Amsterdam
The Dutch Royal Palace at Dam Square
The first thing that we noticed about Amsterdam is its incredible transportation infrastructure. It’s not a typical tourist thing to notice, but, as one interested in such things, it definitely stands out. Not only are there cars and trams (light rail) crisscrossing traffic, but there are an incredible amount of bicycles. They are everywhere and we would come to find that bicycles are better provided for than cars and pedestrians. The second thing you notice about Amsterdam is that it is so beautiful and nothing like the “dirty” city people seem to think of it as. Even the Red Light District is a mere two blocks. And drugs, though legal, are confined mostly to cafes and specified restaurants.
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Our first day took us on long walks up and down the many canal streets, lined with many brick and wood houses, literally one on top of the other. Imagine San Francisco on canals, instead of hills. Many of the houses don’t even meet up straight, but rather leaned crookedly against each other. |
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After losing our pictures from the first half of the day, we had to retrace our steps and take many of the same pictures on day two. But, this gave us the opportunity to see in more detail many of the wonderful hotels, bridges, and restaurants we missed on day one. Also of note are the Dutch people themselves, not only are they the most brilliant people, they are also the friendliest. Everywhere we went, they would say hi, ask if we caught the football (soccer) match the night before (the Dutch lost against the Czechs), and were genuinely concerned whether your trip was a good one.
Hotel along one of the canals
One of the many bridges along the canal
Birds made a home between the canal boats
More canal houses along with arched bridges
Our last day was spent, after returning from The Hague, fruitlessly searching for a store that Scott noticed walking by on day one and didn’t stop in. It had the cutest card fairies and trolls and would have made for a truly unique souvenir. There were plenty of tourist shops to see and we also picked up some tulip bulbs to plant at home. Amsterdam was truly beautiful and one of our favorite stops on this trip. Just be sure to bring Kleenex. My allergies were awful!