Day 1 Amsterdam photos - March 18

Amsterdam day 1 - March 18

The day started super early cos we had to leave the flat at 430am to get to Edinburgh Airport in time for a 655 flight.  Knackered!

A sleepy K managed to drive us there successfully through bleary eyes and the airport experience was super easy and quick. We spent the extra on the short stay car park so we were as close as possible and it was the best money I've ever spent.

The flight was only about 1hr 10mims so even with the time difference we landed at 905. We got the train into town and had a wee walk about and were still able to go for breakfast at a very reasonable 1045. We went to Libertine Cafe in the 9 streets area and it was super - highly recommended! K had baked eggs with spinach and I had pain perdu (french toast). My French toast was a slab about an inch thick with caramelised apples and clotted cream and has ruined me for all other french toasts tbh!

We chilled in there for a while but then headed back out to do some culture. To make things easy for the 2 days we got the iamsterdam card, it was €74 each but that includes free transport, a canal cruise and entry to most museums - we plan to hammer it.

Our first stop was the Huis Marseille which is a photography museum. The photos were great but just wandering about the building was part of the joy. It was over about 6 floors of a giant canal side 17th century merchant's house - incredible!

Our next stop was handily only round the corner, Museum Het Grachtenhaus. This was amazing and we definitely wouldn't have visited if we hadn't bought the card. It was a really dynamic museum about how Amsterdam came to be built and the canals. The best bit was the  a room with a giant model of a house in it and you could peek in all the windows and there was video holograms of different ways the rooms have been used from the 17th century til now. You also had a headset and if you put a code in for the room it played sounds from the room. Also, all round the room there was pictures of actual canal houses and you could put your eye up to a wee circle and there was pics/paintings of rooms in the actual houses through the years. It was genuinely wonderful!

Deciding we needed a break from culture we went a wee walk about, saw the homo monument and the Westerkerk then hopped on a canal boat cruise. It was dry today, if overcast, so the cruise was lovely.

We decided it was time for a late lunch after the boat so we went to Foodhallen which is a big streetfood hall. We didn't have too much but we shared 3 spinach and cheese bitterballen which are a Dutch speciality and basically the same as Spanish croquetas. We also had a wee, light as air, pork bun each. There was millions of choice and I could have easily eaten about 15 different things but we already booked dinner so we had to call it a day after that. I would deffo recommended the foodhallen but it is pretty expensive and very busy so bear that in mind if you're visiting. Obviously the shit exchange rate doesn't help.

Finally it was time to check into the hotel. It's called the Hotel Not Hotel and it very unconventional. It is all open and the rooms are pretty weird. Ours is hidden behind a bookcase which is our dream but maybe also insensitive in Amsterdam? The room itself is pretty basic beyond the novelty but we have a couple of Chesterfield armchairs outside the room in the communal area that are essentially ours too and there are a lot of books to read. K is in her element.

The hotel is all open plan and has double height ceilings. I am currently sitting on one of the Chesterfields and there is a Scottish family eating a Thai feast at the hotel restaurant downstairs and the gran is telling the kids about Orkney - small world! The restaurant/bar is called Kevin Bacon weirdly but the food smells amazing!

It's currently 630 and we're just going to chill here til our dinner reservation at 8 cos the rain is on. We're going out for Ethiopian so hopefully it'll be good cos it's my favourite!

We're back and I'm delighted to note it was amazing! The rain went off too so the 15 min walk to get there was lovely. Our dinner destination was Addis Ababa next to the Vondelpark, there are actually quite a few Ethiopian restaurants in that area but this one had good reviews and online booking.

First impressions were great,  not fancy at all and just lots of delighted looking people. We went for the mixed vegetable platter for 2 so we could try lots of different dishes. I had a wee mango juice while we waited and then moved onto a mongozo mango beer with my food. K just stuck to diet coke.

The food came and it was massive,  like really massive. The way Ethiopian food works is that you basically have an edible plate as everything is laid out on top of delicious injera (Ethiopian flatbread) and you eat the delicious toppings using the injera as a vehicle. It is eat with your hands cuisine. It was so very good, we didn't quite finish it but we were close! The whole meal with drinks came to a very reasonable €39.

We just headed back to the hotel after dinner as we've been up since 430am. We stopped at a supermarket on the way back cos we love to see what's different. K bought some speculoos caramel chocolate eggs which she is currently enjoying back at the hotel. We're sitting in the comfy seats outside our room listening to the music from the bar,  it's been great so far (Billie-Jean has just come on).

We'll probably chill here for a bit then get a reasonably early night but it's already 1015 so who knows!