📍Amsterdam, Netherlands 🇳🇱

After months of planning, it was finally time for my mom and dad to join our travels. I’m pretty sure they just came to be on this really famous blog (they must not know that only about three people read this, and they are two of them).

Day 1: We woke up and they were in Amsterdam! We didn’t have plans until 3 pm so we went to get some lunch. It is very important to explain that my family LOVES food. We really like each other but we LOVE food. Ok, now I can proceed…as I was saying, we were on our way to lunch but we were close to where I found that cheesesteak a few days ago. It would be selfish to not share this hidden gem, so we made a quick stop to split a cheesesteak as an appetizer. This will not be the first or last time something like this will happen. Some are impressed, others may be a little disgusted. For the impressed few, the cheesesteak stand is called Boer Geert.

We found an eatery, Foodhallen, with food from everywhere and got a few plates from different stands, including a typical Dutch food called bitterballen.

We then walked around a bit and ended up at the cheese museum. Museum is a strong word, but they had free samples and a tiny little downstairs with some cheese facts. I’ll let you guess which of the two I was more excited about.

We found some hot chocolate, Baileys, and Jameson and made ourselves some drinks for our boat tour. We rode through the canals to see the city. We got to see houseboats on the water, cruised through the Red Light District, and learned some facts about the city.

It was cold, very cold, so we defrosted for a minute and then went to shop at the outdoor mall area—I was not prepared for the cold and needed a real winter jacket. I successfully found a jacket (thanks mom & dad) and also some delicious snacks: stroopwafels, an oliebollen, and some fries. These fries were different. In the Netherlands, the fries are served with mayo and lemme tell ya…we didn’t hate it. I promise we walked enough to deserve this feast of fried carbs.

The Netherlands was playing in the World Cup (because they beat the US) so we tried to find a bar to watch the game. Not surprising, all the bars were VERY full. We did find an Italian restuarant on a happenin’ street and we got the last table.

When the score was 2-0 and there was only a little time left, we decided to leave to watch the rest of the game in the hotel bar. As soon as we got up, the Netherlands scored. We ran back to the hotel and the bar was packed. We found a TV and watched the insane end to the game.

Day 2: We got up pretty early to have breakfast before going to the Ann Frank House. This was the #1 “must do” on my mom’s list and we were very sure to check the tickets the night before to make sure we didn’t miss it. The tickets were for 10:15 am but said entry from 10:15-10:45, so we went to breakfast at Kessens and J, my mom, and my dad had one of the best omelets any of us have ever had.

Things were going great…until they weren’t. We got to the Ann Frank House at 10:35, which was within the allotted time slot. Upon arrival they told us we missed the first part of our tour. Amy was sad and I was getting that lady into her tour. I asked one of the girls working there how we can get in and she gave me a solid no. Thankfully, I had recently watched The Kardashians and has Kris K says “if you hear no, you are probably just asking the wrong person.” Important lesson paid off. J went to another girl working there and got us in. Major win.

Amy was justified in her initial disappointment. The Ann Frank House is an absolute must. We walked through the actual space they hid in. To hear and see the conditions Ann Frank and seven others lived in for two years is unfathomable. Then to think after living like that for so long and then discovered and sent on the very last train to a concentration camp is gut wrenching. I just kept thinking, “They were SO close!” “How the heck did they get caught?” “Imagine living like this at 13 years old!”

We decided as a group we needed a bit of a lighter activity which meant one thing: time for some Netherlands style fries! I had found Fable Friet on TikTok where everyone said it is a “must do” so we were on our way. Verdict: definitely good, but, honestly, we hadn’t found bad fries anywhere and the other places had shorter lines.

Seeing as we had not stopped (and weren’t going to stop) eating, we took a long walk to an outdoor market. We shopping around a little aaand tried some local foods.

It was then time for our tour at the Heineken Factory. Fun fact: only 1 out of the 4 of us likes Heineken and we were aware of this fact prior to booking our tour and tasting. You wouldn’t know it from the pictures below—huge Heineken guys that day.

After having some ribs for dinner at Cafe De Klos—J and I loved them so much we had to share the love—we made our way to the Red Light District (is it even a trip to Amsterdam if you don’t go?). The next pictures are not PG, they are also not normal to take with your parents (or your girlfriend’s parents for that matter), but again here we are.

Day 3: Our next day started much more normal than the night before. We had a quick breakfast (omelets were ordered in hopes they would be as good as the day before; they were not) and then we went to the Van Gough Museum. Shout out to Amy for getting tickets in advance as they were all sold out for the day. Hot commodity.

We made a stop at the Portuguese Synagogue, which was founded in 1616.

Up next was the National Holocaust Names Monument which, unfortunately, is much bigger than I expected. There are SO many names on the walls. The craziest thing was how young some of these kids were. There are many walls that take up a city block and considering each name is on a tiny brick it really puts into prospective how many lives were lost.

Our next stop was Our Lord in the Attic Museum, which was a formerly hidden Catholic Church…in an attic. During the time the church was built, Catholicism was not allowed so they made a church on the top three floors of a home in the middle of the city. We toured the home and climbed our way up to the church.

For once, it had been a while since we had eaten. There is a fast food place called Febo that is best described as a large vending machine.

We walked through the smallest street in Amsterdam. We are very lucky we fit after all of our eating!

Another TikTok find was van Wonderen Stoopwafels for our afternoon snack.

Funny story: originally, my parents thought they were leaving on the 12th. Thinking it was the last night, Amy booked a rice table dinner for us. Two good things happened: it was delicious and it wasn’t their last night. Turns out, right before they left they were actually scheduled to leave on the 13th. All I heard was BONUS DAY!

Day 4: Bonus day! We had already done our “must sees,” so we woke up a little later and my parents and I took a walk through Vondel Park as J got ready.

We tried (and purchased) more cheese, found the Ann Frank Statue that we had missed, walked around the Jordaan area for a bit, and found the biggest parking garage…FOR BIKES!

We met up with J and took the train to Haarlem, which is a town that a local recommended to us and was a quick 15 minute train ride. We walked around, had coffee and a snack, and, of course, eventually had dinner at Fish Bar Monk.

We took the train back and found a bar my dad went to 30+ years ago!

Some extra pictures from our time together:

And finally…OUTTAKES!

And that is the end of our adventure-filled time with my parents. Thanks for feeding us and taking care of us when you were here. I love you guys! We’re ready for you to come back now.