Amsterdam

The Amsterdam train station.

Last week we finally traveled to Amsterdam.  Lance and I booked a hotel and spent 3 days and 2 nights there walking around the city and seeing the sights.  We had a wonderful time.  

When we first arrived, the sky was overcast and the temperatures were cool...but it didn't take long before the sun broke through and the skies turned blue.  The temperatures rose and we had perfect weather for our entire trip.  Amsterdam is a lovely city full of canals and historic buildings.  On our first day we got a brief overview of the city by taking a walking tour with a guide we hired from...With Locals.  Our guide was actually born in Chile...but raised in the Netherlands.  It was a short tour, but he gave us a good idea of how the city is laid out...and took us past several points of interest.

  

Above is one of the buildings found in China town.  There is a large Asian influence in the Netherlands because Indonesia and Taiwan were colonized by the Dutch.  Today, many people from those countries live here.

The picture below shows some of the thousands of tulip bulbs found at the Bloemenmarke ...which is Dutch for Blooming Market.  These stalls take up an entire city block along one of the canals located in the middle of the city.

And really...what would a visit to Amsterdam be without a peek at the famous Red Light District?  (Sorry...no pictures.)  Actually, according to our tour guide, the city has worked hard over the past few decades on cleaning this area up and encouraging more upscale businesses.  There are many new restaurants and stores that have been added over the years...and more than 500 sex stores and brothels closed.  That being said, you can still walk down the alley's and see scantly dressed women posing in the window, available to provide you with all kinds of services for a fee.  It's an odd thing to see at 10:00 in the morning...not to mention a little creepy.     

However...that is just a small part of this fascinating city.  There is also an area set aside that houses several of the 50 museums that are available for you to tour.  We chose to visit two of them. 

The first one we saw was the Rijksmuseum which was both beautiful and fascinating.  The collection was huge...but Lance and I rented audio guides and did the highlights tour that focused on the most famous pieces in the museum.  It was very enjoyable.    

There are statues of different artists doing work placed near the top of the building.

I loved these tiny statues that were created during the middle ages. 

The Vincent Van Gogh Museum was the second museum that we toured...and it turned out to be one of the best museums I have ever seen.  It had been recently renovated and the whole experience was fantastic...from the way they displayed his art...to the story that they told about his life from birth to death.  If you go, make sure you rent their excellent audio guide...it will make your visit much richer and more entertaining.  

A self portrait painted by Vincent Van Gogh

On the first night in Amsterdam, we were signed up for an Airbnb Experience.  For those who might not know, this is another way to interact with the locals in a community.  It could be a cooking class they offer at their home...or a bike ride to their favorite part of town.  Our experience involved attending a private jazz concert which was held at a very small restaurant on the other side of the city.  If you wanted, you could also order food and/or drinks.  This was an enjoyable way to spend the evening.  

The band played some dixieland music outside while we enjoyed an ice cream treat given to us by the owners of the restaurant.

On our second night we took a sunset boat tour on the canal.  Keep in mind, sunset here is after 10:00 P.M.  The tour started at 9:30 when it was still light out and ended at 11:00 P.M.  I loved this tour because we were able to easily peer inside some of the beautiful homes that lined the canals when it got dark.  We were also able to see some of the more than 3,000 house boats that dock along the canals.  Some houseboats were badly dilapidated...but others were beautifully restored, both inside and out.

A photo of one of the streets in the Red Light District that we passed during our boat tour.

Amsterdam is a lovely city, not to be missed! It sometimes feels a bit tricky to navigate it on foot without getting lost...but like most cities in Europe...the public transportation is outstanding. 

Mini Bonus Post...Haring & Bierfeest in Vlaardingen 

A young man enjoying some herring coated in raw onions.  

Our small town of Vlaardingen never fails to surprise us.  There is always something unexpected...at least to us...going on each week.  When we returned from Amsterdam, the Haring and Beer Fest was taking place.  They had 10 musical bands on various stages located along the canal.  There was also a huge outdoor market running down both sides of the canal that sold a variety of food and other items.

Lance is enjoying some Poffertjes...which are Little Dutch Pancakes.   

My personal favorite was the tent filled with women from Turkey rolling out some kind of dough...then filling them a mixture of veggies and spices, and cooking them on a pan.  As they worked they listened to music from their country.  We were told by our landlord that there is a large population of people from Turkey because they were encouraged to come during the 1960's to help with manual labor in the green houses.      

I believe these gentleman are fishermen dressed in traditional outfits.  I love the shoes on their feet.