Where to Snack, Sleep and Smoke in Amsterdam.

One of the great things about life is second chances. A second chance to get a better grade in school, a second chance at love, a second chance with your career, a second chance to say “I Love You,” and for us, as travelers, a second chance to see a city again.

Beth and I got a second chance with Amsterdam last month. She was a mistress who just didn’t move us the first time around. But when we joined the Must Love Festivals project, we had a chance to revisit the city for the PITCH Festival, a progressive electric musical event, and we went for it with an open mind.

Sleep

We arrived in Amsterdam on a red eye out of Boston. By the time we collected our baggage and got our things together the local time was approximately 6:35 a.m. It was early in Amsterdam and late in Boston–just after midnight–and we we’re caught between one late night and a very early morning.

  
After discovering that the city’s multi-day transit passes don’t cover train fares, only buses, trams and the metro, we bought two train tickets (€4 each) for the 15 minute ride to our hotel, where we had a room at the Meininger Hotel West (Orlyplein 1 – 67, 1043 Amsterdam; private room rates from €48 to €175 but they have lower priced dorm rooms as well).

One stop before Amsterdam Central, and just around the corner from the Sloterdijk train station, the hotel was something I had not seen before. It is a hybrid of sorts—one part hostel and one part hotel—playing on the strengths of both by combining the hallmarks of a hostel—a kitchen and lounge space with a bar and games, like foosball and billiards—with the branded style and well-equipped private rooms of a reputable hotel-chain (think: a hipper Holiday Inn with options for dorm rooms). It’s a great concept and one that I didn’t know existed until this trip. It is also a concept that I see becoming more popular, as travelers who grew up in the hostel system yearn for something slightly more mature and private that’s still budget friendly with more amenities than a hotel.

Inside our room, we had all the comforts of a hotel room—a comfy bed, modern bathroom, flatscreen TV, good WiFi and a couch. The hotel did a wonderful job of maximizing the space in the long rectangular room. Outside the window, trains passed often, which could have been a curse, but the room was pretty much soundproof, so much so that you wouldn’t know a train was passing unless you actually visually saw it going by.

Located among other modern high rises, Meininger is a five minute train ride (€2 each way) to Amsterdam Central, the central nerve of the city, from which you’ll have free reign to explore the historic center by foot or bike. Alternatively, from Sloterdijk, you can also catch a tram (12 to the 13 or 14 line will get you into the city center and take about 20 minutes ), through the city’s outer neighborhoods, which are reminiscent of the Sunset and Richmond Neighborhoods in San Francisco or, even, parts of Brooklyn in New York City. A bus as well as an underground metro also run from Sloterdijk; though, we never took the bus into the city center as the tram seemed easier, nor did we use the metro, since we didn’t find out about it until our last day.

And for those who prefer to explore Amsterdam like a local, you can rent a cruiser bicycle from the hotel and easily pedal your way to the Keizersgracht. In fact, I biked to the PITCH Festival the second night, and it was a wonderful ride through a wooded bike/walking path to the Cultuurpark Westergasfabriek. Honestly, if you’re in town for any events at the Cultuurpark and you’re staying at Meininger, then I recommend biking. It’s an easy ride that takes about 20 minutes, and it frees you from having to deal with city’s night bus system following the show.

On our way home after the first night at the festival, I managed to piss off a night bus driver for simply trying to clarify something with him. After I asked him twice, he scolded me for not listening to him and then sped off as we shuffled to the middle of the bus, trying to keep our balance. He then proceeded to brake erratically and, while I can’t prove it, I think he was trying to make me fall, as we were only people standing. Eventually,  another passenger came to our aid and told us where to get off to catch our connection, which then blew by us as we were waiting at the stop. Frustrated, we hailed a cab and paid roughly 11 euros to get back to the hotel. So, the moral of the story is to avoid the night buses, unless you know their schedule well, and act like a local Amsterdamian and just bike!

Snack and Smoke (Smoke and Snack)

While we were in town to cover the PITCH Festival (July 4-5), we had a few days prior to the event to revisit the city with fresh eyes. On our first evening in the city, we went to the historic center around 6:30 p.m., after catching up on so much needed sleep from our red eye flight earlier in the day. It was a gorgeous evening, the sun bathed the city with its sweet summer rays light, we set off to find Siberie Coffee Shop (Brouwersgracht 11, Sun-Thur 11 am-11:30 pm and Fri-Sat 11 am-midnight, www.coffeeshopsiberie.nl), which came highly recommend from our buddy Rick mother lovin’ Steves. (He has no idea we even exist, but I’ve really come to enjoy his guide books and advice over the last couple of years.)

