Amsterdam revisited
I’m pleased to report that it hasn’t ... and for me that’s great because it had so much character then, and it still has it now. The Dutch people are very artistic and although it has all the big chain stores and designer shopping, it also has an eclectic mix of shops and markets to browse for the more unusual gifts.
This time we opted to stay near the Vondelpark, which put us in a quiet part of the city in the museum district, but just across the canal from the Leidesplein and one of the main tram routes. Although we were well placed for using the trams, we walked everywhere. I say ‘walked’ but that also included dodging the cyclists at every junction and the trams that clang their bells at you in the shopping streets! Just when you think you’re safe walking down a one way street, there’s bound to be another bike taking a short cut, so daydreaming on foot isn’t an option. Luckily there are plenty of cafes to tempt you, so you can people watch in peace. The only thing I would say is that there are cafes and ‘coffeeshops’ in Amsterdam so you need to make sure you know what you want before you go in! But to be fair, the coffeeshops usually feature green in their livery or psychedelic artwork and have a very distinctive aroma which is definitely not coffee!
It was too late in the year to visit the tulip fields or the Keukenhof gardens that Amsterdam is known for, but the flower market is still worth a visit at any time of the year. Some stalls sell dried flowers and you can buy bulbs and seeds all year round along with cut flowers. The market town of Alkmaar was also off the list this trip as it’s known for the outdoor cheese market from the first Friday of April to the first Friday of September. Having said that, there are numerous cheese shops around Amsterdam and they all welcome you in to try their products. If you want to know more you can also take any number of cheese and wine tours which will educate you on how and where they were made. I have now revived my love of Gouda which is around 60% of the cheese made in the Netherlands and is offered with many different herbs, seasonings and flavourings.
One official trip we did do was a canal cruise. The cruisers are moored close to central station and there are four main routes to choose from, so it’s a good idea to check out a few before you decide which one to take. Most of them offer headsets or multilingual commentary and are a great way to find your bearings in the city whilst finding out about its history. Ours took about an hour and also took us past several large river cruisers that were moored at the back of the station. The red light district is close by so if this isn’t an area you want to wander around in, make sure you’ve got your bearings when you get off! Again, if you want to find out more you can take an official tour which will give you the history of the area and tell you more about how it operates in present times.
It was a bit early for the run up to Christmas but the Dam Square had been turned into a funfair complete with a big wheel, dodgems and haunted house along with the shooting ranges, hook a duck and all the eateries you could wish for.
We have visited some of the more traditional museums and this time decided to go for the Body Worlds Happiness Project. This is definitely not one for the feint hearted as it features over 200 anatomical exhibits that brought to life my old biology text books in an amazing way! This is now a permanent exhibition in the city and was fascinating.
All in all.... an enjoyable few days and we have promised ourselves to return again soon.