Magical Amsterdam

My last travel journey has been quite a while ago and I had a couple of places on my list which in wanted to explore this year including Paris, Manchester and The Netherlands. At least one place from these worked out and I took lots of wonderful memories with me. Around two months ago I was spontaneously checking the trains and buses to Amsterdam and booked tickets without thinking much about it. You must know(or if not yet you will know it now) I struggle with Agoraphobia and fear traveling to places away from my home and comfort zone. It’s gotten a lot better that’s safe to say as I know the fear can’t control me and I don’t want to let it ruin my life. Shutting down your thoughts completely or stop thinking about what could possibly happen helped me a lot.(If you are interested please comment and I can make another post of this with my experiences and tips how to help yourself.)

So train tickets booked I was about to go for a hotel but went for Airbnb instead as this is much more personal. I’m not a big fan of hotels at all. I simply don’t need a huge room or glamour. For me it is important to feel welcomed and to meet new people. That’s why I used to do a lot over Couchsurfing last year, the best way to meet new people and to listen to their crazy and funny stories. 

The trip began on Tuesday morning. A seven hour ride in front of my friend Layke and me. It didn’t felt as long as expected and we arrived safely and in time. From the central station to our Airbnb it took around 45 minutes with the tram. Our home for our three nights was just wonderful. Two cute dogs who welcomed us, our own room in the second floor and breakfast each morning along with fresh handmade juice was included. If this sounds good to you I will leave a link here of Jayantihouse in case you’re looking for a place to stay on your next Amsterdam trip. 

Our first day started with rain. We already expected this kind of weather but I don’t wanted to let it influence the mood. It’s just not that kind of weather to take pictures so I don’t have much of them this time. 

The streets of Amsterdam are super clean that’s what I have noticed immediately. I even don’t wanted to throw my cigarette stubs on the ground. In the main area the streets also look super similar with the canals and the little bridges. If you don’t have a good inner orientation system you can get lost very easily. 

This was actually a great day for a warming Irish coffee in a pub and a shopping tour, whereto I followed some recommendations from my sweet followers regarding vintage shops. We came across two Episode stores, Zipper, a Kilo Shop and other small boutiques. Apart from that there were also stores like Urban Outfitters, H&M, Monki, Pull & Bear and Topshop. I have found one acid wash shirt in H&M in the men’s sale section for 5€ only and a very cool vintage sweater at one Episode store. I also spied this awesome patterned velvet cardigan jacket below at Zipper. It was a little too pricey in my eyes so I left it there but had to take a picture with it!

There wasn’t that much vegan clarified places around but decided for TerraZen Centre which was a lot different as expected. Google said it's a Japanese restaurant but when you go in it’s a mix of Caribbean and Chinese with other bits and bobs of everything. There was a good choice on the board with something for every taste but it was also super pricey. We shared the Jamaican plate for 16€ which was served with faux chicken in vegetable curry along with mashed potatoes, brown rice, salad and something fried(I think it was potato). It was very good overall but not enough for two persons and too expensive for one in my opinion. 

On the second day which was another rainy one we headed into the city again and I followed a personal tip I got from my favorite blogger Lua(who unfortunately left Amsterdam already a day before we arrived so missed each other) and took the metro to Waterlooplein, another area with vintage shops and flea markets. My friend found a new jacket there and came across a cute small coffeeshop. In case you are curious - no I’m not smoking even if I would love to but made some bad experiences with weed in my past haha.

On Friday we woke up to the first blue sky and sun what was perfect to explore the Vondelpark. Another tip from my friend Andi from Panini Comics. That was the best decision since it is such a beautiful green park! The sun made everything much more crispy and the air was fresh from the rain the days before. Rivers, benches and little bridges. There was also a kind of rose garden which must be super beautiful in its blooming time! 

Before the park we bought oat milk coffee in a very cute café and also came across a street which was full of expensive boutiques like Chanel, Gucci, Burberry and Vivienne Westwood, just to mention a few. Also the streets and buildings in this area reminded me a lot of London, what gave me a super comforting feeling.

After our walk we went to another coffee shop and then to the Kopjes Cat Café which was right in the near. I got this tip from another follower of mine. But when we arrived there the lady said you have to reserve before you can enter so we decided to look out for another place to heat up our cold hands. We came across the T's Teabar. This place, as the name says already serves wonderful tasty tea and I’m speaking about real tea which tastes so good and intense that you don’t even need to sweeten it anymore. Served in wine glasses in a wonderful atmosphere by super friendly staff! 

In the evening we decided to cook at our Airbnb again instead of going to a vegan place outside which I actually had on my plan list. That’s the point where I would like to tell you a bit about the supermarkets there as these are my favorite places to explore, especially as a vegan. I informed myself before about Netherlandish products like I do always when I travel around. Starting with the unbelievable awesome choice of prepared salads(with fancy stuff like soy sprouts, fresh mushrooms, pak choi, carrots etc.) which are super cheap ranging from one to two euros but taste fresher than in some expensive restaurants. A huge range of great vegan alternatives for fish, chicken, burgers(for example the brand De Vegetarische Slager) coconut milk based yoghurt where I tried the strawberry version(I can't remember the brand but it tastes like a lighter version of CoYo), lots of products from Alpro but some which aren’t available in Germany(Alpro Coconut Dessert Pudding, Macchiato Drink, Mild & Creamy Lime Yoghurt etc.), Vegan mayonnaise from Remia, chocolate chunk cookies by Time Out, Punselie's Stroop Waffels, dark chocolate covered peanuts from Jumbo and my favorite duo chocolate spread from Coop, just to mention a few things I took back home with me. The bread there blew our minds since it is so super soft! Nothing in compare to here in Germany. I’ve also found lots of different versions of flavored sparkle water without sugar which tasted so damn good. Something I really miss here in my country as everything is loaded with extra sugar. Same for the natural juices from the brand called "Healthy People" which you really need to try, available in every basic supermarket like Coop and Jumbo. 

We had to leave on Saturday and the weather was mixed from rain to sunshine. Our train started at around 1 pm and arrived at half past 9 back in Leipzig. 

All over this trip was really fun and I took great memories back home with me. It was eye-opening and I got lots of confidence back regarding my fear for traveling. With every journey my safety is growing and I’m happy for this and hope to inspire and help other people with similar struggles and fears. 

♥