Adventure, Culture, Food, Walking, City, Photography, Wildlife, Museums | 10/30/2025
On the first day in Amsterdam, i arrived on flight arriving around noon. Took the train from the airport straight to the hotel in Amsterdam Zuid.
I stayed at the CitizenM, highly recommend it! CitizenM is a very modern and viby hotel, with iPad check in and rooms being controlled by iPads, made for a very quick and simple check in/out process, and the stay very easy. The lobby and bar/restaurant had a hostel style vibe with friendly and helpful staff and other guests.
Once i was checked in i made my way to out to explore the city. I started walking north and reached my first canal after about 30 mins of walking, it was surreal seeing the city built around the water and seeing boats lined along the edge. The walk here was also surrounded by bikers and trams, making the mid day feel very active and not city like, even though i am in the middle of a city.
On the second day in Amsterdam, I woke up and started my journey north in the city center. I grabbed coffee from an amazing coffee shop near the hotel called Cafecito, i had a basic cappuncino. From there i hoped on the city tram, which is a super easy process, the schedule is up to date on google maps and paying for the ticket is as simple as scanning your phone. I rode north to the Marken region, but on the way it rode passed the University of Amsterdam, so i hopped off at the next stop and wandered around. The campus is very cool and high tech campus, but also still manages capture the Amsterdam vibe, with canals and old styles building surrounding and in between the campus.
From there i continued on to my original destination of the Naval Museum, pertaining to the Dutch East India Trading Company. The museum was very cool, had 5 levels including the outdoor replica of the boat. The topics ranged from the creation of the canals, naval culture of the Dutch people and trade that occurred through the Dutch Trading Company. After that i went to the Amsterdam zoo that i passed on the way here, since it was included in the IAmsterdam City pass i got the night before. Which I would highly recommend getting, all the museums and public transport are included in the city pass!
After the zoo i worked my way into the city center, to go visit the Kattenkabinet. This museum is in someones home where the converted the first two floors and outdoor area to showcase various forms of art through the centuries of cat focused paintings, sculptures, and advertisements! It was super fun and even had 2 live cats wandering the museum with the guests. From there i worked my way over near the Rijksmuseum, where i booked my self on a night canal cruise tour. But before that i needed to eat dinner, I went to The Pantry which is a nice little Dutch restuarant serving beer and very traditional Dutch food. The Canal Cruise itself was very fun, they took the boat all around the canals of central Amsterdam passing many interesting sites along the way with an audio tour explaining everything.
On the third day in Amsterdam i took a tram into Amsterdam Central Station, where i got on a long distance train out of the city to Zaanse Schans. If that sounds familiar, it is where the iconic Dutch windmill are located. The 20ish minute train ride was super easy, despite having to change trains due to a maintenance issue on the original one. Once arriving at the Zaandijk train stop, it is about a 20 min walk into the village. The walk there is a very scenic through a rural dutch factory town with colorful buildings and cyclists everywhere. Once arriving into the village you are greeted with small houses surrounded by small canals, looks almost like a Dutch hobbit village from Lord of the Rings. My first stop was to the Zans museum.
The Zans Museum, was very interesting, it had a self guided audio tour with exhibits explaining the creation of the windmill and patty farms, and the influence the Dutch trading company. Small little fact i learned most coffee beans we drink, has found its original distribution through the Dutch East India Trading Company.