I have had the good fortune of being able to travel extensively through the United States and Europe, and one of the wonderful trips I’ve taken recently was to Amsterdam. I spent a week in the heart of the city, exploring the beautiful sights and experiencing the wonderful culture.
I traveled from Seattle, WA to Amsterdam and thankfully was able to find a direct flight on Northwest Airlines. The flight was ten hours, and long and tiring as it was, lying over anywhere would have been a nightmare. I left in the morning and arrived the following morning. Having a non-stop flight allowed me to get the sleep I needed so that when I arrived, I was ready to start my vacation instead of sleeping for several hours first. I definitely recommend, if at all possible, sleeping on the plane, even if you have to take a sleep aide. I learned the hard way on my first trip to Europe that a whole day can be wasted on arrival if I don’t sleep on the plane.
Amsterdam does not have a multitude of sites to see like Paris or London, but the city itself is fascinating. The whole city is set on canals, so everywhere you walk is water and boats. It’s really gorgeous, what you see in pictures and movies. There are also bicycles everywhere, as people seem to love to get around on bikes. No wonder there wasn’t a chubby person in the lot!
The buildings are so European. I loved the whole European feel of the city, actually, with the cobblestone streets, and such old, beautifully constructed architecture. Amsterdam is truly one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen, and I imagine in the world.
Of the sites I saw, the one the stuck out in my mind the most was Anne Frank’s House. Information about it can be found here at: http://www.annefrank.org/content.asp?pid=1&lid;=2 This is the actual house that Anne hid out in. There were eight people all together who hid from the Nazis, and this house and many things are original and left as is, Including the famous Diary of Anne Frank.
The house is empty but has been preserved in its original form. It was sad and almost eerie to walk in and see how they lived, and just to know that Anne Frank, such a beautiful and tragic historical figure, stayed in that house, was rather heart wrenching to see and be a part of. I would love to go back, as I feel like I did not take full advantage of my time because it was so overwhelming.
I visited Rembrandt’s house, which has been turned in to a museum. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rembrandt_House_Museum It was small, and I really only remember one room that had his pictures, many of them self portraits, hanging on the walls. I am sure there was more but this one room is really what stood out for me. What is most fascinating about this attraction is the history behind the paintings. There are some interesting stories that I will not give away here, but I will say it is well worth the visit.
One of the attractions that was, unfortunately, not worth the visit, was the Van Gogh museum. I love Impressionist art, and Van Gogh is one of my favorite artists. So, I was very excited to see this museum, which is the largest museum to house any of his paintings. I was underwhelmed, though. I saw some great works of art, of course, but nothing new or different and nothing I had not seen before. I may have gone during a time where the collection was small, and I do recommend going just to see some of his great works.
In addition to the museums, Amsterdam is the home of the Heineken factory. My friend’s fiancé went for a week with school to study the factory, which is the reason we were in Amsterdam. We took a tour, which was fun, although not any different than touring Coors or Busch, which I have done in the states. However, just the idea that I was touring the Heineken factory in Amsterdam was a thrill in itself for me. They did give samples, and they had computers from the factory to send emails to people from, just telling them where we were.
The Red Light district was not what I expected, although we didn’t explore it much. It was truly just woman, and not the most attractive women, standing in windows soliciting sex. It was weird. I am sure there were much more deviant activities going on, but I didn’t take the time to see them.
I ate in some wonderful restaurants, although none had really “Dutch” food. I ate at a great Turkish place and a fun Chinese restaurant on a boat, and most of our good food was ethnic. Hunt for the best places, and again, ask your hotel for recommendations.
If you get a chance on your trip to Amsterdam, I recommend two day trips. One, a tour of Holland, which includes the Delft factory, Rotterdam, and the Hague. I had a great time on this tour, and my hotel was a wealth of information for me on it. We also had a lovely time visiting Antwerp, Belgium, an adorable town with a real European feel and Belgian Waffle stands everywhere! Yum!
I had a great time in Amsterdam. It’s a beautiful city worth a visit. You only need a week at most, and I do recommend the day trips to explore Belgium and other lovely areas of Holland. Have fun!
