We were so excited to visit Amsterdam during the season of tulips, April to be exact. This city is well-known for its flower gardens, and let me tell you - they are everywhere in the spring. You can't walk past a store front or doorway without seeing these gorgeous blooms. This city is very walkable, mostly bike-able actually, with red paved bike lanes and quick cyclists around every turn. The cobblestoned streets are charming and the houseboats on the canals are marvelous. Amsterdam is dog-friendly with adorable dachshunds, spaniels, and terriers making up the bulk of dogs we saw out and about. Many of the coffee houses had a kitty-cat wandering in and out of their entryways, justifiably doing their jobs I would imagine.
We stayed in a remarkable one-room B & B called Amphora Bed & Breakfast. At 40 square meters, it's comfy-cozy but has absolutely everything you could possibly need and let me tell you - the Dutch don't waste any space. It's ideally located in the artsy Jordaan neighborhood on the Lijnbaansgracht canal. We were within walking distance to just about everything we wanted to see and the weather couldn't have been better. Our hosts, Greete Weitenberg & Niels Tans made us feel so comfortable during our visit, delivering a healthy basket of goodies to our doorway every other night. Greete is a mosaic artist and has lovingly decorated the bathrooms and kitchen of this perky little respite. I can't imagine staying anywhere else in Amsterdam!
Check out their website at www.amphora-bedandbreakfast.com to see exactly what I mean.
Oh, and stop into Amphora Art at Vinkenstraat 71 to see some gorgeous pieces. We viewed an excellent photography exhibit by Renee Klein Fotografie while we were there. Her take on 365 days of Amsterdam was quite good. If you want to see her work, check out www.reneeklein.nl.
What did we do in Amsterdam? Let me share our touristy fun with you...
Keukenhof Gardens - About 45 minutes out of town via car or bus and I highly recommend a 5-hour bus tour. This includes driving time each way. We booked through Viator/Lindbergh Tour & Travel for 40 euros per person and were very happy with the service. And the gardens... oh my goodness! They were absolutely gorgeous. Tulips, iris, hyacinth, orchids, daffodils, crocus, greenhouses, garden sculptures, a windmill, and more. This 32-hectare gardens are a must-see for those visiting Holland between March 20th and May 20th each year.
See more at www.keukenhof.nl and you'll find tour info at www.viator.com too.
Grey Line Canal Tour - jump onboard this or any other canal tour near the Damrak and you'll enjoy seeing the city from a covered canal boat. This is tourism at its finest as you float through the canals of Amsterdam viewing historic architecture, quaint and colorful neighborhoods, and houseboats galore. Grey Line offers headphones with your one-hour city tour in 20 different languages which is pretty helpful for travelers. We hopped off our bus tour and right onto the canal cruise. Perfect!
The Hermitage Amsterdam - We stopped in here to see the displaced collection of Van Gogh works while the Van Gogh Museum was being refurbished. The Hermitage Amsterdam is an arm of the famous Hermitage in St. Petersburg. I cannot vouch for what the Hermitage holds at any other time, but can say that the Van Gogh pieces were as bold and colorful in person as I had hoped they would be. The building itself is an old gorgeous brick fixture in the heart of the city. Check out their website for future exhibitions at www.hermitage.nl for more information. And if you'd like to see Van Gogh at his finest, check out the Van Gogh Museum at www.vangoghmuseum.nl.
Rijks Museum - One of the most spectacular art museums housing some of the world's finest art. You'll discover magnificent Dutch works and the popular 'Night Watch' by Rembrandt. There are many articles out there identifying whether or not these works are touched-up. But, you cannot miss the true majesty of the works you will find here in this museum, especially those by Rembrandt. Check out the Rijks Museum at www.rijksmuseum.nl and you'll see what I mean.
