Amsterdam (AMS)
We planned this trip several months in advance. Rachel and Chase were kind of enough to join us - that was the plan until the Eyjafjallajokull volcano (click to see cool pics) decided to make the trip interesting. R&C found out for sure that they were flying on Wednesday morning, but we weren't sure. As of noon on Wednesday, many KLM flights for Thursday were listed but not ours. So we booked with EasyJet out of Edinburgh. Wouldn't you know, but two hours later our flight became listed. Yes, we lost the money as it flew, but at least we made it to Amsterdam. (read more and for the pictures link). Thank you Lord for allowing us all to go ....
Our intenerary was as follows ...
- Thursday April 22 .... arrive in AMS, checkin to hotel, explore Vondel Park, walk a bit around Leidseplein, take a canal boat trip and visit the Rijksmuseum.
- Friday April 23 ...... go to Keukenhof Park (think 7 million tulips), more AMS walking, Anne Frank Museum, Van Gogh Museum
- Saturday April 24 .... Dutch Resistance Museum, go to Haarlem, see Corrie ten Boom House, windmill tour
- Sunday April 25 ...... go to Delft, see Royal Danish Pottery factory, walk Delft, attend Reformed Dutch church service (spur of moment decision)
- Monday April 26 ...... bike tour AMS, fly home
Amsterdam (AMS) is a wonderful city to visit. Rich in architecture and history, it has kodak moments everywhere you turn!
Observations ...
According to our canal boad driver, there are 700,000 people in AMS and 2,000,000 bikes. Wikipedia says 54,000, but my eyeballs tell me it is close to 2M. I know why there are so many bikes - it is
a car UN-friendly town. People will commute to the nearest train/bus/tram stop, then unlock their bike and go to work. Don't ever think about renting a car as it would be more hassle (not to mention that parking fees are beyond expensive ... 4 euros an hour!!!) to get around town. The trams are wonderful and for the brave, rent a bike - the easiest way to get around. There are special bike lanes ALL OVER town! Bikes rule and all else drools. There are even bike lights! We rented them on Monday and had a wonderful time.
The Dutch definitely smoke more than any people I've seen.
Prostitution is legal in the red light district (did NOT visit).
Marajuana is legal in "coffee shops" - didn't see this
AMS was built on a marsh. With the canals a major feature of the city, you can tell that subsidence is a real problem. Look at the building fronts in the pictures and you'll see some of them leaning into the street. We saw one building that was being "renovated". The front fascade was dug under, supported by beams - straightend up. The enire interior and roof were gutted. So it appears that they save the fronts but completely replace everythings else. The city designates 1000's of structures as historic so that qualifies the owners for money for "upkeep". That is why it is difficult to find a slum area.
Food - Australian ice cream was so, so good; pancakes delicious; almond cookies to die for; of course, waffles; AND mint tea. Mint tea really isn't tea, just mint leaves with hot water poured over them. Try it - very refreshing and soothing. We discoverd mint tea on Saturday evening and we sought it out the next couple of days.
So, for pictures of Thursday, click HERE. I'll process and post the rest of the pictures, one day at a time (Friday, Saturday etc), so watch this space as they say here in Scotland. As an added bonus, I bought another camera to take HD video. So stay tuned, much more to come!
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