Damn. Damndamn.

July 2nd – 6th, 2019 – Amsterdam, Netherlands

The dutch, double dutch, pass the dutchie. Netherlands, Holland, Holland, Netherlands, what’s the difference? Not much, other than this city of Amsterdam, is one of the greatest. It has been 25 years since my last visit to this picturesque place and once again it didn’t disappoint. As a 20 year old in this city, there are so many vices to be tempted with – an underground drug culture, the famous red light district, a plethora of late night and midday drinking establishments. This time around was a little different for me as I had some extra baggage, the Mrs. and the wallet suckers. The best part about this city is that you don’t need any of the above to enjoy it. Maybe it’s just in my world, but when Amsterdam is mentioned, so is the above. We had the most amazing adventures, some outstanding food, and some real eye opening moments. It started off on a 3 hour bike tour – no joke and the weather did not start getting rough. Followed up with 3 days of Anne Frank Huis, Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Heineken Brewery tour, Vondel Park are some highlights, walking, talking, eating and laughing and of course local mattress shoppes, like the one in the above picture which was right across from the apartment! “Make sure you look everywhere when you cross the street dad” said the little ones. When crossing a street in Amsterdam, you have to be alert for the following, in no particular order, the bikes, the trams, the cars and tall blonde people. Everywhere we went, we had that in our heads and we luckily we made it out alive. Oh yeah, there were some dirty mattresses in a few places just lying out on the curb. Time for a new one, and time for another review…….

SET UP

Courtesy of Len on Airbnb, we had a great apartment close to city central and a 5 minute walk from the park. It was spacious and bright and all that we required. The Mrs. and I squeezed into a queenish bed – 2 matts side by each with a topper to keep us as a couple – that took up the whole room and the kids were on a pull out style couch that had plenty of room for them.

MATTRESS

Oh Ikea. They seem to be everywhere in Europe and really just everywhere. For the most part they do a good job. Solid foam core with no bells and whistles, nice soft cotton fabric cover and not overly firm which is what I always expect.

Some good comformability to my body without sinking in hope. The topper was also an Ikea that really acted as glue for the 2 mattresses. It was only 2″ thick and conformed to the mattress underneath it. An important point to mention here is that all toppers will eventually mold to what’s underneath it, so if you are looking to soften up a current one, it’s really a band aid solution and I recommend not wasting money on it, unless it’s a temporary solution. A mattress is best for your current state of being. Don’t shop for something down the road, get what’s comfortable now.

SLEEP

Really well. But how could you not while on vacation in Amsterdam with your family. 8 hours a night. There was a watering hole right outside of our apartment that went to about midnight. It didn’t hamper our sleep, rather soothing actually because it reinforced that you are on vacation in Amsterdam with your family and nothing else matters. Sleep is best stress less.

LINENS AND MORE

Poly cotton blend with nothing to write about, so I will stop.

OVERALL

This was a great overall experience from start to finish. While the mattress didn’t wow me, the apartment was lovely and the travel was superb, so even though the mattress wasn’t fit for King Willem-Alexander, it was suitable for this king of beds. ⚔ 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

GREAT RELATED LINKS

https://www.quora.com/Why-is-the-Netherlands-also-called-Holland-while-its-people-are-called-Dutch

https://www.annefrank.org/en/

https://tonyschocolonely.com/us/en/join-in/tonys-store – Everyone loves chocolate – you gotta check this place out…… Recommend the caramel