When people think of The Netherlands, they immediately think of Amsterdam.

But during 5 days in the country, I discovered there’s far more to it than canals, the Anne Frank House, and the Red Light District.

In fact, I’ll just get it out there: Amsterdam was a bit of a letdown. But the country has other hidden gems!

Read on to find out more.

An Amazing City (on Paper)

When I arrived in Amsterdam, I was head-over-heels for the city.

They prioritize bikes over cars? Hell yeah.

Everything is walkable? Hell yeah.

Everyone here is taller and hotter than me? Hell. Freaking. Yeah.

The Dutchies were winning. When I started riding my rented bike around the city, I was winning too.

But my feeling of elation riding past canals with the wind whistling in my ears slowly soured as the worst parts of the city revealed themselves.

The Best Time to be in Amsterdam

is the morning. Coincidentally, that’s also when I arrived.

Each morning, all the holiday lads are still sleeping off the previous night’s festivities. The streets aren’t overrun with tourists. All is well.

But by 1 or 2 PM, things begin to change. The narrow canal streets begin to get overrun. Cars start honking at clueless tourist bikers. The lads loudly bragging about how “last night was a movie,” begin to shake off their hangovers.

Amsterdam, the cute little city with its cute little canals and bike lanes, begins to lose its charm at no fault of its own. It’s just rampant with tourism.

But sadly, there’s nowhere to turn when things get crowded. It’s a small city! You can walk from one end to another in an hour. Thus, you’re relegated to the brutal reality of a small city being world-famous.

It gets overrun.

Too Good For Its Own Good

That’s not to say I didn’t have memorable moments in Amsterdam. Giving that much power to bikers felt like a city planner had finally figured something out. Going for a run in Vondelpark made me feel like a local, a welcome escape from the crowds of visitors. A market full of street food in the De Pijp neighborhood convinced me that Dutch food is way better than its reputation suggests.

I also got to meet up with two Dutch friends, Mo and Caesar, who commuted into the city to hang out with me. Spending time with them almost salvaged Amsterdam’s reputation.

But, on my second day in the city, Caesar suggested that we take the train back to his apartment in Leiden and I was forced to acknowledge Amsterdam’s grim reality.

As great as it was, I was completely turned off by the overcrowding caused by excessive tourism.

It was mid-May. I could only imagine how bad it gets in high season.

The (Real) Netherlands

In Leiden, my Dutch experience got infinitely better.

Like Amsterdam, Leiden is a cute little city. It has canals and that famous Dutch Renaissance architecture.

But Leiden doesn’t have a tourist in sight. It’s a college town with no Red Light District (and that’s for the best).

Caesar, his friends, and I spent the afternoon on a boat, riding through the canals and enjoying the sunset. We did my favorite thing to do while traveling–a whole bunch of nothing while chilling with a local friend group.

Oh, and I also ran a marathon in Leiden. You can read about that, and how it left me equal parts conflicted and satisfied, here.

What I wasn’t conflicted about, however, was that Leiden had my heart. It was everything a Dutch town should be with none of the drawbacks of overcrowding and tourism.

The Edgy Dutch City

I didn’t want to leave Leiden but I’d already made plans to meet up with another Dutch friend, Gerben, in Rotterdam. Rotterdam is the other famous Dutch city but had none of the feel of Amsterdam or Leiden. Because it was reduced to rubble during WWII, the entire city had been rebuilt in the last 70 years and it was the closest thing to a modern American city I’ve seen in Europe. More skyscrapers and mid-rises dotted its skyline than anything else I’d seen on this side of the Atlantic besides London.

Apparently, it has a reputation for being a “dangerous” Dutch city. But it’s the Netherlands. Nothing is actually dangerous. As I walked around, I could almost feel the city’s resilience. 

Half grungy, half modern, I don’t know how else to describe it. Rotterdam was edgy in the best way possible.

I also tried Kapsalon in Rotterdam which is my new favorite drunk people food. 

Sorry Greece, Turkey, and France: it’s better than a gyro, better than a kebab, and better than a French taco, but it’s in the same family of foods. It’s a shame this hasn’t been exported because I could guarantee drunk Americans would go crazy for it at 3:00 AM. Kebab meat, lettuce, tomato, onion, fries, and sauce all thrown into a tinfoil dish with gooey cheese melted on top creating a seal. This dish is a winner.

Actually no. I was a winner. I ate this as my post-marathon PR meal and despite it being not quite 3:00 AM, victory has never tasted so good.

I Was Sold

If it hadn’t been clinched before, I was sold on the Netherlands. Great people, great quality of life, great marathons, and especially great drunk people food.

I’m still not convinced about Amsterdam–it just felt like the rest of the Netherlands was so much more authentic and ignored by tourists.

Many of my Dutch friends agreed.

So, next time you’re in the Netherlands, give another Dutch city a try for at least a day. You won’t regret it!

:)