CENTRAL EUROPE BLOG April 28th, 2026 - AMSTERDAM

 

4/28/26– It’s very early at 3am. We gather our things and walk a few minutes down the road to the bus that’ll take us to St Pancras Station. Surprisingly the weather doesn’t seem to bad considering it’s in the 40’s.

We have to switch buses during the journey, but we soon arrive at the station about 90 minutes early, mainly to have time to check out the Harry Potter 9 ¾ wall. Upon arriving we find they still have the sign up but no longer have the cart embedded into the wall like the last time I was here. A bit disappointed and curious, but we continue to the Eurostar platforms to check-in. 

Security is much like an airport as our bags are scanned and we go through passport control. We find seats in the lobby and wait another thirty minutes before we’re able to board. Amsterdam here we come.

        

The four hour ride is helped by the two hours of sleep I’m able to get at the beginning, but unfortunately there isn’t much of a view of the country side. Once our train arrives, we dart out, set our GPS for Hotel Library Amsterdam and walk the fifteen minutes through the chilly 50 degree weather. The wind is exceptional strong as it swirls every which way, so much so I have to put on my gloves mid-journey. At least it’s blue skies.

Our room is thankfully ready with free cappuccino coffee to boot, but the elevator is quite strange as we have to hold down the floor button the entire ride, otherwise it stops. Might as well be run by a handheld pulley system? Once we settle, we stay for another hour or so before putting back on our warm clothes to begin our tour of the city.

The day is beginning to warm up as we walk about ten minutes to get some burgers and then another five minutes to the Royal Palace, which was originally built around 1655 as a town hall before being converted over by Louis Bonaparte (Napoleon’s younger brother) in 1808. All of the states rooms come off the central hall of the palace, making each unique with its own private entrance.

Upon exiting, we venture down the way toward the canals (with one of the more famous ones being around Herengracht) and take in the views of the boats traveling down as bikes line the guardrails. This is what brings many to Amsterdam and the serenity doesn’t disappoint. I don't quite understand why there is so much trash everywhere. Was there a huge party last night sponsored by Heineken?

We are now twenty-five minutes from our hotel and our legs are tired once more. Along the way we enter a grocery store and stock up cheaply on a few items and hole up in our room for a spell.

Around 6pm, we go back out for dinner (at De Haven van Texel). They don’t have any room inside so we have to brave the cigarette smoke, moving tables one time to try and stay clear from, and order the Stampot. Now I know what you’re thinking (Amsterdam… stampot… hmmm), but strangely enough it has nothing to do with weed. It’s a traditional Danish dish made from a combination of potatoes mashed with vegetables and garnished with a large meatball. Not bad tasting and I finish the meal with a glass of port wine while overlooking the canal.