Weather aside, I enjoyed Amsterdam. I liked that the city was very English friendly, because let's be honest, I don't speak a word of Dutch. People were very friendly and helpful, which is always a plus. The downside was that Amsterdam was expensive. Food, accommodations, entertainment were all more expensive here then in most of the other cities we visited.
Speaking of accommodations, where we stayed in Amsterdam was probably the most unusual place we stayed on our trip. I picked a hostel that just happened to be on a houseboat. Overall, I liked it. The boat could have used some fresh paint and a little fixing up, but the staff was nice, our bed was super comfortable and the breakfast was great.
Our accomodations
The view inside our room. Note Sean under the bed turning down the radiator.
The first day we were there we walked around to get a feel for the city and what it was like. There were two main things I wanted to see while we were in Amsterdam: The Anne Frank House and the Van Gough Museum. The first day, while walking through the Jordaan neighborhood, we decided to stop at the Anne Frank House.
One of the sights on our walk to the Anne Frank House. Notice the really skinny house in the middle!
Outside the Anne Frank House. Of course, no pictures were allowed in the museum, which I always find a bit disappointing. However, I really recommend going there if you are ever in Amsterdam. I found it to be very moving and seeing Anne's diary was just incredible.
I couldn't help but laugh when I saw this. Although as a small child I might have been frightened.
Of course, being in Amsterdam Sean had to have Heineken.
I have to say that being in Amsterdam and smelling marijuana everytime I passed a coffeshop was an interesting experience. It seems though as if you are going to make it legal then you should follow their lead. I never felt unsafe while I was in Amsterdam, of course I didn't go looking for trouble either.
Another canal shot on our walk around Amsterdam.
This was the view from outside our boat. Gorgeous!
The second day we were in Amsterdam I wanted to go check out the flower market and we decided on the Van Gough museum. I was a bit sad that it's not quite time for tulips, so I missed out on seeing a lot of those, but there were a few and I loved seeing the wooden shoes.
I wanted a pair, but they wouldn't fit in my suitcase.
I did get treated to seeing a few flowers while I was at the market.
I looked for this all over and finally found it on the way to the Van Gough Museum. (I am aware the m is a bit cut off, I have yet to stich this photo with another to complete it. Bad photographer, I know!)
The Van Gough Museum was great. One of my favorite art museums I've been in. I'm not sure Sean was impressed, but I was. It was amazing to see the painting Sunflowers in person and to see some of his lesser known work. The museum was a bit pricey, but worth it in my opinion.
I'd never seen this painting before, but it was Sean's favorite and I have to admit it's a bit intriguing. ( I didn't take this picture, I found it from google search)
If you're ever in Amsterdam, stop at a care and get a toastie. We had a basic ham and cheese toastie and it was awesome. Best sandwich of the trip. Other cuisine we enjoyed while we were there was Thai food and one night I also had falafel at a local place. I enjoyed the mix of different food cultures.
See all the bikes on the bridge? I've never seen so many bikes in one city in my life. Seriously, they were everywhere. A lot of them also had extra toys on top so you could identify them, or little wheelbarrow looking attachments on the front, for your kids, groceries, etc.
Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
Hope you enjoyed the recap!
