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Wanderlust in Amsterdam
Hi, I’m Laura and thank you for reading my travel blog, Wanderlust in Amsterdam. After a 25 year career in education, as a teacher & administrator I decided to get more creative. I have been fortunate enough to use my educational skills and creative writing with my passion for traveling. Particularly to Amsterdam. I also love any opportunity to speak and inspire others to travel. Whether it be a podcast or keynote speech. I was an English teacher by trade, so naturally I never shy away from the written or spoken word. That’s where Wanderlust in Amsterdam comes into play.
Now I get to write about what I love, what interests me and feeds my soul. All while helping others have the best trips to Amsterdam. There is a saying, that “travel is the only thing you spend money on that makes you richer” and no truer words have I ever heard. As a girl raised in Northeastern Philadelphia our idea of world travel was a week at the Jersey Shore. I didn’t see much of the world before I graduated from high school. Once I got out there and saw the beauty of the Florida beaches, Caribbean islands and the romance of European cities I was hooked!
World Traveler in the Making
My career in education did allow me travel opportunities, but only after hours of writing sub plans. I would volunteer to chaperone student trips, be the first willing to travel for workshops and professional development. I was even sent as a district representative to Israel & Ecuador to attend educational conferences & workshops. These opportunities led to the desire to teach internationally and I found myself in Berlin, Germany.
My German-American school took chaperoning field trips to a whole new level, a week in the Black Forest and ski trips to Austria. But also acknowledged both American & German holidays. This lead to lots of long weekends and breaks to visit European cities. Berlin is in the center of the European Union, and even though its history has always led to separating people and places, today it is the hub of both train and air travel in Europe. I visited over 30 cities on 4 continents in the 2 short years I lived in Berlin and have been dreaming of moving back to Europe ever since.
What is Wanderlust?
Germany is where I learned the term Wanderlust, a verb, a strong desire to travel. My family & friends would always ask, “Don’t you get homesick?” I used to say I am the opposite of homesick, I’m travel sick. The German’s have a term for this, called Wanderlust. Merriam-Webster defines Wanderlust as a strong longing for or impulse toward wandering, which describes me perfectly. I can wander near or far: on a hike in the foothills, along a sandy coastline or exploring the café culture in a small European village. I’ve gotten to wonder in some amazing places, these are just a few of my most memorable trips.
Wanderlust in Favorite European Location
My most visited destination is Amsterdam, having been there more than a dozen times. I love Amsterdam as a single tourist, with groups of friends, romantic trips my husband and now as a family of five. It’s our favorite location and we even fantasize about living there one day!
Amsterdam has the most amazing pre-war architecture. There is something about this traditional European look, coupled with the gorgeous canals that gives it a romantic feeling even in rainy or snowy weather. It is a busy city, bringing tourists from all over the world. Yet as soon as you leave the city center there is a calm, quaintness and lots of gorgeous fields of flowers.
Romantic Locations in Europe
For trips I want to re-experience with my husband, Barcelona, the Amalfi Coast & the Greek Islands are all at the top of my list. These locations in Europe were some of my absolute favorite places to visit, but also romantic places I want to experience with hubby.
I spent a few days in Barcelona with a friend before embarking on a cruise of the Mediterranean and found it to be so special. The architecture of the city is quintessentially Spanish, but the artist Antoni Gaudi had a lot of influence as well. The Basilica, La Sagrada Familia, was also imagined by Antoni Gaudi. It is so full of detail, capturing every story in the bible, it is still unfinished hundreds of years later. Spending late evenings eating tapas, drinking sangria and catching a flamenco show will ensure hubby’s love for this city as well.
The Greek Islands are my other romantic destination that I would love to share with my husband. I learned to sail on a week-long sailing cruise of the Cyclades Islands, exploring the islands of Mykonos (party island), Naxos (Historic landmarks) and my favorite island Santorini for the sunsets. I’ve always loved sunset culture, and there is nothing better than sharing a glass of wine and romantic kiss as the sunset reflects off the ocean.
Similar sunsets are spectacular on Italy’s Western Sea, on the Amalfi Coast. Swapping olive oil for lemons, the foods are heavily influenced by the citrus fruit and you’ll enjoy all the flavor in seafood, pasta and especially drinks like limoncello.
