Authentic Amsterdam - What It's Like to Stay on a Houseboat

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. So when in Amsterdam, stay on a houseboat.

Just floating around on a canal in the Jordaan...

I've told you before about the advantages to skipping the hotel and renting a vacation home. I did it in Italy, France, and Sanibel Island. As impressed as I was with those experiences, nothing can beat renting a home in Amsterdam. especially when that home was on the water.

Even though this "hotel" is on the water, you
don't feel any rocking, even on windy days!

Not even just water view - on the water, on a houseboat, where you can see swans and ducks swimming by the window.

We found the houseboat on VRBO.  My travel group had some reservations about the houseboat. When I asked the owner if the boat would accompany four people, she said, "yes, if you don't have much luggage."

We actually had tons of luggage, because, you know, we
were traveling in Europe for almost two weeks!

Well, we didn't have much of a choice because we decided to book a place so close to our travel dates and we were still trying to be economical. So, houseboat it was. And boy were we surprised!  When you walk in, you can see the living room, with a pullout couch, as well as a small bedroom.

Right next to that, a pullout couch, as well as a small bedroom, complete with a map of Amsterdam.

This map actually saved us quite a few times in our wanderings
because I had taken a picture of it!  Of course, we're the people
who go to a city that's hard to navigate without a map.

The best part of this houseboat was the authentically decorated Danish kitchen...

With a fully stocked refrigerator!

The owner, Annette, thought of everything! We had eggs, bread, sandwich meat, cheese, and milk.

And it wasn't just the kitchen where Annette paid attention to detail, the bathroom was also perfect for houseguests.

Annette even filled the medicine cabinet with hair products, lotions and soaps!

Perhaps the detail we appreciated most was the bottle of sparkling wine.

How much would a hotel run with all these extra amenities AND that slept four people?  Well, we wouldn’t know since we couldn’t even find one.  Hotels in Europe traditionally fit only two, maybe three people.

That makes the €200 per night we spent a deal! Rates are cheaper if you aren't staying during a holiday (we were there for New Year's Eve) or if you stay for a longer period of time.  If you’re interested in booking this houseboat, or just talking with Annette, click here for more information.

Total Cost: €400 for two nights

Best Deal: Having an authentic Amsterdam breakfast that you can only get when a woman who lives in Amsterdam does your grocery shopping.

Even Annette couldn't explain why people in
Amsterdam eat sprinkles on their toast, but
it tasted so good!

Anne Frank House – Six Things to Know Before Your Visit

It was the place where eight Jewish people, fearing for their lives, hid out for two years, in a secret annex, a whole other world, just behind a bookcase.

A postcard from the museum.  Photo by: Allard Bovenberg

Being a lover and devourer of all things history, I put the Anne Frank House at the top of my list of things to do in Amsterdam.  At just €9 (about $12) to enter, I consider that very economical to experience such a monumental part of history.  However, there are just a few things I wish I knew before my visit that would have changed my experience for the better.

The tour books I had read beforehand suggested buying tickets in advance to avoid long lines.  How long can the lines be on New Year’s Eve, I thought to myself.  Apparently very…

Very…

Very…

Long.  Like, an hour and a half long, as I described in this post.  Waiting sucks, but waiting in 30°F weather is nothing short of terrible.

I'm smiling through the pain, but Frank is not

So, first thing you need to know about the Anne Frank House…

Book tickets in advance

Or else you’ll suffer like we did.  You can book them online right through the Anne Frank website.

Once we were about 50 people away from getting into the museum, a worker came around and gave us all brochures about the Anne Frank House.  They were very informative, detailing where Anne Frank and the seven others hid, what you would find in each room, and even provided quotes from the diary that fit perfectly with each room.

Frank is glad to have something to focus
on besides the freezing cold

Which brings me to the second thing you need to know…

The brochure is exactly like the actual museum

Same quotes, same pictures.  Sure, the museum has a few more things, but not many.  For example, the brochure details some of the pictures of celebrities you’ll find on the wall in Anne’s room.  When you see Anne’s room, you see the pictures from the brochure, and a few others.  And you see the exact same quotes from the brochure.

Still, even though the brochure explains much of the house, you should still be prepared for the third point about the Anne Frank House…

It is very, very crowded

The house is not big, although it is bigger than you expect, with five rooms:

·         A bedroom for Anne and Mr. Dussel

·         A bedroom for Anne’s mother, father, and sister

·         A bedroom for Mr. and Mrs. van Pels (also the living room and kitchen)

·         The attic, where Peter van Pels slept and food was kept

·         The bathroom

So it takes awhile to move hundreds and thousands of visitors through.  But, even with crowds, you’ll be surprised how long it takes to move through the house because…

There’s not actually anything in the Anne Frank House

The rooms are mostly empty.  It’s a poignant statement that Anne Frank’s father insisted on leaving because when the Gestapo discovered the Frank family and the others in hiding, they cleared the secret location out.  So, when Otto Frank came home, the only one alive from the secret annex, he basically said, “Keep the house the way the Gestapo left it.”  It makes sense, and it hits home about the way the Jewish people were treated during this time.  There are pictures in the rooms depicting a recreation of how the rooms did look at the time.

