Amsterdam


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Europe » Netherlands » North Holland » Amsterdam
March 15th 2009
Published: March 15th 2009
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Mon got confirmation about a new contract - the next day we were on a plane to Amsterdam. Our flat is amazingly handy to Heathrow, which means stress-free(ish) travel. We took the bus to the Leidesplein where we'd booked a place and began our exploration. Amsterdam lends itself well to walking - smallish, almost devoid of cars, and full of scenic canals. We perused the main drags, along with every other tourist in town, and quickly decided, as always, that the little streets were the way to go. Small, perfectuly shaped delights are always just around the corner - a beautfiul bridge, an allluring alley, a well-proportioned balcony...
The people of Amsterdam make for the eerie feeling that we are in an ad for Coke (not that kind), or any other product whose ads bear no relation to the subject - the place is full of tall, propserous-looking people who go about their business on bicycles. The bikes add some spice to the experience - along with the trams, they mean that crossing any major intersection becomes a test of peripheral vision - having skipped out of a cyclist's way, you find yourself waving apologetically to a car driver, only to get dinged at by a tram. The opportunities for injury are dizzying!
Usefully, all Dutch folk speak English. This is because they have correctly deduced that their language is a bit useless - although we did find a cafe where the staff had trouble speaking English. Authenticity win! My only attempt at speaking it was when ordering food: I said something that felt like I'd cleared my throat loudly and she happily scuttled off, congratulating me on my pronounciation.
What else? The food! It was incomparably, consistently awesome, something we weren't expecting. Particular favourites included a Swiss-style fondue and a Uruguayan steak house. Beer: excellent. We found a breadth of variety that isn't so obviously accessible in the UK.
Amsterdam's more notorious delights include the red light district, which was a bit odd, really. We walked through there and the ladies were in the their best undies. I completely demystifies the whole thing, which I suppose is good... As for the the coffee shops, we were a tad underwhelmed - it's just people smoking weed, innit. The recent introduction of a smoking ban means you can smoke weed but not tobacco in these places. Classic.
A short trip to Haarlem was well worth it - it was closed. This meant we were free to roam and enjoy the place in peace. We failed to see any museum - what good intentions we had were marred by long queues at the major sites, so we settled for shopping.
All in all, an excellent place to go for a few days.


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With the thing in the foreground then the building further back and (blahblabla)
The mighty miniThe mighty mini
The mighty mini

before it fell onto the boat
Cheese and breadCheese and bread
Cheese and bread

Our standard foreign picnic
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