Tag: Holland
New Home ● POEM
It’s a curious thing
To travel away from home
And ending up
Feeling more at home
When arriving
☼
©Christina de Vries
ClinkNOORD – HOSTEL REVIEW
When I first decided to go to Amsterdam for VidCon Europe 2018, I initially booked a hotel. It was cute, had a library in it and looked like a great place to get some interesting video footage.
But as life and situations often do, things changed and I decided to do something a bit different. I wanted to rent a houseboat and travel with a group of friends, but when the departure date was approaching, the friends that I had hoped would join me couldn’t make the trip this time around. By then, all the houseboats were rented out for the period when I was going.
So I sat down and started browsing the web for an interesting, but also an affordable place to stay. There were some interesting apartments on Airbnb for sure, but I started to think back on my two recent trips to London and how much I enjoyed staying at St. Christopher’s Inn. And then the search for interesting hostels in Amsterdam begun. The one that popped up most frequently with high praise and rating was ClinkNOORD.
I clicked my way into their website and as soon as I started to look through the pictures, I knew that this was the perfect place for me to stay!
It’s a big hostel situated in the Noord district. It sits on the bank of the river IJ, and is just a few minutes boat ride away from the Amsterdam Centraal Station. Oh, and the ferry runs 24/7 and it’s free!
With colorful open spaces and lots of social events going on, I knew that this was my best bet for a social and unique experience while I was traveling alone.
As soon as I got there I was welcomed by a charming receptionist that gave me all the information that I needed to get situated. I got there a few hours before check-in, but they welcomed me to either store my luggage in the luggage room or to use a padlock (you can buy one from them (€6), or bring your own) and lock my things in one of the many storage lockers that they have in the reception area. I locked up my valuables and headed into the city to explore.
Later that day, I got back to the hostel and could find my bunk. I was sleeping in a 14 bed shared facility. I met my bunkmate, a wonderful 68-year-old woman from Canada, and instantly bonded with her. There were lots of stories to be shared throughout the time I was there.
Every bed has its own locker, so you can easily store your valuables while you’re out and about. There’s also a reading light, power outlet and 2 USB charger ports over each bed so you can charge your gadgets. The beds were comfortable. The showers and restrooms were right outside of the room, and it was clean and inviting throughout my whole stay. You can rent towels from the hostel for €3.
They have a kitchen that you can use if you want to make your own food, or you can order food from the café or bar. They have a good range of vegan options for both breakfast/lunch and dinner. I had the falafel sandwich for lunch and it was delicious!
I think what makes ClinkNOORD so special is all of the activities. Cider pong, quiz, solo traveler meet up, yoga, secret concerts, beer tasting, free guided tours of the city and more. There’s always something to do, and if you just want to be social, then you can head to their bar (Zinc Bar) and use the 2 for 1 voucher that they hand you when you check in. Buy a new friend a drink and chat away!
All in all, I had an absolutely fantastic time! ClinkNOORd is hands down the best hostel I’ve been to so far! I highly recommend it, and I can’t wait to go back!
You tempted to try ClinkNOORD out? Click on the Hotels.com logo below to read more!
☼If you shop via my affiliate link, I get a small commission☼
Amsterdam – A Magical City
Some cities have magic in them, but the magic will always be different for each person who experiences it. To me, Amsterdam has a certain kind of magic that is hard to put into words. It’s not about being high, although that can certainly make the experience into something special for sure. It’s something else.
It’s the canals and the houseboats. Where people live on water and have a different outlook on life. A city where you’re always close to water.
It’s the crowded streets. The vibe from all the people, and not just the Dutch, but there are people from all over the world. As you walk through the alleys you hear so many different languages, and see so many different and beautiful faces.
It’s the restaurants, the cafés, and the vegan food. A city packed with cozy places to sit down for a meal, a coffee or a smoke.
It’s the atmosphere in this city that makes me smile just thinking back on it.
I guess magic is the only right word to really describe it after all!
During the next couple of days, I will be posting some reviews and other tidbits about my Amsterdam trip, and I can’t wait to share it all with you guys! The video from the trip will be up sometime later this week too, so stick around for that 💛
Now I’m going to get myself a much needed good night’s sleep!
Do you have a city that’s magical to you? Let me know in the comments 😊
VidCon Europe – Why It’s Not Worth Your Money!
So I went to VidCon Europe 2018, and I have some thoughts!
Day 1 – Very Disappointing!
