Amsterdam and Copenhagen: A Week of Indulgence

A week’s vacation is plenty if you plan your itinerary correctly. After all, even in a gingerbread house, you can get bored. Amsterdam and Copenhagen are not cheap cities, but that’s no reason not to go. In this article, we’ll tell you how to spend an unforgettable week in countries where anything goes =)

The itinerary is as follows: Riga — Amsterdam — Copenhagen — Riga

Travel by Air

Direct flights to Amsterdam can sometimes be expensive, so we recommend looking for flights with a layover. For example, in Riga. The layover is quick, about two hours — enough for transit, and you won’t get bored. The return trip is also via Riga — it’s really cheaper. Between Amsterdam and Copenhagen, the best option is SAS airline. On board, there’s surprisingly delicious coffee and super cheerful flight attendants. An hour and a half in the air will fly by unnoticed. If you buy tickets on Kupi.com in November even 2–3 weeks before the trip, all flights will cost 400 euros for two.

Live in Capsules

Cheap accommodation in Amsterdam is mostly found in floating hostels, where instead of a room, you get a cabin. But there’s another option: a capsule hotel in the city center. A night in such a hotel is like a night in a closet: strange, but cozy. Inside the capsule, there’s a comfortable bed and it’s warm, which is the main thing. Downsides: no common lounge where you can hang out with friends, watch TV, grab a snack, or just sit. But it does have its own bar and a cat. A day in such a hotel will cost around 45 euros for two.

Eat Street Food

Eating out in Amsterdam is a bit pricey; it’s more budget-friendly to buy food at supermarkets. At Albert Heijn, you’ll find fresh salads and smoothies, pre-cut fruits, fresh pastries — grab and eat them even on the tram. Street food stalls are almost everywhere. Be sure to try french fries with Dutch mayonnaise. But eat carefully — it’s so delicious you could bite your fingers off. And don’t let the queue scare you, because every single fry is worth the time spent. And the queen of street food is herring. To taste it, find the Frens Haringhandel stall at the intersection of Singel and Koningsplein, which is near the flower market. And if you want vegetarian soup, check out Soup En Zo.

Look Around

Amsterdam is incredibly beautiful — there are tons of canals and beautiful bridges, and the houses and trees are already decorated for the holidays! It’s cool that no one has curtains on their windows, so you can peek in and be met with the smiling face of the owner. If you see a giant bathtub, know that it’s the contemporary art museum Stedelijk Museum. Admission will cost 17.5 euros, but it’s worth it. It’s located near the Van Gogh Museum and Moco museum. And to see the city from above, climb to the roof of the NEMO museum. Another oddly shaped building is the EYE Film Institute Netherlands. Inside are films, posters, books, photographs — everything for inspiration! And if you want to see typical Holland, take a train to the suburb of Zaanse Schans. It features working windmills, green houses, and stalls with wooden clogs — everything there is just like in the pictures online.

Move On

Once you’ve peeked into all the windows, visited the suburbs, and eaten herring, you can move on to Copenhagen. This city is made for entertainment. Tivoli Gardens alone is worth it! It’s also already decorated for Christmas in November, so it looks magical.

How to Have Fun

To soak in the Scandinavian spirit, stroll along Nyhavn harbor. There you’ll find those colorful houses and boats. And for adventures, head to the autonomous district of Christiania. It has official borders, meaning “a state within a state,” and there you can do everything you didn’t get to do in Amsterdam. If you know what I mean =) After such entertainment, quiet is necessary, so the KADK library will be the best fit. Here you’ll find a lot of literature for architects and designers. The book collection is simply enormous. Want to continue your architectural self-education? Visit the famous house shaped like the number eight 8TALLET.

And if you’re lacking strangeness in life, check out the Museum of Decorative Arts. It houses an incredible collection of chairs! But, of course, you can’t sit on them.

Where to Stay and What to Eat

Renting accommodation in Copenhagen is cheaper than in Amsterdam. A regular room in an apartment with hosts will cost around 50 euros for two per night. We were lucky — our host went on an urgent business trip, so we had the place to ourselves. Eating at supermarkets and street stalls is also budget-friendly and delicious. And they also have tasty sweets. They’re like large, airy marshmallows, sold in every pastry shop.