Hello Lovely readers and welcome back to a new (the new normal) travel blog on misswidjaja.com. This year during the COVID- 19 pandemic, I haven’t been able to travel at all. Unfortunately, my holidays to Costa Rica and Paris has been cancelled because of the pandemic. Luckily I am fortunate enough to at least see my family back in the Netherlands during these two weeks.

Super excited to have spent some time with my family after six months, all with social distances measurements of course. I am so proud to be part of my awesome family, who knows how to enjoy a good party. Not sharing all personal events we did during those two weeks on my blog, but they are available on my Instagram if you are curious.

Where to begin, we were lucky enough to take a few days off to see beautiful Amsterdam with my mom and aunt. Before we went to Amsterdam, there was an announcement from the government that the city centre of Amsterdam would be more restricted because of some increasing cases of COVID infections.

We decide to still go and it was definitely the right decision to make. The city centre was pretty much empty. I never saw the Dam Square and Kalverstraat so empty. Just like London, those days were almost without any foreign tourists. I would say, enjoy it while it lasts. Of course, everywhere you go within the city centre, you will need to wear your mask in certain streets and all the shops. We made sure not to go to busy places, which was an easy job to do because the city centre was basically empty.

Some recommendation to go to, in Amsterdam and where I have been going is the Anne Frank House. It was my second time here, but still, impressive to be in that house and to hear her story again. Her story marks a historical period of the Netherlands during the second world war. Like her many Jews were affected by the war. Always good to see that there are people who are willing to help others, even if it endangers their own lives.

Another thing we went to is the NEMO science museum. Might be more fun for kids, but definitely a joy to scroll around and learn hands-on how some experiments actually work. The rooftop terrace with beautiful weather is definitely worth strolling through three or four floors of experiments and kids hanging around, up to the rooftop. For those who only want to drink something at the rooftop, there is a separate entrance to reach it.

Another place I went to is café Loetje, a typical Dutch cafe, which is near the Central Station on the canal side. When the weather is right, we Dutchies, love to be out and about to drink and eat some bitterballen on a café terrace. I have to admit, I love Dutch snacks and I really miss them in London. I would say, try them all when you are in the Netherlands, you will be able to find them almost on every corner.

The hotel we stayed in is Fine Harmony Amsterdam. It is a ten-minute walk from Central Station and next to the majestic Grand Hotel Amratt Amsterdam. It is Eco-friendly hotel with friendly and professional staff members, especially one in particular, Mr Romario. He fixed our television in our room, the aircon and he even left some delicious chocolates for us. Super sweet and very helpful those days.

To give you an impression of Amsterdam, I took these pictures below. I have a special interest in architecture and street art if you haven’t noticed yet on my blogs. This is what I was aiming for in Amsterdam while strolling around the city centre. Just enjoying the beauty of the city.

This city has so much character, so hopefully, this will show in my pictures as well. Pictures are all taken with my mobile phone HONOR 10 without editing. It is just a part of a huge photo collection I took, which downside is that is hard to select a few for you guys.

Hope you can see the art and beauty of Amsterdam through my pictures in the architecture, street art and our stroll through the city centre. Enjoy!