Anne Frank House - This unique museum tells the story of Anne Frank and her family's hiding place during World War Two. You'll find quotations from Anne's diary, photographs, filmed interviews, and artifacts from her short life. This place is such a loving tribute made available through the fortitude of her father, Otto Frank. It is an easy-to-follow self-guided walking tour (be forewarned though there are steep staircases.) The outdoor queue can get quite long but it is well worth the wait. I do recommend you go early if you hate standing in line. This was probably my favorite museum in all of Amsterdam as it was so reflective and the contents are so impeccably preserved. The website for the Anne Frank House can be found at www.annefrank.org. By the way, if you haven't read her diary - get busy.
The Jewish Quarter - We visited the Dutch Resistance Museum that holds extremely important artifacts, newspaper relics, and information portraying the Dutch resistance of Nazi occupation during World War Two. Story boards also share the occupation of Indonesia during the 1940's and 1950's. This smallish museum is easy to visit and wander through but you must bring cash or a chipcard. Check out www.dutchresistancemuseum.org for details. Next up we walked to the Jewish Cultural/Historical Museum and Portugese Synagogue. These buildings house a grand collection of Jewish memorabilia and religious artifacts, along with informational videos that describe and explain certain rituals and of the Jewish faith. The audio tour was thoughtful and most interesting!
Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art - If you are into Modern Art, stop into the Stedelijk Museum in the Museum Plein. We wandered the well-designed museum decade to decade in search of something to love and discovered that we are definitely not modern art fans. Sorry about that. But, I did enjoy the works by Chagall and Picasso. And I really loved the recreation of 'The Beanery' by Edward Kienholz. This almost-life-sized bar has great detail and viewing it one person at a time was both creepy and surreal. Modern art lovers - check out www.stedelijk.nl and enjoy...
Mike's Bike Tour - Mike's offers several different tours of the city or countryside and we chose the countryside. Our guide, Karl, took us out of the crowded streets of Amsterdam and into the country through lovely parks and past an old windmill.
We visited a clog and cheese farm where we sampled cheese and bought a few rounds home to share with our family. This tour was a great introduction to the art of riding bikes in Amsterdam, along with a lively narration of life outside the city. We loved it! Check out Mike's Bikes at www.mikesbiketoursamsterdam.com and you'll see why the Dutch enjoy their bikes so very much. Oh, and no helmets either!!
Check out this family bike and a sample of the bikes parked all over the city. We heard from Karl that there are 1.5 bikes to every 1.0 persons in Amsterdam. I believe it!
There really is so much to see in Amsterdam. We visited lovely old churches of every faith, shopped in the Nine Streets Area and stopped into several tasty old coffee shops (beer pubs to you Brits.) You can find beer on every corner of every street and hashish too if that's what you're looking for. I can't vouch for that either, as we only sampled the beer. We wandered through the Jewish Flea Market in the Jewish Quarter, and the Saturday morning Biologische Noordermarket in the Jordaan neighborhood.
We sampled Dutch pancakes ...
Italian food and Japanese cuisine too. Amsterdam is an international marketplace of delightful tastes and treats. Cheese too.
There are loads of city sculptures, and tours of every kind. You can visit the Red Light District if you choose, but I found it to be incredibly sad and skeezy. We snacked all over the city and ate whenever we felt like it. If you visit, you can NOT miss out on the delicacy that is supremely tasty and a bit interesting... French fries with mayonnaise sauce. Yep - hot, crispy fries with this sauce drizzled all over the fries.. yum! You'll find these little places everywhere in Amsterdam.
The tulips were gorgeous, the people were friendly, the cheese was fresh, the chocolate was dark and bittersweet, while the beer was cold and refreshing. But my very favorite thing of all in Amsterdam was the hot cocoa. I don't know what kind of chocolate is in their cocoa, but it was better than anything I've ever tasted. Even better than the hot cocoa in Dublin, and that's saying a lot! We sampled it at the Starbucks concept store on the Rembrandt Plein and couldn't believe how good it was. I had to go back again, and again, and again. If you figure out what kind of cocoa they use, please let me know. I came home and tried some of what we have here and it couldn't compare even a little bit.
Thanks for sharing my travels with me.
I'll be sharing our Switzerland visit with you next time.
Biking Everywhere Now...
:) Deb
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