Bikes in Amsterdam

---

Apart from nearly being run over by bikes and trams, Amsterdam was a great place to be in! It definitely was more then I expected it to be, and Lou and Justin made the experience even more fun! The thing I couldn't get over was the bikes everywhere! I heard about the bikes, but I wasn't expecting what I saw! I wasn't sure what I was expecting! Anyway, I got a bit obessed taking photo's of them...

When we arrived in Amsterdam, we took a train to Central Station, and then the Metro to Waterlooplein. I had photocopied a map before hand and we marked where everything was including our hotel, so we didn't have too much of a problem finding our hotel. Once we arrived, we dropped off our bags and started straight away.

Our first stop was Waterlooplein Flea Market which had lots and lots of....BOOTS!!! Of course there were other things, but I saw boots in nearly every stall!!! Then it was onto Nieuwmarkt where there was lots of Cheese and bread!!! Then past the Red Light District! Of course I knew about the area, but when one of the women came to the window, I jumped!!! It was amusing, especially when you see guys walking out of the doors with a guilty look on their faces! We walked past the Oude Kerk (the oldest cathedral in Amsterdam), then onto Dam Square, where there were hunderds of bikes everywhere! I couldn't believe how many bikes there were!!! We saw the National Monuments of the Lions and the Palace in the Square, but also in the square was a RED BULL DJ van playing really funky good music! It was surronded by people dancing and jumping around it! We walked passed the shops, making our way to Rembrandtplein where the statue of Rembrandt and his nightwatch was.

We finally rested at Lueew Bar for a drink, then walked all the back to our hotel for a rest, then back out again for a night out! We walked back to Rembrandtplein and ate at SCKIWEKEN restaurant where the food was great and the waiters weren't half bad (for both sexes). We sat there for a while chatting for a while then made our way to Leidseplein and there we started our night of drinking and fun at The Black & White Cafe. It was a Rock/Jazz Bar which played good old rock tunes. We got well into it with Justin & Lou doing some finger drumming!!! We then walked passed all the other clubs and finished our night at The Alto Jazz Bar. There was a lady playing the saxahone and she was soooooooo great and the live band behind her!!! I could of listened to her play all night!!! On the way back to our hotel, we saw the same RED BUll van playing music again and it definately finished my night off well!!! Well, that and when I got to sleep.... I was knackered!!!

Next morning, we started by walking on Blauwbrug Bridge, which our Lou loved... then onto Bloemenmarkt where there were lots and lots of Tulips and grow your ownCannibis plants!!! It was very bright and pretty... We walked on and passed loads of canals and BIKES and we reached the Rijksmuseum. It was very interesting and looking at Remberandt's work close up was amazing! Lou and I were searching for "The Girl with the Pearl Earring" painting, but we were told that it was in another museum in Amsterdam. Oh, well, better save something for my next trip to Amsterdam!!! We then took a break at a Bagel Cafe, and then walked to the Van Gogh Museum. I was excited to be there finally. There were a few pieces in there which I didn't know he did which I liked seeing in art books and magazines. It was a good feeling to see his work throughout his lifetime of painting. It was a shame it stopped so soon!

We went back to Leidseplein again and sat down for a drink and walked around until we found a restaurant to eat in! We went to an Italian restaurant, which was next door to anther Italian place, which we were thinking of going into, but our poor Justin's life was threatened, so we didn't! We enjoyed our meal again, and had the same guilty feeling of eating too much as Lou and Justin did!!! But hey, were on holiday!!! We ended our night by going to a coffee house, where the guy serving us, made it clear that he knew if you were a tourist or not! You could tell he was saying to himself: "BLOODY TOURISTS!!!" How are we supposed to know the names of the different colour tubes!!! Anyway, the outcome of me smoking was, giggly, talking crap and falling a sleep as soon as I hit my bed!!!


On the last day we took a different route from our hotel and passed the harbour. Lots of walking again but it was worth it and finally, we made it to the Anne Frank Museum! I was waiting for this trip all the weekend! If Lou and Just hadn't told me to stop walking, I would of walked straight passed it! Plus there wasn't a long queue going around the building waiting to get in like there usually is! It looked like any ordinary building from outside, but going inside you felt completely different. It was far from ordinary!!! It was such a sad feeling being in there. I studied Anne Frank at school and felt sad then, but being there was even sadder because this is where she lived for 2 years in hiding. When I went into her room with the pictures of movie stars and characters stuck up on the wall, it was an undescribable sadness, the way she was still able to be sane enough to write a diary after all the horrible things were happening around her! Everytime there was a TV screen with someone from that time talking, it became sadder and sadder especially when it got to her father talking about trying to find his children and then not being able to look at the diaries straight away!!!

After visiting the Anne Frank Museum we went to eat at this great cafe nearby. The waitress was really nice and helpful and the food was great!!! I hadn't eaten breakfast so I got a big lunch. After lunch we made our way past Leidseplein and then walked to Central Station to go and do a Canal Tour of Amsterdam! To be honest with you, it didn't really show me anything different because we had practically walked everywhere already, so the only scene I hadn't seen was the water and canal close up! But it was still nice.

When the Canal tour finished we still had quite a bit of time left, so we walked around and did some last minte shopping near Dam Square! It was very sad to leave but i will definately be back, hopefully next summer!!!

---