Returning to Amsterdam had been on my mom’s mind for a while. She didn’t get to enjoy the city when we visited in December 2017, because she injured her knee a few days before that trip. We flew out to Amsterdam only for her to remain in the hotel for the better part of the trip. At least she was on very good terms with the hotel staff (always a plus).
I, on the other hand, went out and enjoyed myself to the fullest. Don’t worry, I checked in on her often (often enough). I walked around, ate and drank alone and with some locals, and even explored a different city (Bruges, Belgium). I checked Amsterdam off my list and never looked back until…
Until my mom mentioned that it was her biggest regret, and that she would love to visit again now that I’m a flight attendant.
There was no way I was going to go to Europe during the peak summer season. Everything is expensive as hell, and every place is super crowded. Plus, my August schedule was packed solid (I only had five days off the entire month!). Considering everything, I told her that I would play the trading game in September to get 5-7 consecutive days off so we could plan a trip.
The extended time off came earlier than I expected. I was shocked when my trip on the 12th disappeared, and then my trip on the 16th was picked up four days in advance. Having those two trips taken off my board left me with eight days off and nothing to do.
What was I saying about not going to Europe during the peak summer season? It’s the flight attendant in me that made me decide to book a trip to Amsterdam at 8:30 a.m. with a departure time of 4:55 p.m. on Monday, August 14.
I rushed home from the deli where I was going to enjoy my bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich while I people-watched, and floated the idea to my mom. To be honest, I thought she was going to violently shake her head in opposition because it was extremely last minute. Instead, she asked me to take down her suitcase and to book the flight and hotel.
My mom was getting her wish to visit and finally enjoy Amsterdam.
DAY 1
I brought down my mom’s suitcase from the top of the closet, and then I began to search for flight and hotel options. The flight loads (the amount of available seats) on the 4:55 p.m. flight were looking good. There were a handful of available seats in first class and premium economy, and there were more than enough of seats available in the main cabin. The same went for our return flight.
“Flights booked!”
“¿Que paso? ¿Ya tienes el vuelo?” My mom rushed from the room to the living room to see why I was clapping. “Yes, we’re all set with our flights.”
That was easy.
She returned to the room to pack, hand on her chest. So dramatic!
Now came the hard part, because hotels aren’t easy to find when you have time on your side let alone when you don’t have it. I decided to bypass the stress and look up the hotel in which we stayed in 2017. I was checking out the room prices on the hotel’s website when a lightbulb lit up above my head.
In that auspicious moment, I remembered that I had 104,094 miles on my Gold American Express card. I acquired these miles by fulfilling the terms of agreement and spending $3,000 in the first three months (I’ll talk about prices later).
I logged into my American Express account, clicked on Redeem Awards, and searched for the hotel I wanted. Lo and behold, there it was and my miles would cover everything but $70.82 (taxes). Hallelujah!
“Hotel booked!”
“¿Que paso? ¿Ya tenemos el hotel?” My mom rushed from the room to the living room one more time and took a seat next to me. “¿Déjeme ver el hotel?”
Satisfied, she returned to the room to pack.
As a flight attendant, I have the benefit of flying for free (domestic) or only paying the taxes for an international destination. I’m all about transparency when it comes to money, so here’s how much I spent on a last minute trip to Amsterdam.
The flight cost $159 ($79.50/person) for two people. The hotel was supposed to cost me $70.82, but the price went up because we requested an upgrade (an extra $30/night) and an early check-in. The final hotel bill was $176.69 for a 4-star hotel with a canal view room.
Earlier this year, I decided to play the points/miles game with credit cards. I applied for a Gold American Express that was offering 90,000 miles if you spent $3,000 in the first 3-6 months (I can’t recall exactly the amount of time I had to spend the money). I did the same with my jetBlue card and booked a trip to London in March, which you can read about here.
I booked a nonrefundable hotel, which is a bit of a risk since we’re not flying on confirmed seats. A lot of flight attendants will book the hotel once they’re on the plane. I don’t think I’m there yet. Maybe I’ll get there when I get pulled off a plane to accommodate a misconnecting passenger. Until then, I’ll risk it.
Time seemed to be moving at a glacial pace, which I appreciated because I had some errands to run. I also needed to reconsider what I packed since my suitcase wouldn’t close.
My mom and I went about our business, and met up for a small bite for lunch before heading out to the airport.
The TSA lane was long but moved quickly, enabling us to pass through security within 20 minutes.
We gingerly walked to our gate, and we presented ourselves to the gate agent just as she paged for my mom. We had our passports verified, and I was reminded by the gate agent that I only had a limited number of confirmed passes to use and that I should be careful. Umm…sure. As if I have the time and money to keep traveling this year!
Or do I?
We patiently waited as the boarding process began. When the gate agent called for Main Cabin to board, I got up and walked over to the boarding area so she could see me. I somewhat feared she’d forget about us (almost happened to me going to Barcelona in 2019). She caught a glimpse of me and cocked her back, “Oh, right. Let me clear you, sweetie.”
Shit! She did forget about us.
Oh, shit! First Class seats!
And just like that, my mom and I were on our way to Amsterdam.
DAY 2
Six hours and thirty minutes later, we landed in Amsterdam. It took us less than twenty minutes to go through customs, and I think that’s because we landed between 6:00-6:30 a.m. I’ve worked two AMS (I only speak in airport codes now) flights since our girl’s trip, and the wait time for passengers to get through customs has been anywhere between 45 minutes to 1 hour (maybe longer). Yuck!
