After our swim at Henschotermeer Lake, we drove to the eighth and final stop of our Europe Road Trip: Amsterdam. We parked up in our pitch on the campsite and then got the tram straight into the center. After a wander around we headed to Bar Italia for pizzas and beers. If you fancy an Italian meal whilst in Amsterdam, the pizzas were pretty tasty! 

The next day we got the tram back into the center and went straight into a bakery for a pastry. We then wandered and wandered and wandered, and saw a fair amount of the city center. We had a quick lunch at Wok to Walk and then headed for the Heineken Experience. I'll be honest, I wasn't too sure what to expect from it as someone who isn't that fussed by Heineken but it was genuinely brilliant. It was really interactive, there was loads to look at and the bar at the end is really cool. There are also quite a few fun photo opportunities too. Even if you're not a big beer fan it's absolutely worth doing! 

Being right near Museumplein, it was only right to have a walk around and see all of the museums. We stopped for some chips and a sit down before heading back to the campsite for a BBQ and a drink at the bar. 

The next morning we had a leisurely start to the day, got the tram, and then got on a boat ride near the train station. Priced at €13, it took us all around the canals and lasted about an hour. It was a great way to see more of the city and also hear a bit more about the history of the area. It's absolutely worth doing if the weather is good. 

We then wandered around the Flowermarkets, had an English breakfast for lunch, and enjoyed just sitting out in the sun. After a bit more wandering we found a cool ping pong bar, had a cocktail, and spent an hour or so watching the world go by. 

At each of the stops on our trip, we tried to taste at least one local dish. So, when in Holland? Bittenballen. We stopped at a random little takeaway on the corner of one of the streets and bought a few to try. In case you've got no idea what I'm on about, according to Google Bittenballen are made from a thick meat stew that is refrigerated, rolled into balls, breaded, and then fried. (Trust me they're better than they sound!) We really enjoyed them and would definitely have them again.

Next up on our quick little Amsterdam tour was W Lounge for a beer in their rooftop bar - a last-night essential! I won't go into this in too much detail as I've got an entire blog post on the bar but if you just fancy a beer, the prices aren't too unreasonable! 

For dinner, we then went to Nude Burger and had some deeeeelicious burgers. I'm talking a solid 9/10 sort of good. We both had a 'Tasty Jack' and shared a 'Tater Tot Mix'. We then had one final tram back to the campsite for an early night before travelling back home early in the morning. 

So, there we have it, our entire 2022 Europe Road Trip. Considering the whole trip was planned very last minute, I can't believe how well we pulled it all off. 8 stops and 5 countries in 10 days. Not bad going, hey? Thank you Queenie for the time off over the platty joobs and thank you to the van for doing us a solid and working like a beauty the entire time! Where to next, eh?

Our next stop after Cologne was Henschotermeer Lake in Holland. When planning the road trip route on Google Maps, Elliot spotted this lake and we 100% knew we had to visit. It's not too far from Amsterdam and was a brilliant place to spend the morning. 

We'd stopped at Lidl on our way and picked up some bits for a picnic. I'm talking fresh bread, houmous, butter, crisps, cheese twists, cucumber... It was a real al fresco setup. 

We were then on a weekday so, besides a few school trips which came and went, we had the place to ourselves. The lake itself is massive and the walk around it is 2.5km long. 

Now, whilst the lake looks like paradise, I've got to be honest it was rather chilly. As someone who's swum in the Cornish Sea in the winter, I think I'm justified in saying this was cold. I lasted a bit longer in there than Elliot did but I can't say I swam very far. 

There were a few toilet blocks dotted about as well as some food trucks that were closed whilst we were there. It's worth mentioning that you have to buy your tickets (€3.25 each) and car parking (€7) online before you get there. There weren't any staff there when we were there, just big electric gates that scan your ticket's QR code. 

You could very easily spend an entire day here so if you're planning a trip to Holland, this would be a great place to stop.