Most Historic Trip
The Most Historic trip I’ve taken was to Egypt, nothing can compare to seeing the Pyramids of Giza in real life. I nervously climbed tons of stairs under one of the pyramids to be able to experience what it was really like inside. We learned more about the process of mummification from an expert archaeologist. I also took a Nile cruise and unknowingly ate camel meat in a delicious gorgonzola cream sauce, all before heading out into the desert.
This trip was not just for vacation. I was one of a few young women chosen to accompany a group of National Geographic photographers taking pictures in the White Desert. We tried to communicate and interview the local women & mothers regarding their experiences in such a remote location. At one point, my hair covering was pulled back while I was handing out candy to a group of school children and one yelled, “Brittany Spears” being that it was the first time any of them had ever seen blond hair!
Best Natural Locations
The Best Natural Locations I’ve traveled to have been the Galapagos Islands, Alaska & Norway, but for very different experiences. In the Galapagos Islands, I sailed on a simple ecotourist yacht for a week, experiencing all the different islands. It is amazing to see an archipelago that had so many different environments. From black lava where almost nothing survived to the blue-green oceans that were home to so many fish, sea turtles and seals. The best part of visiting the Galapagos Islands is getting to observe the famous giant tortoises, including Lonesome George, the last of his species on earth.
Taking a cruise in Alaska also allowed me access to many animals I never thought I’d see in their natural habitat. Bald eagles, whales and huskies pulling a dogsled were just a few. Cruising is an excellent way to see Alaska by water, but to then take the train through the State and/or Denali National Park will allow you to see land animals like moose and bear too.
A surprising natural location was Oslo, Norway in Scandinavia. I never thought I would particularly love Scandinavia, outside of my desire to see the Northern Lights. The fjord’s are more incredible than I ever expected. A fjord is a long, narrow body of water that are typically U-shaped valleys with sleep rocks on both sides.
Most Stressful Trip Taken
Looking back at all my trips, the most stressful trip had to be my three weeks in Israel. I was fortunate to be chosen as the first non-Jewish teacher to go on a trip to learn about Holocaust education at the Yad Vashem International Holocaust Museum back in 2006. I came home having learned much more than how to teach Holocaust history.
Just a few days into our July trip, while in Jerusalem, the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War broke out. This was a 34-day military conflict in Lebanon and the Golan Heights area of Israel that more than rescheduled our trip. It has left us all with the truth that there is never true safety in Israel.
In comparison, to the 2024 attacks in the world today, our group was fortunate to have been able to get home as easily as we did. However the footage reminds me of these stressful weeks. So stressful in fact, I started the trip as a reformed nonsmoker and returned to the Atlanta Airport’s smoking room with a 2-pack a day habit a few weeks later!
I remember overhearing a saying in line at El Al’s security about going to Israel, “There’s never a good time to go to Israel.” Nervous laughter always followed and I put it out of my mind on the flight and first few days. But once the conflict broke out, I took those words far more seriously.
Wanderlust in Family Travel
Fast forward a decade (give or take) and I am a travel writer, speaker and trip-planning wife and mother of three with more pets than I ever thought possible with my travel schedule. My husband is an artist and designer, who leads our Digital Branding Agency, Myers Design. Before we met, he had never traveled outside the country, now we do 10+ hour flights to Europe a few times a year. Poor hubby thought he was getting a low maintenance wife in me because I don’t like shopping, but flights and hotels can add up quickly too!
Road Trips & Western Travel
We’ve been talking about booking some closer trips, in our home state of Colorado and a few other western states like Wyoming and Utah. We’ve had a good start, but there are so many beautiful places and National Parks we want to visit. One of the best parts of the Colorado climate is that each place you visit looks and feels completely different in each season. So, if you’ve visited Vail in winter and loved skiing. There are three other incredible seasons filled with wildflowers, hiking trails, river rafting and the annual turning of the fall leaves to enjoy too.
On hubby’s favorites list is Glenwood Springs, we absolutely loved it there. Southwest Colorado to visit Telluride & Durango, his car’s namesake. We’ve enjoyed Gunnison when our oldest went to check out Western Colorado University. The next closest ski town, Crested Butte, was beautiful and we were hoping to visit a few more of the Hot Springs in Salida and Nathrop. Since moving to Colorado, we have learned about a historic hot springs loop in Colorado, and we have visited many of them already with many more of interest. Hot Springs are often a great activity with all the different ages and stages of my family.
