Vegan traveling to Amsterdam.

And our next country was the Netherlands/Holland and the city of Amsterdam. It was absolutely breathtaking. We arrived around late afternoon via Thalys train and fell in love quickly thereafter…

A few immediate observations. This is a biking city. Okay what exactly does that mean? Well they have 620k residents and 600k bikes. They are more prevalent than cars by far. If you don’t pay attention to the cycling lanes you will get killed. NO lie. It was terrifying at times because let’s face it… you’re used to walking around sidewalks. You can easily cross over one of the cycling lanes without notice and bam.

Other things that Amsterdam is known for… beer. Heineken is made here. Cannabis is legal and you smell it everywhere! Canals are everywhere as well and absolutely gorgeous. World class museums. You can walk everywhere! Endless restaurants. I was pretty happy.

People were so hospitable. We stayed at a hotel here because we were only here for two evenings. The city was very clean and quite safe. I even went for a run on my own when my husband took the girls to Anne Frank’s Haus.

So let me show you several pictures and then get into my recommendation of what to do in this awesome city.

Yes, the little wooden Dutch shoes are a must.

Farmer’s market filled with tons of goodies.

Museums galore. Van Gogh was my favorite.

Cafes and food galore. Veganism was easier here and there seemed to be plenty of gluten free options. They also had Soya (soy milk) which was great.

Gluten free bagel with hummus that was perfect along with a fresh cup of tea.

This was dinner one evening. We also enjoyed some tapas restaurants that were really helpful in selecting vegan options.

And for my beer drinkers…

I ran one day with my husband and one day solo. The first day we ran through pretty much all of Amsterdam (even the red light district). It was perfect for scoping out hot spots where to go. The solo running day I kept it pretty safe running nearby at a park.

It was really neat to see gentlemen in suits with briefcases riding bikes to work. Lots of runners here (which we hadn’t really seen in Paris and more than London).

Also, I do recommend a boat tour through the canals. It’s great because they share details of the city, it’s charm and of course, seeing it from that angle is always a bit unique. We took a blue boat cruise which was about 40 minutes.

They have a tram that runs through the city and easily gets you to and from. You can easily purchase tickets right on the tram or buy a one or two day ticket. My husband took it to take my girls to Anne Frank’s haus. We also took it to and from the train station. We logged major miles while we were there walking. I highly recommend it and look forward to going back very soon.