Postcard from the museum. Photo by: Allard Bovenberg

That’s point number five…

You cannot take pictures in the Anne Frank House

Which, I get, I totally do.  Except, you can take pictures of 3,000-year-old things in Rome, but you can’t take pictures of 80-year-old things here.  Most of the objects in the Anne Frank House are paper-based, so I’m sure a flash would ruin that.  Maybe they could have said “no flash photography?”

I’m not one to ruin history, but I did take one picture.

This illustrates the last thing you need to know about the secret annex…

Many of the objects are not explained

I took that picture in one of the last rooms of the house, not a room where Anne Frank and the others hid, but still a room you walk through.  It showcased all eight people who lived in the house, explained what happened to them in the end, and showed a memento from their life.  Except, I wasn’t sure what exactly the memento meant.  It certainly looked old and interesting, it would have been nice to know.  So you may have to do some pre- or post-research on what you will find inside the house.

The history of Anne Frank, and the rest of the Jewish people who faced persecution, is extremely important to remember.  I admire her, the seven people she lived with, and the other six million Jews who faced this travesty.  But be prepared to be a bit surprised at your experience and the time it takes to get into the house (about an hour) and go through it (about an hour).  If you don’t have two hours, check out the 3-D tour online.

Though a touching depiction of history, this museum was
not what we expected

Total Cost: €9 each (about $12)
Best Deal: Pictures are worth a thousand words, but since you can’t take them, buy a postcard for €.50

A Walk Through Amsterdam – The Jordaan

One of the most famous walks in Amsterdam takes you through streets of hookers and rows of cannabis shops.  But another beautiful walk will show you the real Amsterdam, the one where people live.  This is what you’ll see on a walk around the area known as the Jordaan, which easily becomes a whole day of exploring economically.

During said walk, I stopped and posed for a lot of
pictures, which, as you can imagine, Frank found
amusing for about three shots

Jordaan is said with a soft “j,” like in jogging or yogging.  Did anyone else get that obscure reference to Anchorman besides my husband?  Anyway, for real, soft “j” on Jordaan.  The Jordaan district is mostly residential, filled with shops, cute restaurants, and lots of houseboats.

We actually stayed in one of these houseboats, but more on that later

As you walk, make your way to the Anne Frank House, but best to get there early.

Anne Frank House

Even if you arrive to this historical site at 9am, when it opens, you will most likely be greeted by a line something like this.

I waited in a similar line, and let me tell you, it sucked!

If you get to the Anne Frank House before it opens, you have a good chance of not waiting an hour and a half like I did.  Pay your €9 to get in, and experience first-hand the book we all read in middle school.  If you’d like my review of the Anne Frank House, click here.

It will take you about an hour to get through the museum.  Then, you can explore Westermarkt Square, just outside of the Anne Frank House.

Westermarkt Square

This is where you’ll find Westerkerk (“Western Church”), under which Rembrandt is supposedly buried.

The church tower is the tallest in Amsterdam (that, according to Wikipedia).  I can vouch that you see the tower from many, many places in the city, day or night.

Also, within the square is also a triangle, in which you’ll find three smaller, pink triangles – they call the triangles the Homomonument (Gay Monument, for those who didn’t take a wild guess on that).

Here is one of the smaller triangles

The monument is to remember those who have been persecuted because of their sexuality, especially the homosexuals who had to wear pink triangles while imprisoned in concentration camps.  Here is a photo of what all the triangles look like together.

With all the talk of pink triangles, I couldn’t get this Weezer song out of my head.

Next, walk north on Prinsengracht (no clue how you say that), which is the same street where you’ll find the Anne Frank House.  On the other side of the canal (where the street has the same name, don’t ask me how these people get around), you’ll find a Tulip Museum and a Cheese Museum.

Shopping

Inside the Cheese Museum, you’ll find lots of cheese to sample – for free!

Heavy cheese, too!

The Wasabi Cheese was my favorite!  The Tulip Museum has just a few doors down and has lots of tulip-centered souvenirs.  Take your time in this street and in this area… it’s better relished than zoomed through.

Lunch

After an appetizer of cheese, it’s about time for lunch.  We ate at Spanjer + Van Twist, where I had the most delicious open-faced sandwich ever!

Pumpkin bread with pear, marscarpone, and cinnamon syrup!

Frank also had the pumpkin bread, only his was non-vegetarian.

And we had giant beers.

