I wanted to feature a few travel posts on the blog over summer as travelling is something I’ve not so secretly loved my whole life. I’ve been lucky to go on some amazing trips in the past and have some planned for the future too, and I wanted to share a bit more about that. I am writing more Disney-focused travel pieces at Disney Days, but since Rebel Angel is my personal side of things, I thought some would fit here too 🙂
As you might know, I’ve just recently come back from a mini European road trip with my family. We actually flew out to meet them in Munich, spent the night there, visiting the Hofbrauhaus, then drove down to Austria the next day where we stayed for a week in the mountains near to Salzburg. It’s an area my family have visited several times skiing but never in summer, so it was something we’d always wanted to do. We then headed down to Venice for 2 nights in the floating city before Ben and I jetted off back home again.
But the rest of my lucky family spent another week out in Europe, travelling back towards the ferry, and my mum and dad had spent the week before we arrived travelling across from England to meet us in Munich, seeing the sights on the way. They took my dad’s pick up so we had loads of room for our luggage when we got there – although not so luckily for me, I ended up in the middle seat on all these journeys!
But I wanted to post a little bit today about Amsterdam, which is where they got the ferry in and out of. I wasn’t with them this time, but I have visited Amsterdam a couple of times before as a friend from school (hey, Christina!) lived there when we were younger and I loved it. I’ve wanted to go back in recent years, but haven’t yet had a chance, so instead I’ll just spout adoring words about it!
- Did you know that on the site of Schiphol airport, there was once a naval battle?
- Did you also know that Amsterdam boasts more canals than Venice?!
There are a few more surprising and interesting facts about Amsterdam here.
What to do
- Surely I don’t need to tell you to visit Anne Frank’s house – that’s an absolute must for anyone, whether literary, history and culture buff or just an interested tourist.
- A great way to get to know a new city is to wander it. Get yourself booked on a guided walking tour, wander at random or do a free self-guided tour – it’s up to you – this site has a few options.
- The Rijksmuseum is the number 1 attraction on Trip Advisor and you can see why. It’s massive, family friendly and super interesting.
- Go shopping! There are loads of shops in Amsterdam, from independent boutiques to typical tacky tourist places (which I secretly love) and high street stores.
- Hire a bike – Amsterdam is renowned for its bicycles, which have right of way in the city.
- Grab something to eat – there are a ridiculous number of eateries in Amsterdam so make a shortlist and visit a few.
Accommodation
Fortunately when I visited Amsterdam, I didn’t have to figure out accommodation – I was either staying with a friend’s family or I was just passing through the airport (see below for more info on this!). But Amsterdam does have some really awesome places to stay. I’m a little addicted to Airbnb at the moment (more on this soon with another upcoming trip!) and there are some super interesting places on there – just a quick random date search (in October) turned up all these cool places.
If you’re looking for a bit more luxury though, the Waldorf Astoria is the perfect option – boutique luxury in the heart of the city with a 2 star Michelin restaurant and the only Guerlain spa in Amsterdam, yes please. (And there are actually some awesome offers on this hotel right here!) If you’re needing somewhere more family orientated or a bit more budget though, Hilton, who own Waldorf Astoria, do have a portfolio of 4 different brands within the city to suit every budget or taste.
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
So is this a weird thing to write about – how much I love Schiphol airport?! Yeh, it kind of is, isn’t it? But I do, I really do! And apparently I’m not alone – it’s Europe’s Preferred Airport!
I passed through Schiphol airport on my way back from my study trip in Athens. I had a stopover of several hours there, so I decided to make the most of it by wandering the airport. This is interesting to do in larger airports with multiple terminals anyway – some practically have shopping malls inside! – but what was super interesting about this one was that it not only has a museum inside but also a library! I just have to repeat that – a museum and a library IN the airport! Yep, leave me there – I don’t need anything else 😀
But aside from that, it’s a super efficient, big airport with international flights from all over the world making it really easy to get to.
This is a collaborative post.
