Hutch
Strata Poster
Separating this one out from my general thread as I’m featuring some cultural stuff as well (meaning you’ll have to wait a few days for the creds).
After a couple Europe trips last year, both of which were group trips that I “tagged along” on, I wanted to do an international trip solo, do and see things at my own pace, and figure out all the logistics on my own. When settling on a country to visit, the Netherlands became a front runner. I wanted somewhere without a significant language barrier, somewhere with good public transportation, and of course somewhere I hadn’t visited yet for a mix of creds and culture. It also helped that there were some really good direct flight options from Boston.
I had an overnight flight out to Amsterdam on Friday the 13th (lucky me) and struggled to get some decent sleep. I basically kept my eyes shut for the duration but it was hit or miss. I was pretty concerned I’d hit a wall at some point during the day, but it turns out I had no problem. Somehow I was able to play through and stayed up late, without any sort of nap. Obviously I was exhausted towards the end of my day but I was never like “I’m gonna die” at any point, which happened when I arrived in Madrid last year.
Schiphol border patrol took about 45 min. It is what it is, but I was in no rush. I had an easy bus from the airport to Oud-Zuid. It basically dropped me off here:
My hostel was right around the corner. I was still a bit early for check-in, so I threw my backpack in a locker and started out with a wander down Vondelpark.
From there I looped myself back up towards the museum plaza.
I’ll say this, there were a bunch of museums I could’ve done on this trip, but I wasn’t terribly interested. If I was running out of things to do I could have, but I much prefer just wandering around and taking in the architecture.
The Rjiks especially was just swamped with tourists anyway. It had a bit of a queue to get in. It looked great though.
From there it was time to check back into my hostel. Might’ve accidentally woken up a Kiwi recovering from a crazy night out. I did a little turnaround and headed into the city center.
I have a **** ton of photos, so I’ll just dump them here and let you scroll. I apologize for the number of canal photos. Yes, it’s very basic, but at the same time they’re very pretty.
Because of my jet lag, I wasn’t quite hungry for a proper meal, but I did try a couple of Dutch snacks in the afternoon. I tried some herring, which honestly I wasn’t a fan of. You’ll see in a bit I had some Dutch mini pancakes, and those were awesome.
From there I worked my way back to the hostel.
Ok that’s enough for one day. I spent the rest of the evening hanging around at the hostel. I did this trip with the intention of meeting other solo travelers, and I will say I managed to make some friends. It’s very much a party hostel, busy with other travelers every night at the bar. Next thing you know these Aussies keep buying me jägerbombs and half the crowd is watching rugby. A few of us even went out for more drinks at another bar. Let’s just say that I’m really glad I didn’t have any plans to visit a park the next day.
After a couple Europe trips last year, both of which were group trips that I “tagged along” on, I wanted to do an international trip solo, do and see things at my own pace, and figure out all the logistics on my own. When settling on a country to visit, the Netherlands became a front runner. I wanted somewhere without a significant language barrier, somewhere with good public transportation, and of course somewhere I hadn’t visited yet for a mix of creds and culture. It also helped that there were some really good direct flight options from Boston.
I had an overnight flight out to Amsterdam on Friday the 13th (lucky me) and struggled to get some decent sleep. I basically kept my eyes shut for the duration but it was hit or miss. I was pretty concerned I’d hit a wall at some point during the day, but it turns out I had no problem. Somehow I was able to play through and stayed up late, without any sort of nap. Obviously I was exhausted towards the end of my day but I was never like “I’m gonna die” at any point, which happened when I arrived in Madrid last year.
Schiphol border patrol took about 45 min. It is what it is, but I was in no rush. I had an easy bus from the airport to Oud-Zuid. It basically dropped me off here:
![oWbDRCZ.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/oWbDRCZ.jpg)
![vqOd2ta.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/vqOd2ta.jpg)
My hostel was right around the corner. I was still a bit early for check-in, so I threw my backpack in a locker and started out with a wander down Vondelpark.
![oJNcpMk.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/oJNcpMk.jpg)
![nP5hP52.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/nP5hP52.jpg)
![X8uHPbZ.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/X8uHPbZ.jpg)
![Li4Accg.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/Li4Accg.jpg)
![9VdolTs.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/9VdolTs.jpg)
![fECQdxv.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/fECQdxv.jpg)
![JX2vIW8.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/JX2vIW8.jpg)
From there I looped myself back up towards the museum plaza.
