Apr 01, 2026

The Netherlands: Tulips, Canals, and the Art of Wandering Alone

A few years ago, I planned a European trip that would take me through The Netherlands, Switzerland, and Sweden. At the time, I was working in tech with clients in Sweden, and I had PTO that was quietly threatening to expire. So, I did what any slightly overworked, slightly adventurous woman would do. I turned a client visit into a multi-country solo trip and told myself it was “efficient.”

The first stop was The Netherlands.

Before meeting a friend in The Hague, I carved out a full solo day in Amsterdam. If you’ve ever considered visiting Amsterdam but hesitated because of what you’ve heard about the red-light district, let me gently put that to rest. As a solo female traveler in Amsterdam, I couldn’t have felt more comfortable. The city is organized, welcoming, and surprisingly calm. It has a softness to it.

I arrived at Amsterdam Centraal train station, stored my oversized suitcase in the luggage lockers (which are a wonderfully efficient system and an absolute gift when you’re traveling alone), and stepped out into the crisp Dutch air with no real plan other than to wander.

And Amsterdam rewards wandering.

The first things you notice are the gorgeous 17th-century buildings lining the canals, then come the bicycles – hundreds of them, bells chiming in polite warning as they zip past. Canals curve quietly through the city like veins, and flower markets spill over with tulips in impossible colors. Shop windows display traditional wooden clogs and other Dutch fare, and you catch the scent of fresh stroopwafels before you even see them. The city hums in a way that feels inviting rather than chaotic.

Before descending deeper into the neighborhoods, I stopped for an obligatory snack: poffertjes. Small, fluffy Dutch pancakes dusted in powdered sugar and topped with Nutella and banana. Warm, sweet and slightly indulgent - exactly what wandering requires.

On my stroll, I paused beneath a bridge where several street musicians were playing classical music. The sound echoed gently off the canal walls while passersby stopped to listen. There’s a rhythm to Amsterdam that feels unhurried. You don’t rush through it, you absorb it.

But the highlight of my time in Amsterdam, without question, was the art.

Within walking distance, you can experience some of the most extraordinary museums in Europe: the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum, the Stedelijk Museum and the Moco Museum. Historic and modern sit side by side. I moved from Rembrandt’s dramatic shadows to Van Gogh’s emotional brushstrokes and then into bold contemporary installations, including a powerful piece by Iranian artists ICY and SOT, perfectly titled Let Her Be Free - which stopped me in my tracks and challenged me in an entirely different way.

There’s something powerful about spending a full day alone in museums. No small talk. No compromise on pace. Just you and centuries of human expression - it felt indulgent in the best way.

After Amsterdam, I met my friend in The Hague and happily explored more of the country through a local lens, but it was that solo day, walking and eating and observing, getting slightly lost and happily found again, that stayed with me most.

Of course, I was thrilled to see my friend and experience more of The Netherlands beyond Amsterdam. But I also valued that I had formed my own perspective of a city so often reduced to scandalous stories. The Netherlands surprised me.

Not because it was wild. Not because it was loud.

But because it was joyful, safe, and quietly beautiful. It was the perfect beginning to a European solo adventure.

From canals and tulips, I would soon trade flat bike paths for snow-capped peaks…

Switzerland was waiting.

-Carrie H.