First things first – we stayed just outside of Amsterdam, in a small village called Broek in Waterland. We stayed in the quaintest family run guesthouse called Inn on the lake. I’d found this little delight on Mr and Mrs Smith. It was just what we love – a nice quiet location but had amazing transport links into the city.
We booked 4 nights for a long weekend for my 30th birthday which happened to fall on the Easter Weekend last year.
Thursday
We arrived at around lunch time, we hopped on the train into the centre and caught a bus out to the village. The guest house was a few minutes walk from the bus stop, which was ideal! As I said it was lunch time, so we dropped the bags after meeting the lovely hosts. And headed to De Witte Swaen, a little cafe in the village for traditional pancakes.
Hopping on a bus into town we ended up at Tony’s Chocolonely. And of course nosied in the sexmuseum. The rain was pretty persistent making it difficult to walk around. We went to the Foodhallen for dinner which did not disappoint. Great selection of food and drink with a great vibe.
Friday
And our first breakfast at the hotel. Wow. What a treat. We were seated in the conservatory with gorgeous views of their garden and the lake. Due to the guest house having 3 rooms, it really did feel like you had the place to yourself alot of the time. This felt very much like a private breakfast service. The food was lovely, with freshly squeezed orange juice and a flow of coffee. There was a continental part of the breakfast and then different fresh delicious dishes every morning to follow.
We decided to head to Edam that morning on the bus and went to The Story of Edam Cheese. Which was actually really interesting and we thoroughly enjoyed trying all the cheeses. We then walked to Volendam. It was around a 3.5km walk but we love looking at local architecture and houses. The walk took us along the little river called IJe. The village has a gorgeous harbor, and seafront where you can walk along the Dijk.
Grabbing the bus back to the guest house, we used the hot tub and sauna overlooking the lake. We had dinner in the village that evening at a quaint pizzeria called Ijscafe Antonio. The pizza was absolutely divine. (A great spot if you are cycling through the village too).
Saturday
The sun came out and we headed into the city straight after breakfast. We arranged to meet some friends for coffee we had made when traveling 5 years prior. It was so lovely, catching up and so nice of them taking us to a hip neighbourhood. We had coffee at Toki.
With the sun still shining we explored the city on foot, crossing over canals and getting lost. Followed by our stomachs we stopped off at Van Wonderen Stroopwafels. But a word of warning – everyone seems to. Be prepared for a queue. We ate our waffles exploring Vondelpark.
Sunday
MY BIRTHDAY!
I woke up to a birthday cake delivery, cards and presents Alex brought from home. I always like to do something fun with a plan on my birthday and being away was no exception. We rented some bikes from the hotel and headed out on an all day bike ride. Our route took us north, through local villages and countryside. We cycled from Broek in Waterland to Marken, a small village in north holland. Grabbing a coffee, we then waited for the ferry. We pushed our bikes onto the ferry and headed to Volendam. We made it a circular route by cycling past the Katwoude Windmill down to Monnickendam. We then had lunch down by the waterfront.
It was such a great day out, I’d recommend if you are in the city for a long weekend to venture out into the dutch countryside. It’s ridiculously bike friendly and super stunning.
In true Ness style, I had my eye on the lake since we got to the guest house. So after some cake on the terrace, I took a dip. It was an instagram vs reality moment. The lake was very shallow and had a lot of silt. I managed to keep my legs up and swim around for a while. But it wasn’t the best swimming conditions I’d been in. I’d seen a lot of photos of the lake in the summer, I think I had that idea in my mind! Haha!
That evening was a complete surprise. Alex told me to bring something nice to wear and we’d be heading into Amsterdam for the evening. He had booked a dinner cruise on a classic riverboat with Jewel Cruises. This was such a unique experience. We sailed up and down different canals, seeing Amsterdam from a totally different perspective. When the sun set it was even more stunning – all the fairy lights and all the bridges.
The food was lovely. We travelled around, pulling in to get each course fresh, then we set off cruising through the canals again.
Monday
We had an afternoon flight. So we read at the guest house, making use of the gorgeous lounge. Not much to report from the day. But we enjoyed a slower morning ahead of getting lunch in Amsterdam and heading to the airport.
Top tips
- It’s Amsterdam, it rains. Be prepared, take a decent rain jacket and there are plenty of inside things to do too.
- Book Anne Frank’s house – being easter this filled up quicker than I could blink and we missed out on tickets. There’s no waiting list. Tickets are released 6 weeks in advance.
- Public Transport is amazing.
- Everywhere is bike friendly.
Other recommendations
- SAINT-JEAN Bakery
- NEMO Science Museum
- Royal Palace Amsterdam
- Free walking tour Amsterdam
Let me know your favourite things about Amsterdam.
Ness x
Ness' bit of everything 