(Fig. 1: Amsterdam art dusk, from the Telegraph)
Amsterdam was the second stop on our European trip and it was one of the cities we were most excited for. We had heard so many stories about the city, both about the rich culture, and the partying. When we go off the train from the airport, we were greeted by a bustling city center filled with people. We hopped on the tram, and headed to our hostel, dropped off our bags, and immediately went out. Now, it was a Tuesday night, which meant there was not a lot to do, but nevertheless, we tried. We walked around the neighboring plazas, looking at the many different bars and clubs we could visit. We settled on this club, Melkweg, promoting their Techno Tuesday. Now, we were not techno fanatics by any means, but entrance was free, so it was perfect for us broke students. The music was good enough, but, unfortunately, the jet lag had caught up to us. Eventually, the exhaustion was too much to handle, and we called it a night.
The next day, we felt the detrimental effects of jet lag, when we woke up at 1 pm. However, we did not let this put a downer on our day, and we went to check out the Heineken Experience. The famous pilsner beer was created in Amsterdam, and the company ran an interactive tour of their first brewing facility. Instead of opting for just the tour, we payed 25 euros, and got the “Rock the City” option.
(Fig. 2: Heineken Experience entrance, from Michal Bella’s Youtube Channel;)
This option included a canal tour of the city, and a free pass up the A’DAM Toren (which means tower in Dutch). The tour by itself would have been worth the 25 Euros. It was a two hour long, interactive walkthrough of the entire brewing process, from the harvesting of the grains, to how to properly pour a beer. The tour also came with a free lesson on how to properly drink beer, as well as two free beers at the end of the tour. Then came the canal tour, where we boarded a boat, and traveled through the canals of the city, eventually being dropped off at the A’DAM tower. The tower is beautiful, equipped with a high end restaurant and bar at the top which was accompanied by a beautiful view of the city.
Later that day, we went out again, this time doing some research and settling on the club Sugar Factory. The club was recommended by many of the people that we talked to, and also ranked in the top 10 best clubs in Amsterdam by The Guardian. Unfortunately, we did not have a great experience. The place was incredibly cramped, the music was not very good, and the bartender repeatedly ignored us in favor of other patrons. After about an hour, we left and hung out at a bar the rest of the night.
While it was not our plan to take it so easy when it came to the whole partying scene of Amsterdam the first two days, we still enjoyed it immensely. I think our bodies were exhausted by the timezone change, and the traveling between two countries without fully recuperating, and these first few days were exactly what it needed. It allowed for a chill, relaxed, and easy going exploration of Amsterdam, so we could experience the city for its culture and history. The next few days were the exact opposite of chill and relaxed, action packed and full of excitement. The part 2 of this post will feature in length the other reason we came to Amsterdam, the partying.