Lunch set us back about €20.

Canal Rings

As you walk through the Jordaan, you’ll start to cross into another area of Amsterdam – the Canal Rings. 

This is where you’ll find canal after filled with houseboats as well as small boats.

A good place to stop for a cup of actual coffee is Café Van Zuylen, in the Canal Ring area.

A cup of Joe (or in my case, cappuccino) cost about €2.

Dinner

When it’s time for dinner, look no farther than Paso Dobles, not only a wonderful Spanish dance, but also a great tapas restaurant, with pretty economical food and drinks.

Boquerones will change how you feel about sardines!

We ordered about six tapas plates between the four of us and filled our bellies.

I couldn't even get a decent picture because we were
devouring the delicious food that quickly!

We paid €60 for the six tapas, plus a bottle of wine.

Late-Night Eating

If your belly's not quite full, chow down on some typical Amsterdam fare.  At Snack Bar Aggie, the chef claimed to have the best friends in the Netherlands.  He also served döner kebabs, which, even though it’s a Turkish food, you can find it everywhere in Amsterdam.

I think this is the third döner kebab of the visit for my
travel companions

That’s one of the funniest things about Amsterdam, and Europe, in general.  It doesn’t have late-night Chalupas and Gorditas, but it does have its uniquely ethnic döner kebabs...

Anne Frank House: €18 (€9/each)

Lunch: €20
Coffee: €2
Dinner: €60 (for four)
Late-Night Snack: €7 for fries and a döner kebab

Total Cost: €107 = $139

A Walk Through Amsterdam – Old Centre

Amsterdam is the kind of city where I could just stay... forever. How can you not find a place intriguing where nothing is really taboo, including marijuana and prostitutes? But it's not those things that makes Amsterdam great... Amsterdam is actually oozing with culture. 

We were in this mecca of toleration for about 48 hours, and in that time, I found it surprisingly affordable. That could be due to the fact that I did not, in fact, actually buy any prostitutes (prices for that start at €50 according to this article).  What I did do a lot of is walking.

My man in Amsterdam! (this is actually a Pulp Fiction reference)

One of the walks I took was around the area known as Old Centre, which we actually did for about 1/5 the price of a prostitute!

The Old Centre is just that – the center of Amsterdam.  During the day, you’ll find lots of shops open for business along Damrak and Raadhuisstraat (those are streets in case you are wondering!).

The stores are very creative in their displays!

You’ll even find a huge shopping plaza right by Dam Square.

Dam Square

Smack dab in the middle of Dam Square is where you’ll find street performers by day and people bustling about by night.  And no matter what time of day, you’ll also see this unusual-looking monument.

This is the National Monument to remember
the pain and suffering during World War II.
You can see Christ on a cross and people in
chains that look like they are trying to pull
themselves off of the monument.

As you veer off the main square onto one of the several side streets, stop for the famous Amsterdam snack – French fries with mayonnaise.  For about €3, you get not only the fries, but a tiny little fork to eat them with.

Red Light District

Those side streets will lead you to the Amsterdam district of De Wallen, the most well-known red light district in Amsterdam (that’s right, there are others).  Both around, and in, the Red Light District, you’ll find plenty of coffeeshops. 

This coffeeshop actually had a line out the door.  It's one of the
most famous in Amsterdam and there are several branches
of the Bulldog along Oudezijds Voorburgwal.
That's a street, in case you couldn't tell
from the spelling.

Smoking marijuana is legal in “certain designated places” (thank you, again, Pulp Fiction, for that reference), but cigarette smoking is not legal at most establishments.  You’ll actually see “no smoking” signs outside of coffeeshops, even though people are smoking pot inside.  According to signs, prices are about €10 for a gram of cannabis and sometimes as little as €3 for a joint.  A beer is about €4.  That makes smoking in Amsterdam cheaper than drinking.  However, you really can’t do both at the same time as the coffeeshops stick to just selling weed and most do not serve booze.

This bar served food, drinks, and no drugs

Next stop, the heart of the Red Light District.

Underneath all the red lights, you’ll find prostitutes in the windows… women with varying looks in various degrees of undress.  There are “no picture” signs in almost all of the windows and I’m told the “bouncers,” who watch after these women will chase after you if you snap a photo.  This was not where I wanted to get in trouble for using my camera.  So, take my word when I say the prostitutes were under red lights, and the transvestites were under blue lights.

Although the concept of a red-light district, and coffeeshops for that matter, all sound like they would attract crime, I felt very safe in this part of Amsterdam.  It is very crowded with tourists, many of them knocking on the windows of the prostitutes to inquire about rates and other… stuff.  We stayed in this area until after midnight and I never felt the least bit frightened.

And look, we didn’t even break the €20 mark!

Fries: €3
Beer: €4 each = €8
Total Cost: About €11