Using a weekend city break to recharge you instead of destroy you!

I bang-on a lot about SLEEP | EAT | MOVE | REPEAT, but how do I live my mantra when I’m away? Do I let it all go, or do I stick to it like glue? Read on to find out…

The whole purpose of a weekend away is generally to take a break from work, let your hair down and recharge. Sometimes though, you return home feeling like you need a detox and recovery from your city break.
 
This weekend we were in Amsterdam, and we struck the perfect balance of letting our hair down and recharging our batteries.  ​

As the saying goes: “Start as you mean to go on”…Our Eurostar departed London at 11am, so we had a good night’s sleep and a solid breakfast before we left. We started our journey well-rested and in a great mood, and we carried this energy with us the whole weekend.
 
AirBnBs were super-expensive due to it being ‘Pride’ weekend, so we decided to stay at The Hilton. Staying in a hotel like the Hilton is great, since a) you know what you’re going to get b) they’re usually well-placed and c) there’s access to a gym. We started each day with a roll-out, stretching and some light resistance training. My wife chooses every workout based on how she feels, how much time she’s spent at the desk, and how much sleep she’s had. It’s not about adding extra stress or necessarily being high-intensity, instead, it’s about doing something that makes her FEEL GOOD. This weekend, we kept our morning workouts short but sweet… about 30 mins, with a focus on mobility and core strength. 

​Whilst most people like to get around Amsterdam on a bike, we decided to walk, clocking-up 23,000+ steps on our first day, 19,000+ on our second day and 15,000 on our last day.
 
We stopped at the ‘Food Hallen’ for our dinner. ‘Food hallen’ is set in an old tram station and boasted a collection of food stalls ranging from Mexican to Greek to Chinese to Vietnamese.

​We loved being able to choose the cuisine that we each felt like (not a problem on the first visit when we both wanted Mexican, but on the second visit, Allira wanted Vietnamese and I wanted Mexican AND Greek. It’s an outstanding place for food, drinks and live entertainment. A must, when you’re next in Amsterdam.
 
Once we were done, we grabbed a frozen yogurt and made our way back to the hotel for a big sleep. 

​Day 2: We woke up slowly, had a cuppa, watched the news and hit the gym for a quick workout. The Hilton had a great health club with a beautiful Pilates Studio and a wall filled with celebrity photos who have previously stayed. We both focused on some light cardio before some weighted circuits. The perfect combo to complement another day of exploring.
 
The weather was perfect and we’d chosen ‘The Avocado show’ for our first breakfast spot. Knowing a queue gathers after 10am, we walked there for pole position, and we were glad we did! Sure enough, at 10:05, the queue was beginning.  

The Avocado Show creates - “visually stunning and delicious dishes made with love from nutritious, sustainable avocados.”. They didn’t disappoint. Everything was as delicious as it looked.
 
I chose the ‘Bun Burger’, whilst Allira chose the ‘The Sinner Stack’ of pancakes. Both were fully loaded with avocado as you’d expect, and both bursting with flavour, we honestly couldn’t believe how delicious yet clean our meals were. We were tempted to share one more dish, but we realised we were possibly even more curious to SEE the dish than to EAT the dish, since we were more than satisfied. Luckily, others around us ordered some of the options we’d considered, so we at least got to feast with our eyes!

Next, we leisurely made our way around the De Pjip, browsing (and buying!) at some of the local shops.

After a little shopping, and some time for our breakfasts to fully digested, we decided to make our way into town for a coffee and a trip to The Body World museum, for their ‘Happiness’ exhibition.

​Same as almost anywhere, the Aussies and Kiwis dominate the coffee scene in the ‘Dam, so there is no shortage of trendy and tasty coffee. Bakers and Roasters, Little Collins, Lot 61, Dignita and Coffee and Coconuts were some of our favourites (not all Antipodean!).
 
Our trip to Body World was off the back of great recommendation from a friend. It was 6 floors detailing how happiness affects all aspects of our brain, body and wellbeing. They even had an indoor swing, guaranteed to bring out in the inner child in anyone. We swung and giggled like kids. I challenge you to swing and NOT crack a smile – impossible!

During our first trip to ‘Food Hallen’ we chose burritos from Lima’s and shared them, but I couldn’t get their delicious looking taco’s out of my head, so we returned the following day so I could have the tacos, too!
 
The tacos were amazing, but they just weren’t enough (also, side note, €18 for 4 very small softshell tacos is a bit steep). We’d clocked up another 14,000 steps and still have a 30-minute walk home.

​So, I decided to finish it off with a Greek chicken pita from Pita. Finally, I was done.

​NO, wait, I had to have another frozen yogurt (this time, I went for dark chocolate and roasted hazelnuts)! ​

By the time we got home, we’d had a few drinks, way too many giggles and we were beat, so we decided to jump into bed and watch a movie.
 
We decide not to set an alarm and woke naturally at around 9am on Sunday. Again, the usual morning routine of some cuppas, some news, and a quick gym sesh (where we focused on resetting our feet with a golf ball) before heading-off for brunch and a hot-lap around the museums.  ​

We headed to ‘Dignita’, a social enterprise which sits on every ‘top 10 breakfast’ list we found for Amsterdam. We weren’t disappointed.

​I chose zucchini and chickpea fritters topped with eggs and halloumi, whilst Allira had an Umami Avo Bowl filled with avocado, a panko-crumbed egg, edamame beans and Japanese mushrooms.

Neither of us usually get into any kind of ‘green juice’, but we saw one come out and we both opted for their fresh green juice which boasted ‘fresh greens, mint, spirulina and ginger’, and tasted like a little slice of tangy heaven.
 
It was the perfect energy and nutrient dense brunch, which kept us going all day. I’m currently writing this on our way home (10-hours later) and I’m still not hungry!

Once we’d finished eating, we strolled through VondelPark where we enjoyed some time in the sun before heading to Museumplein and eventually returning home.

The Hilton was on one of Amsterdam’s many canals, and had a beautiful canal-side bar and terrace, so we sat outside, snuggled in the sunshine, laughing at some of the ‘funnies’ from the weekend, and commented on how good it felt to be returning home feeling like we'd truly reset. It was the perfect end to our trip.

Now, we’re sitting on the train home, looking back through all of our photos and planning our next adventure.
 
Weekends away are meant to be fun, relaxing and rejuvenating, and ours certainly was. Here’s an overview of the key things that helped make this trip such a nice ‘break’, but also helps us return home feeling GOOD and ready for the week to come:

1. We walked everywhere – clocking up ~50,000 steps in total over 2.5 days.
2. We had spectacular meals, ordered exactly what we fancied, but we didn’t snack (except for a cheeky brownie). Snacking can really blow-out your intake, but rarely leave you feeling like you truly indulged.
3. We averaged ~8 hours of sleep each night.
4. We started each day with a hearty, delicious and nutritious brunch, which kept us going until dinner on both days.
5. We chose the foods and drinks that we wanted, and thoroughly enjoyed it all. No. stress. No counting calories or macros (ever… not just on holiday). No guilt.

 
A healthy lifestyle is all about balance, which can mean different things to different people, but most people would agree that balance supports a good frame of mind. Its more than physical, its also mental.
 
Have you been to Amsterdam? Do your city breaks make or break you!? I’d love to know what you think!
 
Speak soon, JC.