trip. What I expected to find was a city filled with drugs, prostitution, smelly canals, and run down buildings. What I found instead was a beautiful city with clean canals, picturesque buildings, tons of bikes, and pancakes!

Amsterdam was completely underwater 800 years ago. The city actually sits 1 meter below sea level. That is one main reason there are so many canals throughout the entire city.

It is actually very expensive to live in the homes on the canals. They are all very well taken care of and centrally located. We did notice many of them are starting to tilt though due to the soft land they sit on with all the water nearby.

We did a free walking tour with Strawberry Tours while we were here. No other English speaking guests showed up so we ended up getting a private tour of the city.

Side Note: I can’t recommend these free walking tours enough! Look them up in any city you go to. It’s a great way to really see an area and get lots of information in a short time period.

We learned that in the early 1600’s the Netherlands was controlled by Spain who also had very close ties with Italy. As Amsterdam started to become more and more Protestant and less Catholic, Spain sent soldiers to burn and kill the Protestants, wanting to maintain a Catholic country.

The 80 year war that was fought between these two religions resulted in the Netherlands being sold to England for $1 after they lost a battle.

During the 80 year war there were two brothers who were arms dealers. Needless to say, they did very well for themselves during the war. They built themselves one of the biggest homes right in the middle of Amsterdam.

They had a driver who was a bit jealous and made a comment that if he could only have a home as wide as their front door he would be happy. So they built him exactly that- a home as wide as their from door right across from their massive home. That is how the smallest home in Amsterdam was created. Check out the small white home below.

There is a lot of influence in New York, USA from Amsterdam. In fact, in the 1600’s, New York was called New Amsterdam.

Another major attraction with lots of historical significance is Anne Frank’s House. This is the warehouse where her family and four other Jewish people hid from the Nazi’s.

The upstairs space they lived was very small and hard to imagine eight grown people living in. The door was hidden very well by a bookcase.

The tour was one of the saddest places to visit, even after reading the diary Anne wrote. To see videos of her father- who was the only survivor of the eight people- talk about their time in hiding and his family is one of the most heartbreaking images.

If you are going to Amsterdam, make sure to book this tour immediately after booking your flight tickets. The tour gets sold out months in advanced and is something you will definitely want to see.

After reading the diary and picturing Anne’s views from looking out her window, it was surreal to be looking at the same view she was describing.

A very well known part of Amsterdam with a lot of history is the Red Light District. In the 1960’s the district was much bigger than it is today. Window shopping for prostitutes started because the government made a law that prostitution could not be solicited on the streets. So the women began standing behind windows.

In the 1990’s the Red Light District became very corrupt with pimps and human trafficking. To help fix the issues, the government bought all the buildings in the district and now the girls rent windows directly from the government.

A shocking misconception about Amsterdam is that marijuana is outright legal. The law is actually much more complicated than that. Weed is not legal, but it is also not illegal. Basically, as long as you aren’t causing any problems you are fine. But the law enforcement can get you in trouble if they want.

Coffee shops are the only ones allowed to sell weed. You can grow up to five plants, but heat lamps to help it grow are illegal. So my belief that there are no rules in Amsterdam was very wrong.

Amsterdam is known worldwide for something I’m sure we’ve all heard of- HEINEKEN!

There is a really unique, interactive tour you can take of their facilities. They have a theater that makes you feel as though you are a bottle of Heineken being made and shipped. There is whole sports floor where you can ride stationary bikes and karaoke or play digital soccer.

They also have a large bar at the end of the tour to have a pouring competition.

A boat cruise through the canals is something you should definitely do while in Amsterdam. We booked ours with our Heineken tour and got a great deal.

The boat cruise took us all the way across the city to a lookout point to oversee the downtown area.

Amsterdam is a city full of greenery and parks. We stayed right near Vondelpark which couldn’t have been a more perfect location. There are beautiful trails for walking, running, and biking.

One of the best parts about this trip was the food. Amsterdam is known for PANCAKES!

They aren’t the kind of pancakes we think of in North America. Instead they are more like crepes. You can get savory or sweet ones- meaning you can eat a pancake for your meal and dessert! Which we absolutely did a few times.

Our two favorite places to go were De Vier Pilaren and The Pancake Bakery.

Chad loved this part of Amsterdam!

They also have mini pancakes called Poffertjes which have butter and powdered sugar on them.

Another food Amsterdam is known for is the Stroopwafel. These consist of two thin wafers stuck together with caramel. They are so good and addicting!

We were also served a surprise with our bagel for breakfast- chocolate sprinkles!