A Photo Journey Through Amsterdam!

I’ve been in constant motion for the last few weeks, so am only now getting around now to sharing some Amsterdam pics with you! We were there a few weeks ago now.

I love the fluidity of Europe, that you can get to so many different cultures which are so close to each other. From our European base of London, it’s quite easy to get around, and I am super grateful for that.

In general, I love the energy of Amsterdam–heightened during our journey there because of a World Cup game that they were winning right as we arrived! I love how everyone bikes the city, the beauty of the canals, the flowers everywhere! Many people automatically think of the Red Light District when they think of Amsterdam, but it’s so much more. Yes that’s there, but it’s really only a tiny part of this beautiful, history-filled city.

But one thing that was not so great for me per se was the traditional food there, which contained a lot of dairy (Netherlands = major cheese lovers!) and animal products. So what did we do? Go ethnic! Above is a huge salad I got at a Mexican restaurant. I removed the orange slices, and enjoyed the greens topped with salsa for dressing, avocado and beans. We also went to Indian restaurants, and as you’ll see below, found an awesome vegetarian restaurant we loved!

The rain comes and goes in Amsterdam, so best to take your umbrella with you!

The canals are just naturally integrated all throughout the city, as are the flowers. The streets next to the canals are usually pretty quiet, with some bikers going past, but are so charming you feel like you’re in a living novel!

Hollyhocks I believe these flowers are called, and they are tall and confidently line the streets and home fronts all around!

You have to make time for smelling and touching the flowers, and for kisses!

Life in Amsterdam around one of the famous towers.

The restaurant that we found and loved is called Golden Temple. They use 98% organic products. We got salad, soup and these tostadas pictured above, but with organic corn tortillas (we only eat corn occasionally when traveling, but when we find it organic it’s a nice treat sometimes on the road!).

They also made this yummy vegan hot chocolate for me. Great place if you go to Amsterdam! We ate there a few times.

Nearby was a juice bar called Light and Dark that we tried out once. I appreciate that they used mostly organic also, though I found their smoothies really watery. They did have gluten-free bread though too if you find yourself there and wanting a gluten-free avocado sandwich.

Here is what the canals look like at night. Magnificent! I admit we did take one of those touristy kind of boats up and down one day, but I have to say that I really preferred walking, after all!

This is the Anne Frank house, where young Anne wrote her now famous, published diary on the top floor.

The flower market in Amsterdam is pretty impressive. Holland/The Netherlands supplies many of the world’s fresh cut flowers! There are rows and rows of bulbs to choose from. We picked up a couple of packets (with American inspection stickers) of tulips to plant in the backyard of Glow Bio.

We thought this was funny :).

We also loved the Van Gogh museum. Van Gogh- tortured artist personified! I was surprised to learn that this prolific genius was only actively painting for about 10 years.

Okay one more pic! In front of the Golden Temple vegetarian restaurant.

I love to meet readers and Beauty Detoxers around the world! We slipped into this tiny bar to watch the end of a World Cup game, and I was honored to meet Emily, who is part of our community and living in Amsterdam. :)

This is just kind of portrays how our days in Amsterdam went- lots of walking in between and around bikers, lots of canals!

And that’s all! I hope you enjoyed a quick trip to Amsterdam with me, interesting, beautiful and historic city of the Netherlands. I really appreciated seeing it, as it was my first trip there.

Next week I’ll be sharing photos from Greece, which will have a very different vibe, as it is super hot right now in Greece, and you’ll see sun and water and yoga.

Everywhere is unique. Everywhere has much to offer!

Enjoy your week! And if you enjoy these pics be sure to follow my Instagram feed — _KimberlySnyder is my handle — as I post inspirational and fun pictures there daily!

Lots of love,

Kimberly