VidCon Europe 2018 has been my very first VidCon, and after seeing videos from other YouTubers that attended the event last year, I wouldn’t say that I had very high expectations, but I also expected them to have improved since creators were so disappointed the last time around.
So I had mediocre expectations for the actual event, but high expectations for the people, the vibe, and the networking. Unfortunately, I would have to say that the whole thing was very disappointing. The venue that they’d set up was way smaller than what I expected and the talks that we went to were nothing much. The most interesting thing I saw all day was the AMA with Anna Akana, and that was just because it was entertaining. I didn’t feel like I really learned anything from the first day. Most of what they were all talking about was information that I’ve already been able to come across online, for free, by people who are much more interesting to listen to.
Everything felt like it was catered to creators who were totally new in the game, and for those who were and that got lots out of this; GREAT! Good for you! I wish I could say the same!
When the tickets cost €199, I was expecting a whole lot more from an event like this. I wanted insight, representatives from more brands, more people, a social gathering the last night, but got nothing that I felt was worth my time or my money.
The vibe too was very uninspiring and didn’t motivate me in any way. I went there together with Leif Nygaard, and we felt pretty much the same way about it. You can see his video from the first day here:
Like we mentioned, the social media room was kind of cool, but it was small and very uneventful except for the Instagrammable tulip and bicycle setup, free snacks and coffee, and the goodie bags from Facebook/Instagram.
Another thing I really missed was YouTube merch. There were no stickers, totes, t-shirts or anything.
We left the event after the first day, unsure if we were even going to spend the full second day there.
Day 2 – We Ditched VidCon
On day 2 we arrived a bit late, but for the first talk on the agenda that looked somewhat interesting. It turned out to be just as much of a newbie theme to that one, and when lunchtime arrived and the fact of the matter was that there wasn’t even lunch included in the €199 we paid ( you had to buy food there) that was the tipping point where Leif and I looked at each other and knew that it was time to leave. We were staying in a wonderful city, with a vibe that’s inspiring in its self, and we were wasting our time and energy on an event that gave us nothing.
The money spent for the ticket is sad enough, but nothing to do about that now. So we headed into the city and we had a fantastic day instead! We wat vegan food and cakes until we thought we were going to burst, had a smoke in the sun by the canal, browsed some shops, met some wonderful people and then we enjoyed the city by night!
The trip to Amsterdam has been inspiring and awesome, and I can’t wait to post my vlog from the trip, but when it comes to VidCon Europe, I’m freaking disappointed. This had the potential to be so much more but ended up being time and money lost.
I would be very surprised if there’s a new VidCon Europe next year. They would have to make some major changes for it to even be close to worth what they’re charging for the tickets. So my tip to anyone who’s considered VidCon Europe is don’t waste your precious time and money. Use all the information that is already available for free online, and try to go to another convention instead. I’ve heard that VidCon US is pretty spectacular, so if you have the option to go there instead then that will probably be a totally different experience.
That being said, I’m glad that I had a fellow-minded YouTuber to ditch the event with and make some absolutely fantastic new memories! A big thank you to Leif Nygaard for bringing even more laughter and new experiences to the trip 😊
Home is where the heart is!
I’ve been traveling quite a bit, and my parents moved around a lot when I was a kid, so I don’t really have one particular house that I think of as my childhood home. I have my hometown that I’m very fond of, and I always enjoy coming back to it, but there are other places that feel more like home to me. The weird thing is that the places where I’ve traveled to that feel the most like home are not places that I have any relation to. It’s more of a feeling that just comes over me whenever I’ve visited the first time, and that feeling persists for every visit.
London has always been like that for me. Every time I arrive in London city, I get this feeling of utter bliss. It’s heartwarming in a way I find hard to explain.
Copenhagen is the same.
I remember having that very same feeling when I used to travel to Amsterdam with my dad as a kid, and the very same feeling came over me when I arrived here yesterday. I’ve now been here for almost two days, and it feels like being in love. I small all the time, my heart beats a little bit faster, and it feels like I don’t have a worry in this world.
So maybe the saying is completely right, but for me, I travel with my heart on my sleeve and sometimes the destination is a perfect match. Maybe I have a stronger connection to some places more than others because it was somehow meant to be. I’m a strong believer in everything happening for a reason, and I think that some cities and I were meant for each other.
So here I find myself in Amsterdam, totally, utterly, unbelievably in love with a city. A place I hope to someday in the future be able to call my home for a while.
For now, it is home though, for a few more days at least❤️
Christina de Vries 