![K516eUT.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/K516eUT.jpg)
![Cm0uyQh.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/Cm0uyQh.jpg)
![MbbI56W.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/MbbI56W.jpg)
![XflFcP8.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/XflFcP8.jpg)
I’ll say this, there were a bunch of museums I could’ve done on this trip, but I wasn’t terribly interested. If I was running out of things to do I could have, but I much prefer just wandering around and taking in the architecture.
![WOJaVhV.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/WOJaVhV.jpg)
The Rjiks especially was just swamped with tourists anyway. It had a bit of a queue to get in. It looked great though.
![sw25RrQ.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/sw25RrQ.jpg)
![0xGAYzE.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/0xGAYzE.jpg)
![FKxQc0k.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/FKxQc0k.jpg)
![jgFXuox.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/jgFXuox.jpg)
![F4ZkJc3.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/F4ZkJc3.jpg)
From there it was time to check back into my hostel. Might’ve accidentally woken up a Kiwi recovering from a crazy night out. I did a little turnaround and headed into the city center.
![6PPaGHa.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/6PPaGHa.jpg)
I have a **** ton of photos, so I’ll just dump them here and let you scroll. I apologize for the number of canal photos. Yes, it’s very basic, but at the same time they’re very pretty.
![c0VwoS8.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/c0VwoS8.jpg)
![Pdjm9Go.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/Pdjm9Go.jpg)
![oHEWHPT.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/oHEWHPT.jpg)
![uBcvfQk.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/uBcvfQk.jpg)
![yPSZjWf.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/yPSZjWf.jpg)
![3MP8Cnf.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/3MP8Cnf.jpg)
![hfNdePi.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/hfNdePi.jpg)
![IbY1pBG.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/IbY1pBG.jpg)
![qAVBHRs.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/qAVBHRs.jpg)
![YXrhPGy.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/YXrhPGy.jpg)
![j92mOQy.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/j92mOQy.jpg)
![aXb1Wkh.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/aXb1Wkh.jpg)
![qobWMaW.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/qobWMaW.jpg)
![mPWOto4.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/mPWOto4.jpg)
![DCrnRif.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/DCrnRif.jpg)
![1vEknUC.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/1vEknUC.jpg)
![yneTpZD.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/yneTpZD.jpg)
![FKteZ28.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/FKteZ28.jpg)
![sFlob46.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/sFlob46.jpg)
![WaDZ9Gr.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/WaDZ9Gr.jpg)
![MCmW35b.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/MCmW35b.jpg)
![SHoF0lv.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/SHoF0lv.jpg)
![eLYTDDI.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/eLYTDDI.jpg)
Because of my jet lag, I wasn’t quite hungry for a proper meal, but I did try a couple of Dutch snacks in the afternoon. I tried some herring, which honestly I wasn’t a fan of. You’ll see in a bit I had some Dutch mini pancakes, and those were awesome.
![2VPLviA.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/2VPLviA.jpg)
![Q7zImwM.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/Q7zImwM.jpg)
![vu2orlF.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/vu2orlF.jpg)
![pU4B01C.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/pU4B01C.jpg)
![D3eM1eo.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/D3eM1eo.jpg)
![zZYzL7F.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/zZYzL7F.jpg)
![gROW6fk.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/gROW6fk.jpg)
![bUovsBf.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/bUovsBf.jpg)
![JL3b05S.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/JL3b05S.jpg)
From there I worked my way back to the hostel.
![Qr78mpV.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/Qr78mpV.jpg)
![LHe5why.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/LHe5why.jpg)
![ENEqv2c.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/ENEqv2c.jpg)
![VzyzPNi.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/VzyzPNi.jpg)
![N7ywJLW.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/N7ywJLW.jpg)
Ok that’s enough for one day. I spent the rest of the evening hanging around at the hostel. I did this trip with the intention of meeting other solo travelers, and I will say I managed to make some friends. It’s very much a party hostel, busy with other travelers every night at the bar. Next thing you know these Aussies keep buying me jägerbombs and half the crowd is watching rugby. A few of us even went out for more drinks at another bar. Let’s just say that I’m really glad I didn’t have any plans to visit a park the next day.
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