Beyond the Bikes: 6 Things That Will Surprise You in Amsterdam

The last time I was in Amsterdam was 20 years ago so coming back this time around was kind of like I’d never been at all. A lot of things change for a city over 20 years, not to mention how different I am from that 25 year old girl with a backpack and a terrible sense of direction.

This time I was tagging along on Brian’s work trip so spent a fair amount of days meandering the city with no particular agenda. Here are a few things I encountered that you won’t read about in a tourist guide.

1: Mint and Ginger Tea, Oh My!

When I visited 20 years ago my drink of choice was something gross and sweet like a strawberry daiquiri. Now that I’m 45 I enjoy an afternoon glass of wine or a nice, hot cup of tea. Luckily for me mint and ginger tea are on every café menu in Amsterdam. I was surprised to find that their version of these teas are really just infusions of large cuttings of a mint plant and thick slices of ginger, steeped in hot water.

Simple, yet brilliant. I can’t believe I never thought of this, but it’s definitely a “recipe” I’m going to duplicate back at home in Austin.

2: Tiny Cars and Skinny Houses

Itty Bitty Cars

If you’ve read anything about the city before visiting, you know to expect to see a million bicycles. But did you know that Amsterdam is also full of the smallest, silliest cars you will ever see? These little guys are a mere one or two seats – basically a glorified golf cart that is fully enclosed. The only difference is that golf carts are bigger.

Super Skinny Houses

The houses along the canal are super tall and some of them are very, very narrow. A long time ago, Amsterdam taxed homeowners on the width of their canal frontage so some enterprising Dutch built houses that were very narrow, shaped like a pie piece with the apex at the canal side. There are several that you’ll likely meander by in the course of your day, so keep your eyes peeled for these fun little gems:

At Oude Hoogstraat 22 you’ll find Het Kleinste Huis – a tea shop that sells the most delightful tea and has a very friendly and accommodating owner. 

3: Amsterdam is a Vegetarian’s Paradise

I never would have thought that this city was so vegetarian friendly. In fact, it was such a surprise that it changed my whole way of thinking about being a vegetarian. I was able to see a world in which a plant-based diet wasn’t the weird alternative after-thought: the on-request menu or the cobbled-together meal of sides and salads. Instead, it was totally normalized and in some cases, it seemed like being a carnivore was secondary to vegetarians. How refreshing! Of course, if you’re a meat eater you can still find whatever you want here. But vegetarians take heart, this is a city after your own.

If you’re looking for a hotel that makes life easy for a plant eater, check out Zoku Aparthotel. They have a really beautiful rooftop dining space with plenty of vegetarian and vegan options for all meals of the day. Their rooms have a small kitchenette too. If you want to cook meals in the room, you can find a huge selection of plant based alternatives at the grocery stores. If you get trapped in the grocery store, check out my 5th tip here to see how to escape.

4: Trash Cans of the Future…

New York City, take note. Instead of a million plastic trash bags spilling onto the sidewalk, piled in a stinking heap and turning last week’s latte into a goopy brown rorschach test, how about some normal-looking trash cans that are actually set about one million feet down into the ground? I knew something odd was afoot when I saw a resident stuffing three household bags of trash into one of these contraptions.

Then we happened to spot a trash truck on pick up day and suddenly the world made so much more sense. 

5: The Aperol Spritz Lives On

The year is 2025. People in Amsterdam are still ordering aperol spritzes like they’re going out of style. Apparently, this kind-of-boring drink (also, the emperor has no clothes on) is not going anywhere any time soon. Despite Amsterdam’s July weather being a barely warm 68 or so degrees, café patrons insist on ordering this orange concoction and pretending it’s summer. If you are a die-hard aperol spritzer, this is the city for you!

There’s also something horrible on menus called a Pornstar Martini, which according to google is a real drink, just one that I’d never encountered until arriving in Amsterdam, and whose existence on menus quite possibly increases the closer you get to the Red Light District. I didn’t try it but it is made of vanilla vodka, passion fruit liqueur, and lime juice, so you know, why would I?

6: Pot Is Illegal in Amsterdam

And the biggest surprise of all…marijuana is illegal in Amsterdam! Many folks think it’s a drug free-for-all there, and they’re actually…kind of right. Pot is illegal but decriminalized; it’s allowed to be sold in small quantities in places called “coffee shops” that are really marijuana cafés. (Real coffee houses and bakeries abound, so don’t worry if caffeine is your drug of choice, there is still plenty of that here too.)

There is also a law on the books that says weed can be sold only to locals, not tourists. That also, is not enforced. The net effect of this is really to say that buying pot in Amsterdam is easy, but not regulated, so more like buying a joint from your friend versus picking out a nuanced blend in slick packaging from a boutique in Denver.

These were a few things that surprised me while I was there. And don’t even get me started on the seagulls…! Have you encountered anything in Amsterdam that you weren’t expecting? Tell me in the comments, I’d love to hear about it!

p.s. I’m sorry about the Aperol Spritz hate.