Eurotrip 2011 –Amsterdam, Kinderjlk, Haarlem, 11-12 May

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We arrived at our accommodation and we were surprised that it was actually a fully furnished studio apartment complete with full kitchen facilities. We loved the place although it was slightly far from the main tourist attractions.

Amsterdam is an interesting city with its canals, nice architecture and liberal sex shops and red light district. Another good city to cycle which makes me wonder why my own country can’t make cycling on the roads safer and more pleasant. Everywhere, you will see people cycling and it is a joy to watch them whiz around town effortlessly. The morning markets are interesting to find a good bargain and the cafe culture is popular around here. Once again, we stopped for hot cappuccino at one of the cafes. Not to be confused with the famous “coffee shops” which sell crack and space cakes. We visited the sex museum for some entertainment and history…it was actually quite interesting. We took a cruise around Amsterdam city as we were tired of walking. We had our dinner in an average restaurant before walking in the cold back to our apartment. Wish we had bicycles.

The next day we decided to tour the cities outside of Amsterdam. We wanted to visit the Kinderjlk windmills which was a UNESCO heritage site consisting of a series of 19 windmills in the area. A friend recommended me to visit them. Although it took us a really long time to reach the place, it turned out to be one of our favourite places for the trip. We rented a bicycle and cycled along the paths where the windmills, grasslands and strong winds gave us yet another memorable experience. We left the place feeling happy and headed for the famous Keukenhof gardens to catch the tulips. Unfortunately, we were at the tail end of the tulip season and the there were no tulip fields along the way. Those in the gardens were nevertheless still very pretty. We did some window shopping at the nearby town of Leiden before stopping at Haarlem for our dinner. Although quieter than Amsterdam, I think it would have made a nice place to visit in the day. Jace managed to purchase her vampire board game in one of the board game shops. We had a pleasant chat with a friendly guy manning the shop. He reminded me of Seth Rogen.

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Photos

Windmills of Kinderjlk
Long way there but it was worth it

me...clowning ard
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