Also: if you do end up doing an overnight stay in Berlin and can splurge a little on a hotel, I can recommend the Michelberger (which also has a great restaurant) or the Oderberger (it has a pool! And a waffle station at the breakfast buffet) ❤️❤️❤️

You’re so generous! I already floated the idea of visiting Berlin and to my wife. Excited plan a short visit. 😊

This is so cool Mitch! I hope you have the best time 😍

And iirc there is also a direct train to Berlin from Amsterdam which is one of my all-time favourite cities (so I’m super biased) … and one of those places where I’d say that 13 days is not enough to fully experience it 😍

A direct to Berlin! Perhaps we should plan an overnight stay.

We’ve never had the means to travel, until recently, so we’re making up for lost time.  13 days might seem like a lot but we’re counting on at least 4 of those days for traveling outside of Amsterdam. Very excited 😊

Your hotel may have bikes to borrow/rent — many of them do.

I expect the biking infrastructure to blow my mind. Nothing as seemingly robust that I’ve experienced in the states.

I’ll definitely look up the Stedelijk. Thanks for the recommendation!

13 days is definitely a long time for just Amsterdam, so I would highly recommend planning some excursions to nearby cities. The train is such a fantastic way to get around Europe!

The sea, the food, scandì history, great design, cycling infrastructure, Assistens. From Brussels I remember businessmen, great beer, great chocolate, but not a ton else. All due respect to those who live there!

I’m planning on going for the first time in August! We were shooting for Copenhagen, Amsterdam & Brussels for a couple days each. Seemed surprisingly doable via trains!

A visit to another city is definitely worth considering. We floated the idea of seeing Brussels… wondering if we could take a train? 🤔

Seriously if you end up going and need any more tips to make the best out of your short visit let me know! I lived there for a few years and still regularly go when possible and it’s such a diverse, weird, awesome city. 😭❤️

If you’re into contemporary art. You should definitely go to the Stedelijk museum. It is also super easy to take a train to the beach and hang there :)

I love Amsterdam! I would suggest a canal boat tour, visiting Vondelpark, Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank House (it’s heavy, so be prepared). Rent a bike and ride around (I suggest early morning when it’s a bit less crazy to get the hang of it).

Copenhagen? I hadn’t considered it. What did you like about there?

Riding a bike through Vondelpark is a wonderful experience and the two museums I mentioned are right near there as well, so you can definitely make a whole day of that!

My wife built our itinerary and I believe that everything you listed is part of the plan 🤌

Our hotel is right outside Vondelpark, too! I expect frequent strolls through it during our stay.

For sure! Be aware of the sidewalks vs the bike paths — a lot of tourists end up walking in the bike paths on accident!

To Brussels, absolutely. I guess a more important question, what are you looking for? I didn’t find Brussels super interesting compared to Amsterdam, but other close by cities like London, Copenhagen, or Mediterranean ones, etc might be more ‘different’

… you could also travel to Rotterdam and The Hague. Both very different from Amsterdam (in my limited experience). Cool to go to the beach there, I was there in the autumn and it was windy and fun. 🤍

I’d also suggest taking the train from the airport — it’s fast and easy and walking out of the train station towards the city is always a nice welcome to Amsterdam.

That’s a really long time to spend in one city (esp Amsterdam which is relatively small)- take a weekend trip to Paris from there? Or Barcelona? Everywhere in Europe is a short flight from Amsterdam, may as well see another spot if that’s your first time!

Just wanted to jump in to say that it’s refreshing to see Northern Americans travel to Europe and spend a lot of time in a city instead of treating each country as a pit stop on a map used as a bucket list ❤️ 13 days might be long for a city like Amsterdam but…

That sounds awesome! I think I’m vastly underestimating how well connected the trains are in Europe.

Oh geez! I appreciate the pro-tip. I really want to avoid being the annoying, clueless American tourists 🙈

Hey folks, my wife and I are going to our first European trip this autumn. And we’re spending nearly 13 days in Amsterdam!

Would love to have recommendations for what to see and do. Also, where are the best stroopwafels? I’ve never had one 😅

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