The handsome customs officer (these European customs officers are handsome AF) asked me a few questions, stamped our passports, and let us through. We made our way to the train station.
It’s incredibly easy to get to central Amsterdam from the airport. The Sprinter train runs every 15 minutes and is inexpensive. For two people in 2nd Class, the total price was $11.08. I don’t know why there’s a 1st Class and a 2nd Class on this train when it’s less than a twenty-minute ride and all the seats look the same.
We arrived at the Park Plaza Victoria Hotel. I checked us in, and I was told that I had a balance due of $798.
Say what?!
I informed the front desk clerk that I paid using my American Express miles, and she was very surprised because she had never heard of such a thing.
“We’ll investigate, but we must place an authorization hold on your credit card for the outstanding balance” she said.
“Sure,” I said. There was nothing else I could do but accept. She gave me our keys and showed us to the elevator.
As soon as I walked into our room, I called American Express to find out what happened. After ten minutes, she informed me that the transaction was pending because it was done less than 24 hours prior. She assured me the miles would cover the room charge, and I would only owe the taxes. I thanked her for her assistance and took a nap.
The first order of business once we were out on the street was to find the Tours and Tickets office. We wanted to purchase a 24-hour ticket for the Hop On/Hop Off Bus & Boat and a full-day tour of Bruges, Belgium.
We successfully purchased the first but couldn’t purchase the second, because the Bruges tour was sold out. We settled for a full-day tour of Rotterdam, Delft & Den Haag on Thursday, August 17.
The Hop On/Hop Off bus in any city is your best friend. There’s so much to do and see in any city that it’s best to get a broad overview than miss out.
Side note: I can already hear the anti-tourist tourist slam this option as tourist nonsense, an attitude stemming from a false sense of wanting to feel like a local in a foreign country. I’m so fucking tired of hearing people say they want to “feel” like a local or they want “to do” local things. “I want an authentic experience,” I often hear. This from the very people who refuse to walk into immigrant neighborhoods in their own cities and towns because of the otherness of the very people and cultures they want to experience abroad, not to mention the fact that these people don’t know a fucking thing about the country they’re going to visit. When you travel to another country, you’re a fucking tourist! Period.
With tickets in hand, we walked to Prins Hendrikkade street to board the bus. Four stops in, we got off the bus and walked around. The day started out sunny and warm but was quickly turning gray, with light rain drops occasionally hitting our heads.
I was in a cute summer dress and sandals. The weather app did not forecast clouds or rain that day.
“¿Tienes hambre?” I asked my mom. “¿Tu?” We could use some cover until the weather improved, I thought.
This simple question can result in a yes/no/maybe/not here/what else is there exchange that can last 15-20 minutes, and I wasn’t in the mood for it as the wind picked up and the rain drops grew in frequency.
“Yes, I’m hungry. How about this place?” She shrugged and agreed with a simple “Ok.”
She ordered chicken soup, and I ordered Bitterballen and an espresso at Café ‘t Hooischip.
“La sopa estaba deliciosa” my mom exclaimed. I wasn’t too happy with the Bitterballen. It wasn’t because they were awful, but because I burned my lip on the volcanic heat of the beef filling. Fucking hell that was hot (you’ve been warned).
We walked to the nearest tram station after we finished, stopping at a local coffee shop on the way for something sweet.
We returned to Prins Hendrikkade street to get back on the bus and complete the bus tour. The unrelenting sun made the tour feel like it was taking an eternity to finish. My mom couldn’t wait to get off and grab a beer. She doesn’t drink!
It was a gorgeous afternoon, the clouds having disappeared entirely.
We walked to Café Kobalt on Singel street once we got off the bus. The café had abundant outdoor seating by the canal. Liefmans beer in hand, we toasted to a successful day and a successful return to Amsterdam. We ordered Beef Croquettes and killed time before catching the last boat tour of the day.
Boat tours can be a very relaxing affair if everyone is sitting in their seats and silent. We had the misfortune of having a Spanish couple sit next to us. Not only did they not shut up, but the woman kept coughing up a storm, never once covering her mouth, and her husband had a horrible hacking cough. Add to this misery a flattened ass from an entire day’s worth of sitting, and you have a very unhappy woman willing to commit a serious crime. Many a time I imagined pushing them overboard, smiling as the boat sped away.
I convinced my mom to disembark at stop #7 – Rijksmuseum and walk back to the hotel because I had suffered enough.
I changed into jeans and a long-sleeve shirt because the weather had cooled. It was time for a nighttime snack, and what better nighttime snack to indulge in than Vlaamse frites.
Amsterdam is associated with many things: pot, prostitutes, partygoers, tourists, liquorice. I never imagined french fries being a thing, but it is. And one of the most popular places for french fries in Amsterdam is Manneken Pis Damrak.
There were two lines, and those two lines were very long (not exaggerating this time). I wasn’t in the mood to wait, so I googled another place to get my fix. A short, seven-minute walk brought us to Frites Huys on Paleisstraat.
It was great. No line, same french fries, but with a smaller selection of sauces (I chose Truffle Mayo), outdoor seating, and zero tourists. It was a fantastic way to end our first day.
To be continued…
Wow!!! A last minute trip to Amsterdam. I need to rack up my miles lol …. Sounds like a good trip with mom!
I loved even more than you will get done right here. The overall look is nice, and the writing is stylish, but there’s something off about the way you write that makes me think that you should be careful what you say next. I will definitely be back again and again if you protect this hike.