The full record of travelling to the Netherlands alone

Day 1: Amsterdam Arrival & Canals Touchdown at Schiphol. Sorted the OV-chipkaart at the station – dead easy. Straight onto a train to Centraal (quicker than the Piccadilly Line, frankly). Dumped my bag at the hostel near Dam Square. Right, priorities: frites from Manneken Pis (went full Dutch with mayo, obviously) and started wandering the Jordaan. Got gloriously lost down narrow lanes, over humpback bridges, past gabled houses leaning like tipsy uncles. Did a canal cruise – touristy, yes, but seeing the city from the water makes sense of it all. Evening vibes in De Pijp: street food at Albert Cuyp Market (managed a stroopwafel without wearing it), then found a cosy brown cafe. Solo pub rule: smile, make eye contact, chat ensues. Easy. Crashed early, knackered but buzzing. Day 2: Giethoorn's Fairytale Quiet Up early! Train from Centraal to Steenwijk (grabbed a coffee, admired the Dutch countryside whizzing by – flat, obviously). Quick bus hop to Giethoorn. Blimey. Felt like walking onto a film set. No roads, just emerald canals, thatched cottages, and ducks giving me the side-eye. Rented an electric whisper boat – solo mission! Got a quick lesson ("Left is right, right is left? Cheers, mate.") and puttered off. Absolute bliss. Gliding silently under wooden bridges, past gardens bursting with flowers, only the putt-putt of the motor. Found a spot, switched off, just... quiet. Heaven. Wandered the footpaths after, scoffed a massive pannenkoek (bacon and cheese, proper fuel). Back to Amsterdam by evening, feeling properly chuffed. Solo boating achievement unlocked. Pub bitterballen tasted even better. --- **Post Details:** - **Subreddit:** r/solotravel - **Author:** u/Comfortable-Link-290 - **Score:** 26 upvotes - **Upvote Ratio:** 84.0% - **Comments:** 11 - **Posted:** 7/8/2025 - **URL:** https://reddit.com/r/solotravel/comments/1lukrfd/the_full_record_of_travelling_to_the_netherlands/