Roadtrip Redo
A little further outside of Colorado, we’d like to redo a Western Road trip that we barely survived a few summers back. We ALL got so sick and after about 10 days of a 20-day trip we sadly decided to just go back home and cancel the Utah and SW Colorado part of our trip. It was heartbreaking for us, since each one of us was still so excited about parts of the trip to come, however the homesickness hit when the flu hit! As always, there was an upside to the early return and that was driving through Jackson, WY and Grand Teton National Park. It was so beautiful, and we would love to go back there, when we are all healthy in the future. Maybe pair it with Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks through Wyoming and Montana.
Wanderlust with Credit Card Points & Miles
I used to consider traveling my hobby, but in recent years it has become part of my career. I see how helpful credit card points and miles can be to our travels and think that free travel is my new hobby. Taking some simple steps to save and accumulate miles, especially for companies you use often, can offset the cost of traveling. As a family of 5, travel is so much more complicated for us then families of 4 or smaller. We always need 2 rooms or a rental home when staying as a whole family and with all my kids now over 5 and 6 feet they need their own beds. Space is a premium in Europe, use miles to offset it.
Flights and accommodations are by far the most expensive part of travel, but also the easiest to pay for with points and miles especially when loyal to a few brands. Southwest is my go to airline for traveling domestically and even has flights to Hawaii, Mexico and some Caribbean destinations. For international flights, KLM/Flying Blue program with Delta and Air France allows us to travel to Europe and gives flights to children for half the cost. I also favor Hyatt and IHG properties for hotels, both in the States and in Europe. The more I learn about points travel on courses and podcasts, the more intrigued I become in the “game”.
Wanderlust in Amsterdam Travel
I have not narrowed my travel learning to points & miles, I have also become a travel consultant. Being able to book my own travel with steep discounts or make commission off my own bookings and activities has been worth its minor monthly agency fee. Our family has traveled extensively in recent years, to the New Jersey shore each summer, road trips in Colorado, Wyoming and other western states as well as visits to Boston, Florida and Las Vegas.
We also took our kids to Europe for their first trip this summer, to see Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Paris, Normandy Beach and Belgium. Their outlooks on the world have been forever stretched and they have been asking to go back ever since! We will be back two days after Christmas to celebrate the New Year in Europe.
I’ve spent so much time in Amsterdam over the past few years, I have decided to write an Amsterdam Travel Guide Book. It doesn’t look like I will be spending any less time there this year or next. I look forward to helping Amsterdam travelers create successful European experiences with my instant access itineraries and custom itinerary options.
In addition to seeing Amsterdam, I encourage visitors to get outside the city and see some of the Dutch countryside and newer cities. Creating itineraries that include some of the most popular pairings with Amsterdam, such as:
- Amsterdam and Paris
- London and Amsterdam
- Amsterdam and Belgium (Brussels, Brugge, Antwerp)
- Amsterdam, Belgium & Paris
- Amsterdam and Cologne
- River Cruise: Tulip Season
- River Cruise: Christmas Markets
Wanderlust’s Travel Future
Wanderlust describes me perfectly and there is no end to the trips I’d like to experience with my husband and family. Some of my big bucket list items are the Iberian Peninsula & a few Mediterranean countries. A land & cruise tour of Alaska to see the wildlife America has to offer. A romantic riverboat cruise with hubby, especially during the Christmas Market Season is defiantly on the list. Thanks to points and mile, a two-part trip to Hawaii with a resort & cruise is also on the top of the wishlist. I have learned about the importance of flexible travel dates and the budget benefits to booking last minute plane seats.
Additional exotic trips I have in mind, to keep an eye on and notifications sending messages to my inbox. I hope to take my daughter to Japan in the next couple years, since her love of anime has only grown. I have become an Australian Specialist and look forward to having my own experience Down Under, spending at least a month exploring Australia and New Zealand.
As I think about my children growing up more, I’d like to organize big family trips to keep all branches of the family tree together. We can continue to build memories, even after they leave the nest. I think of all the countries in Europe for my children to experience including Italy, Croatia, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and Germany, as well as exotic experiences to the Galapagos Islands & climbing Machu Picchu, or go on an African Safari and walk the streets of South Africa. The possibilities are endless!
Wanderlust in Amsterdam
My blog, Wanderlust in Amsterdam will continue to focus on Amsterdam travel and European itineraries, starting in or including Amsterdam. Please join me as I share European travel tips, cultural norms and making the most of your trip to Europe. Feel free to reach out directly with Amsterdam or European specific itineraries you’re looking for help creating or wanting me to review at laura@lauramariemyers.com. Let’s schedule your next trip today!
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