I have just got back from the most amazing trip visiting three cities in Europe. This trip I had the pleasure of been accompanied by my eldest daughter. We had such fun and really got to enjoy some quality time together. Our first city was Amsterdam. We arrived in at Schiphol Airport and immediately took the the train for just over 5 Euro to Amsterdam central station. The station is in the middle of the city, and is a hub of connectivity to all areas within the city. We used the free wifi in the main train terminal to locate our accommodation on the Apple Maps App and were able to walk from there to our B&B which was about 1km from the city station. Apple maps is such a great tool as you can load your destination while in a wifi area, and then track your path via GPS without needing to use data. We found this incredibly handy as we only used wifi hotspots in Amsterdam and didn’t bother buying a SIM card and data.
Amsterdam has a small city centre and is awesome to walk, although the bicycles are without a doubt the best way to experience the city. Be warned though, it can get a little hectic when cycling through the narrow cobbled streets. There are cars and pedestrians everywhere as well as fellow cyclists who sometimes do not see you. This makes for a fun experience but keeps you on your toes.
We joined a food and bicycle tour with Anne, who you can find at http://lizzyknows.com I highly recommend taking a personalised small tour like this. You gain tips from a local and get to see places outside the toursity areas. It’s inevitable that you are going to be among fellow tourists, but our tour took us just outside the tourist hub and we really got to experience how the locals live and eat. Anne keeps her tour fun and light, pulls out her camera to get some action shots of you cycling and takes you to her favorite eating spots to try both traditional and more exotic dishes. Cycling through the city, she points out it’s history and a few fun facts thrown in. There were times when it was hard to hear what she way saying as she cycyled just ahead of us and we had to keep a keen ear to hear everything she was telling us. We cycled close to the harbour and we marvelled at the very modern architectural buildings with some being absolute works of art which veer from any conventional form. Amsterdam is as much a modern city as an old one. The architectural designs of many of the new buildings are in stark contrast to the beautiful medieval buildings and Dutch Golden Age Architecture. The houses are amongst the tiniest I’ve ever seen. An interesting fact is that back in the day taxes were charged on a building’s facade – the wider the building, the more tax you paid. Hence very narrow homes which run quite deep. We cycled around the famous Red Light district as well as the quaint Prinseneiland which we would not have found on our own. We finished the tour with a drink at one of the hotels overlooking the city and really felt we had gained a better perspective of this gorgeous quaint old city.
I have never seen a city so busy with cyclists and its such fun to experience it this way. You can hire bicycles from numerous outlets dotted through-out the city. The bikes come with chains to lock them up when not using. Make sure you cover yourself by taking out the insurance against damage or theft of the bike. its inexpensive and a worthy spend.
I loved walking around the city too, stopping off at the Saturday markets dotted all around, to taste the stroopwafels, the famous French fries, and many delicious pastries, varieties of cheese etc. We did avoid the “coffee shops”, but if smoking a joint is your thing, then you will find many of these little coffee shops scattered throughout the city. A cafe is where you go to if you actually want coffee.
What I loved most about this little city were the canals of Amsterdam. We enjoyed walking alongside them throughout the day, as well as cruising along them with the many different cruise options available. You can even hire your own little boat if you are brave enough. It seems that everyone takes a booze cruise at sunset and the vibe, either sitting alongside a canal and socialising with friends, often with a drink in hand, or actually cruising on the waterways, is the thing to do. You easily make friends with strangers and join in on the festivities. As the sun sets, around 9.30pm, we would then stroll along looking for an interesting place to eat. We stumbled across some amazing quaint restaurants and just settled in so easily to this laid back European way of life!
All too soon, our visit was over and we were packing up and heading for our next destination – Istanbul! but more on that with my next blog.
Thank you for reading and please feel free to ask me any more about our experiences in Amsterdam. I hope you do find yourself visiting this lovely city sometime soon!
xx B
THE MOY LIFE 