We took a quick travel break to do some sightseeing in and around Amsterdam. We had visited Amsterdam several times before and it was always a great adventure, and this trip was no exception to that.

We booked a 5 night stay at the Hotel De L’Europe, right in the heart of the city. We stayed in the Provocateur Suite, well equipped with a round bed with a starry sky ceiling as well as a jacuzzi and sensational views over the Amstel river. Of course, the starry night ceiling is a direct homage to Vincent van Gogh, the Dutch painter.

When we arrived, our room wasn’t available at the promised time, so we had to spend some time without the benefit of fully unpacking. we ended up in the Museum of the Canals, a fun and worthwhile way to begin a trip through Amsterdam. The museum is a multi-layered experience with historical rooms and miniaturized vignettes of life across 400 years of Amsterdam’s history.

Dinner the first evening was a fantastic farm-to-table restaurant, Restaurant de Kas. This is a restaurant that has been practicing farm to table or plant to plate longer than the concept has been a trend. The venue itself is a large green-house like structure to enhance the overall experience.

The next day, we set of walking, which is the second best way to get around Amsterdam if you don’t have a bicycle. Our first stop of the day was at Ons’ Live here op Solder Museum, or the Our Lord in the Attic Museum. The wonder of this place is that there is a entire Catholic Church in the attic of the building.

Of course, one can just wander the streets and visit wonderful flower markets and produce markets, in addition to great cafes on every corner.

Another highlight, which we now done twice, is to charter a private evening excursion around the canals. we have twice cruised the canals on board the Paradis, a luxury saloon boat built in 1920. Services were sourced through Private Boat Tours, NL. We have chartered the Paradis, and also catered each time, with up to three stops at gourmet restaurants while boating to pickup either an appetizer, entree or dessert course. As night falls, the evening on the canals is truly magical.

Amsterdam is a connected city in many ways, including being the hub to many other cities in the Netherlands and beyond. Last trip we visited one of our favorite cities, Bruges. This time we took a short train trip to visit Delft, a charming town known for Delft ceramics, in addition to the usual churches, city halls, shopping areas and markets. It is certainly worth a day trip from Amsterdam.

Of course, one should always take the time to visit a windmill when in the Netherlands. Windmills served the dual purpose of helping drain the land given the below sea-level terrain, in addition to grinding grain and producing other water powered outputs. This trip we visited Molen van Sloten, which is a fully tour-able and working draining windmill. It is located on the outskirts of Amsterdam and made us use public transportation which is a pleasant local activity.