I was extremely excited to go on this trip! Holland has always been on my bucket list including the tulip fields and Keukenhof gardens. So when it came time to book our spring time vacation, the Netherlands was a must! Now did I get to see the tulip fields in full bloom? Sadly, no. But this didn’t take away from our trip. Check out what we did on our short 3 day vacation in Holland.

what we did

Windmills, Clogs, and Cheese at Zaanse Schans

I didn’t really know much about this place. All I knew is that this is where you go to see traditional dutch windmills, the wooden clogs and where they had a cheese farm. If you mention cheese, I’m there! They do have all of these things, but there is also a lot more to see.

Zaanse Schans is a traditional dutch village with adorable green wooden houses and windmills dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries. You’ll find artisan workshops, chocolate exhibits, farm animals, gifts shops and more. They do have a museum, but we mainly spent our time just walking around and exploring some of the windmills and learning about what each of them was used for. Most of the windmills have a small entrance fee, but some are free. Zaanse Schans is easy to reach by public transportation and very kid friendly! I highly recommend it!

Explored the Jordaan District in Amsterdam

When most people picture Amsterdam, this area is usually what pops up in your mind. You can’t visit Amsterdam without taking a stroll through these streets. There are unique little shops, eateries and pubs all along the canals here and where you’ll be taking a lot of your pictures.

Heineken Brewery Tour

If you have been following my blog, you know that I’m a beer girl. So I couldn’t come to Amsterdam without checking out the Heineken Brewery. It’s a great tour that’s very interactive and has a great bar. I recommend booking your tickets online ahead of time as the line can get really long!

The Red Light District

You hear the stories and even read about this area often when searching about Amsterdam. Out of plain curiosity, we decided to walk through this area one evening before heading out for some drinks. The only thing I can say is that it is definitely interesting! They do have a museum where you can learn more about it all, but we just took a quick stroll through and that’s it.

Anne Frank House

This was also a must-see on our trip so we booked our tickets ahead of time. I highly recommend doing this because they were sold out and had long lines when we went. The house was under construction during our tour, but it didn’t take away from the awe of just being there! I really enjoyed seeing all of the artifacts and reading more about Anne Frank, her family and their story.

Keukenhof Gardens

Really, this was the main reason for our trip. I wanted to stroll through the gardens and see the fields of colorful tulips. Unfortunately, due to the cold weather, the tulip fields weren’t quite ready. I was pretty disappointed, but I do have to say that we still really enjoyed our time at Keukenhof. I was amazed at how much work goes into it and the detail. They also had many flowers indoors and they were beautiful! The tulips were so big and tall and you can get lost just looking at how many varieties there are.

To get there, you can easily hop on a shuttle bus from the airport to Lisse. It’s only about a 30 min ride and doesn’t make any stops along the way.

Where We Ate

• The Pancake Bakery – Listed as having the best pancakes in Amsterdam and I have to say, they are delicious! Try the dutch pancake. They huge also, so you can easily split between 2 people.
• Pressroom – We had a prix fixe menu that was amazing! An upscale restaurant at the base of a hotel.
• Stadt Cafe Van Mechelen – A great atmosphere with delicious beers and dog friendly.
• Pllek – You take a free ferry across the river to get here. It’s inside some old shipping containers and also has a unique and interesting atmosphere right on the water. One of my favorite meals while in the city!

Where We Stayed

Because we were going to Keukenhof, we wanted to stay somewhere that was decently close to both Amsterdam, Lisse and the Zaanse Schans. So we stayed here in an Airbnb rental in a small town called Zaandam. It’s an adorable little residential town and has lots of restaurants and shops as well. The train to Amsterdam from here was very easy and only took about 15 minutes or so to Amsterdam Central Station. And because we were staying a little outside of the city, it was cheaper. Who doesn’t like that?

 

Even though I didn’t get to see the tulips in full bloom and it pretty much rained during our whole trip, I still really enjoyed the Netherlands. Casey and I didn’t get to do half of what we wanted, so I definitely think we will be making a trip back!