Review of Amsterdam and my hostel

Helloooo!
I'm currently on the bus to Copenhagen and I want to tell you about my experience in Amsterdam.
Firstly, Amsterdam is beautiful, no doubt about it. The city is stunning from every corner, unlike Heidelberg where only the old town is beautiful (but INCREDIBLY beautiful). Even in the outskirts, it was still attractive, which is really something special for such a big city. Amsterdam also has a unique atmosphere (unique vibes) that is indescribable. Normally, when I visit cities, I always find myself in a situation or place where I feel uneasy or uncomfortable. But that wasn't the case in Amsterdam. While in Heidelberg, for example, I felt that way at the train station, but in Amsterdam, I felt safe everywhere I went, even in the small crowded streets with all the coffee shops or in the residential areas. Every person I met there (I'm only talking about the people from Amsterdam) was super friendly, helpful, and likeable. There wasn't a single person who treated me rudely when I approached them. I even talked to a street vendor who told me that he has been to many places but finds Amsterdam the most beautiful, which is why he decided to stay here longer. He explained that this is because there is hardly any conflict, violence, or other crimes here. This may also be because most people prefer to smoke weed in the evenings and are relaxed instead of drinking a lot of alcohol, which would make them more active and fearless. This is not glorifying drugs - alcohol is also a drug and that's just a neutral fact! Another reason for the low crime rate is probably that you have to pay very high fines for even "small" offenses (according to the street vendor). But another young woman who has also traveled to other cities and countries told me that she realized how much she missed her home while traveling. Especially cycling is something that no other city could offer her. That's also the next point I want to mention. How amazing is this lifestyle? Whether you're a businessman in a suit or the biggest stoner ever - everyone, really everyone is on a bike. I've never seen so many cyclists. The probability of being hit by a bike is probably felt 300 times greater than being hit by a car. But it just works. Everyone rides around wildly, but still takes so much care that nothing happens. The bike is fully integrated as a means of transportation in Amsterdam. There are dedicated traffic lights everywhere, dedicated pedestrian crossings, and bike paths everywhere. Simply incredibly beautiful. It's definitely worth exploring Amsterdam by bike, apart from the fact that you usually get to your destination faster than by bus or train, the routes lead through very beautiful parks and over the most beautiful bridges. Next topic - the bridges, they are so cute! The many bicycles and flowers on the bridge railings create a breathtaking backdrop! The houses, the small crowded streets, the cute bridges - all of this makes Amsterdam wonderfully beautiful and worth seeing!
However, Amsterdam is a huge challenge for navigation and even the locals use Google Maps to find their way around because every corner looks the same and you can't even use a bridge as a point of reference. And Amsterdam is really not cheap. I had to swallow hard several times when I saw how many (rather few) milliliters of a drink I got for such a high price. But I learned from that and then I started buying large bottles of drinks from the supermarket as often as possible. Also, there is a real lack of vegan food options in Amsterdam, which is strange considering that Amsterdam is such an alternative city.

My recommendations and tips:
(Apart from all the standard sightseeing spots)

The Oosterpark - incredibly beautiful, big park with playgrounds and water features, which is not as crowded as Vondelpark, so perfect for quiet "me time" with a good book

Vondelpark - a huge park that is probably never quiet. If you want street performers, hot dog and burger vendors, lots of young people, and still (or maybe because of that) a super nice atmosphere, this is the place to be. It's also very close to Museumplein (the area where the big museums are)

Adam Lookout - if you want to swing over Amsterdam or just want a great view of the city, I recommend taking the free ferry behind Central Station to this tower. The entrance fee is not cheap and also depends on the time of day, but in my opinion, it's worth it.

Mezrab - the coziest (and really affordable) bar with stand-up comedy and storytelling program outside -> absolute insider tip

Condomerie - a shop just for condoms; so if you're not prudish and have friends with a sense of humor, then this shop is the best souvenir shop for you. I mean, who wouldn't want to have a giraffe condom from Amsterdam? That's something original.

Advice for city tours:
NEWEUROPETOURS is a company that offers tours in many big cities. For Amsterdam, they offer a two-hour bike tour for €15-€20, a two-hour Red Light district tour for €14/€12, a so-called two-hour "Alternative Amsterdam Tour" (where you learn more about the alternative life in Amsterdam - including an informative crash course on drugs) for €14/€12, and the tour that I highly recommend - the "free" tour. It includes a three-hour walk (only do it if you can handle a lot of walking) and gives you a really good first overview of the city. You pay as much as you think is appropriate at the end of the tour as a donation. So, you determine the value for money. I recommend this tour for another reason as well. The company tries to redefine city tours and turns rather boring information about the past, etc. into cool new versions that inform you about the most important things without you having to worry about boring the others with constant yawning or even snoring.

Advice for museums:
Dear travel buddy, do yourself a favor and buy a ticket online - you can't imagine how much time you save by avoiding stupid waiting lines! Also - WARNING! If you want to visit the Anne Frank House/Museum, you absolutely must buy a ticket online in advance - preferably as soon as you know you're going to Amsterdam - otherwise, you will end up like me with no chance of getting in, unless you're willing to stand in the longest waiting line ever for over 5 hours (and even then, there's still a chance you won't get in).
Duration of the stay - in my opinion, 3 days are absolutely enough to get a good sense of Amsterdam.

And now a short review of the hostel:
The Generator Hostel Amsterdam is part of the Generator Hostel chain, which owns hostels in Barcelona, Berlin, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Dublin, London, Paris, Stockholm, Rome, and Venice. It's an absolute hipster hostel, with stylish decor, a small restaurant, a bar, and a (not very crowded - I refer to my post about my Friday in Amsterdam) club. The hostel is also equipped with free WiFi, a 24-hour open kiosk, foosball, and a good gaming console. You also have access to good drinking water at any time (enhanced with lemon/cucumber/mint/you name it) and you can lock your luggage in a locker for a whole day for €3/€5. You can also choose between different room types and the shared rooms all have their own bathroom. The price depends on the room type and the city where you want to stay. For example, the hostel in Berlin is around €30 cheaper than in Amsterdam (in Amsterdam, all hostels are generally more expensive). The staff there was impeccable, super nice, and always up for a funny conversation. However, the rooms could have been cleaner. The only thing the cleaning staff did in the 5 days in the room was emptying the trash can. And there were also dust bunnies and stains on the bed sheets if you looked closely. Although you didn't have to worry about suffocating from dirt or dying from disgust, it's still something to work on. I will probably provide this feedback to the hostel again, as I will contact them again anyway. I believe that men should also have the right to choose between a room with the same gender or a mixed room. In Amsterdam, this is only possible for women, which is absolutely unfair in my opinion. It's 2017 - why can't we just treat women and men equally? If this option exists, then please make it available for both genders. And that's not really difficult to implement. In general, I can still recommend the hostel, especially because of the people and the delicious food.

Alright, I think I've reached the end now. I just want to encourage you to look at the pictures and also read the short descriptions (if available). !!!The WiFi is not strong enough to upload the pictures, so I will have to add them another time, but I will let you know!!!

I'm going to try to sleep now and I'll talk to you again later or tomorrow with the final personal report from Sunday in Amsterdam!

Good night, sir/madam!