When I visited the Netherlands, I went straight to Utrecht. After two relaxing days there with my friend Morgan from Re-Source Designs, I thought it was time to see Amsterdam. I spent an awesome day visiting the main attractions. It was such a beautiful city. Even more than I expected. When I was telling my friends that I was possibly going to Amsterdam, they were surprised because of the city's -slightly- shady reputation.
I found it to be really nice and hijabi female friendly. I went to the city on my own. It was very easy to get around. Everyone spoke perfect English and about 90% of the places had wifi so I was connected the whole time. I started off with the Van Gogh Museum. I loved it! I really enjoyed the special exhibition they had of Van Gogh's work along side Edvard Munch. Sadly, photography wasn't allowed anywhere in there. It took me three hours to see everything, but I was walking slowly and listening to my audio guide. I then went to the Modern art museum, the Stedelijk. It was really enjoyable and photography of everything was allowed and that always makes me happier. I spent about an hour there. When I finished, I headed to the Rijks Museum. Photography was allowed and I spent about two hours there. I liked the fact that all three museums were right next to each other. I was there from 11 to 4. Afterwards, I walked for about 25mins to Anne Frank House and it was a very moving experience. It's worth going there. The story of Anne Frank exposes many issues that are still relevant to this day. Photography wasn't allowed there.
After my cultural day, I had to live my Dutch experience fully and get pancakes! Just 4 minutes walk away from Anne Frank House was the The Pancake Bakery with so many pancake choices, sweet and savoury.
I loved my experience in the Netherlands. The only let down was the airport security. They ripped me to piece and made me feel very uncomfortable. I would advice that you don't take too many hand luggage because they will spread everything on the counter. It was funny when they told me that this was "standard". I think it was my worst airport experience. Regardless of that, Amsterdam and Utrecht were wonderful.
Note: Book a time slot for the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank House in advance to enter quickly and avoid disappointment. The other two did not even have queue.