So why did I choose Siberie out of the handful Mr. Steves recommended? Well, it was simply his closest recommendation to Central Station. Rick nailed it though! Siberie, in my opinion, sets the standard for what a coffeeshop should be. The staff is awesome, they had great music playing and an even better selection of marijuana on hand, and the shop is well lit and comfortable.

After chilling for a bit, we hit the streets in search of Maoz, a vegetarian fast-food joint in Europe that specializes in falafel kebabs. As we wondered the streets with our useless tourist map, we remembered just how confusing Amsterdam can be. Like Venice, Italy, the city is all too easy to get lost in, which is not necessarily a bad thing. During our crusade to Maoz, stumbled across The Original California Burrito Company Oude Leliestraat 5, Mon-Thur & Sun 11:30am-9pm, Fri 11:30am-10pm, Sat 11:30am-11pm,californiaburrito.nl), a bold statement that cried out for some firsthand sampling. It turns out they don’t actually have a California Burrito on the menu (for those who don’t know, a California Burrito is a San Diego classic, consisting of carne asada, fries, cheese, cilantro; it’s delicious!) and the restaurant itself was more like Chipotle, but it was good, good enough that I’d eat there again the next time I’m in Amsterdam.

Following the burrito-shop rendezvous, we carried on and finally found the Maoz. There’s a few of them in the city, but this one in particular holds a special place for us since it was our first Maoz flaffel. Sadly, it kinda sucked. Not sure if it was the dude behind the counter who had been M.I.A for about five minutes before showing back up to work, or if the company changed something, but it was sublimely poor and a pretty big disappointment overall. Which was sad because we loved Maoz so much on our last trip we talked about it for days before our trip.

Luckily, we were able to wash the mediocrity of Maoz out of our mouths the next day at Singel 404 (Singel 404, +31 20 428 0154, Open daily 10.30am-6pm). We each ordered a broodje (sandwiches, made with your choice of bread). Mine had goat cheese with honey, pine nuts and thyme on farmers brown bread (€6.75), and Beth’s contained cheese with honey mustard sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, avocado, walnuts and garden cress (€6.75).

On our last night in Amsterdam before the PITCH Festival started, we both had a hankering for Thai and decided to splurge on a meal at the acclaimed Bird Thai (72 – 74 Zeedijk, 1012 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Red Light District). We caught wind of this place from a post on Four Jandals Travel Blog about eating in Amsterdam. When we arrived the line was out the door (it turned out there was just a large party in front of us, but tables can be hard to come by here), and I’m so glad we waited. The restaurant smacks you in the face with the delicious Thai flavors as soon as you enter. The menu is pretty extensive and they have a number of tasty vegetarian options; all the plates are served with a huge bowl of rice. Our bill came to about €35 and that included an appetizer, a vegetarian tofu plate, a curry and a bottle of sparkling water, and we both had leftovers. If you’re on a tight budget, then you could easily get away with just sharing one plate and the accompanying rice bowl plus an appetizer.

How about breakfast, any recommendations? Good question. I wish I had some but I don’t (if you do, feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments). We ate breakfast (€7.90) each morning at the hotel, which is an all-you-can eat selection of fruits, yogurt, granola, breads, deli meats, cheeses, juices and teas. It now stands as one of our favorite hotel/hostel breakfasts we’ve encountered on our journeys.

Know Before You Go: Fun Facts and Information

For more stories about Amsterdam, check out:

It Was Me Amsterdam, Not You (+3 Awesome Spots to Check Out)

Looking for Unique Lodging in Amsterdam? Check Out a Houseboat

Amsterdam After Dark (Photo Essay)

Modern Magdalene #1–Red Light District, Amsterdam–Somewhere in Time Photo

Behind Glass Doors–A Stroll Through the Red Light District

Amsterdam, I Can’t Find You–On the Road Journal Entries

Want to discover more unique festivals? Follow our friends and fellow travelers as they journey through Europe this summer with Must Love Festivals and through the #MustLoveFestivals on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

Disclosure: Our stay at Meininger Hotels was complimentary as they are a Must Love Festival Partner. As always, though, our thoughts and opinions are entirely our own.