Amsterdam. What can I not say about the great things about this city. From people on bicycles everywhere, to the rich history of the canals, and the abundant amount of art to enjoy the city of Amsterdam is one not to miss. The city contains much more than the hype that surrounds it and you may be surprised how much fun you may have without hitting up the "coffee shops" surprisingly.
Dutch people all spoke very good english, so checking in and finding our hotel from the airport went very smoothly. One very interesting fact I found out beforehand about Amsterdam is that you would find different size doors due to a door tax they would have to pay depending on the size of their door. Amsterdam is a very tightly packed city and all space is utilized to its full potential. Our hotel was nice, but sizing right away became noticeable as the elevator could only fit three people at the maximum (And that was pushing it). The staircase was very narrow with steps that only half your foot would fit onto. It was basically like trying to walk up an extremely small tower staircase.
After settling in our hotel we ventured around the neighborhood a bit to see what surprises the surrounding environment had for us. It was later at night so many event oriented places were closed, but not restaurants. We ended up at a Dutch speciality restaurant and it was superb. The elegance in the display of the dishes and perfect ingredients really made it seem like a European meal. The next couple days we scheduled to see some of the great museums, perhaps some of the best museums in Europe. This included the talented Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum, Rembrandt, and Diamond Collection Museums.
The Rijk Museum has enough art to keep you busy for two full days. The museum contains old Dutch artifacts, famous sculptures, empirical jewels, and numerous paintings by some of Europe's best. The centerpiece of the museum's collection is "The Last Stand" By Rembrandt which encompassed a whole wall.
The Van Gogh was also a remarkable art museum to see. First, we had to battle through the awful wait and line that had gathered up around the whole block. I believe we ended up waiting almost an hour and half just to get in. But it's Van Gogh what can you say. Not all of his notable paintings were here, but they did have his paintings Sunflower and his self portrait.
The Rembrandt House was an interesting experience, because I had never really had an opportunity to see an artist's own home and see his living environment. It gave you a different perspective how they had to get by on their own with their art skills and how truly talented they had to be in order to succeed. Rembrandt had a tragic life and to see how he was still so focused on his art goals was remarkable.
One of the most famous companies to come out of Amsterdam was also on the list of visits. The Heineken Brewery happened to be only a block away from our hotel (thanks dad) which was situated in a great location to access many sites across the city. The whole brewery tour was extremely long and educational. It took about an hour and half to go through the whole tour and out.
As you are in the great Amsterdam there was no way you couldn't travel through the legendary canals that have been an important part of the city life for centuries. We took a tour through Blue Boat and witnessed many of the marvelous architectural pieces and decorations that engulfed the city. Amsterdam is actually named after one of the dams in the river Amstel surprisingly.... It was crazy to see just how many canals actually float into the city. During the tour you could also see the many boat homes (that are much cheaper) and housing styles that changed over the centuries. I loved the architectural designs of the housing.
Our last day in Amsterdam we toured some of the churches and saw the Anne Frank house, which definitely reminded you of the horrors the piece had to face during those periods. We also went to the town centre and saw the royal buildings which were magnificent. And then it was a short train ride to our next dam city....Rotterdam.
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