In terms of size and population, Amsterdam is rather small compared to other European cities, which has advantages and disadvantages. One of the disadvantages is that the crowds of tourists are even more crowded than elsewhere. One of the advantages is that most of the city's sights are easily accessible on foot or by bicycle, which is so popular here.

In any case, we start our visit with the obligatory exercise: the Museumplein (Museum Square), where you'll find three of the city's most important museums. First and foremost, the impressive Rijkmuseum, which is dedicated to both history and art, reminds us that Amsterdam was once the capital of a colonial power that was rich in stones , a world power and, above all, an exploitative colonial power. And it was a real hotspot for painting to boot. Here, you stand in amazement in front of several of the world's most famous paintings, all works by great artists: Rembrandt, Vermeer and Frans Hals.

Just a few steps further on, a remarkable building from the 1970s houses the Vincent van Gogh Museum, which, as you would expect, is dedicated to the late Impressionist who is still extremely popular today. However, it's also the most visited attraction in the Netherlands. In order to avoid queues and crowds, we head to the much less crowded Stedelijk Museum - and enjoy the impressive collection of artworks from the early 20th century to the present day.

By the time we leave the museum, it's lunchtime. So it's time to turn to Amsterdam's culinary culture instead of its visual culture. To make the transition as smooth as possible, we visit the restaurant Rijk, which is conveniently located in the Rijksmuseum and is one of the best creative cooking establishments in the city. Chef Joris Bijdendijk's talent for transforming local ingredients with exotic flavors into edible works of art and fitting them into the museum setting is well known.

As the weather permits and we've already spent enough time indoors anyway, we then take a stroll through the nearby Vondelpark, the city's largest green space with its idyllic ponds, pavilions, monuments and manicured flowerbeds. From there, it's back towards the city center and the canals, and in the evening, because lunch was substantial enough, why not enjoy a pastrami sandwich or a Caesar salad in the Café Américain with its remarkable Art Deco interior.

Like almost everywhere else, Saturday is the best day to visit the market in Amsterdam. So we take a walk to the Noordermarkt, where an organic, farmers' and flea market is also being held on this day between a number of terrace cafés and restaurants. All around is the hip Joordan district with its galleries, pubs, junk and vintage stores. On the beautiful Egelantiersgracht is the iconic café 't Smalle, one of Amsterdam's most popular bruincafés (brown cafés), as the traditional pubs are called here. It offers a nice selection of beers as well as typical local snacks such as cheese sticks and meatballs and, when the weather is nice, a great terrace right on the canal.

The route continues along enchanted canals with houseboats and past kitschy-looking, narrow gabled houses, whose large and usually curtainless windows let in as much of the sunlight that is rather rare in this country. One of Amsterdam's lesser-known attractions is the enchanting Begijnhof. A magnificent ensemble of residential buildings whose origins date back to the Middle Ages and which today forms a veritable oasis of calm in the busy city center.

For dinner, we visit the amazing restaurant De Kas, housed in a glass house from the 1920s. Most of the food served comes from the restaurant's own garden and is carefully prepared into creative dishes. And then there's the impressive glass house setting, which symbolically fits perfectly with the great agricultural power that the Netherlands still is today.

Next day on sunday, it really is time to check out Amsterdam's canal scene. A boat trip is an obvious choice. The free ferry from the train station to the NDSM via the so-called IJ harbor (pronounced: egg) offers a harbor tour with a view of former industrial facilities and modern architecture. The name NDSM stands for a former shipyard that was converted into an office and cultural center at the turn of the millennium and is home to a number of artists' studios, galleries, cool clubs, concerts and impressive murals. There's always something interesting going on here, especially on Sundays, such as the largest flea market in Europe one weekend a month. There are plenty of cafés and restaurants, many with charming harbor views. These include Next, which opened three years ago in a breathtaking location and offers a Sunday Sunset Lunch with a DJ set, cocktails, snacks and fresh oysters, as well as complete tasting menus.

From here, it's a 30-minute walk (or 10 minutes by bike) to the Eye Film Museum, a futuristic building that offers several cinemas as well as an exciting exhibition program for media art. There's also an attractive cafeteria with a fantastic view of the city center skyline. It is only a few minutes by ferry back to the station.

Finally, for a worthy finale, there is a rijsttafel - a culinary highlight of any visit to Amsterdam. You should head to the Indonesian restaurant Blauw near the Vondelpark. They explain to us that a “rice table” is a feast of numerous Indonesian dishes that are served together. And that the concept dates back to the time of Dutch rule, when the colonial rulers used to impress their guests with the diversity of the cuisine of the vast island empire. While the rijsttafel is hardly widespread in Indonesia itself, it is now one of the most important culinary traditions in the Netherlands. It therefore also has a lot to tell about the history and culture of the former world power. And about the so-called Golden Age in the 17th century, when Amsterdam was one of the richest cities in the world and its most important trading center thanks to its colonies .