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| Coffee Shop in Amsterdam |
I have the feeling that a lot of
people underestimate Amsterdam,
or at least connect it with 2-3 main assumptions which honestly is quite
narrow-minded.
When I shared my plans about
visiting Amsterdam
a lot of people became highly enthusiastic and asked me /as you can imagine/
“Wow, are you going to visit a coffee shop and buy “happy cakes” or at least
some cigarettes with marijuana?’
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| Amsterdam City Canal |
Even taking the risk to be boo-ed, I
will remove the happy expectations from
your eyes and say – I didn’t get high in Amsterdam, I didn’t feel I need it
because the city just grab me and made me
feel happy and free just because… With no additional substances.
I took a plane from London-Luton to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport,
the journey lasts around 45 minutes. Basically it is as if you are making a
walk in the neighborhood. If you plan in advance /which by the way I suggest
you to do/ you can find really cheap tickets to Amsterdam
from London. I
checked some days ago and a return ticket for the end of July starts from 45 pounds…
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| Bicycles Everywhere in Amsterdam |
Amsterdam Airport is around 25 minutes away from the
city center if you travel by train and around 45 if you travel by bus. The good
thing is that all trains and buses leave directly from the airport and you
don’t need to make any changes or be confused about locations of bus stops or
train stations. Moreover, there final and sometimes only stop is the Central
Station in Amsterdam City Center
where you can take trains and buses to other cities in the Netherlands as
well as local buses. Its location is just opposite the place where the canal
boat trips start from.
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| Canal Cruises |
There are trains and buses in almost
every 5-10 minutes, the return train ticket is around 8 euro and the bus ticket
– around 6 euro. All around the airport very cheerful Dutch people help you
with all the information you need, you can buy your tickets from a tickets desk
or use self- service machines, and yes you can pay by card without being
charged extra.
For the first time, by the way, I
saw double-decker trains, I’ve seen buses like that but the trains surprised me
very pleasantly – double-deckers painted in green, yellow and orange, with
separate entrances for people with bicycles and regular travelers. Yes, for
people with bicycles, something very typical for Amsterdam
– almost every local citizen and a lot of tourists use exactly bicycles to move
around Amsterdam
and they have a lot of platforms and
places constructed for bicycle parks.
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| Amsterdam City Canals |
You will be offered to buy
Iamsterdam City Smart card with the option for free entrance in more than 30
museums, free usage of local buses and free canal cruise. The price for 1 day
is 40 euro. You can buy it from the information desks at the Airport or from
the Central Station and many places in the city. My suggestion – don’t buy it.
The transportation costs from the Airport to the City center are not included
and again you will be in a huge rush to catch the working hours of all the
objects. If you are, of course, a big museums lover maybe it’s not a bad idea
keeping in mind that the average entrance fee is around 6 euro. But personally
I prefer just walking around, speaking with local people, trying the local food
and feeling the spirit of the city. I must confess I am not a huge museum lover
and the only place I was really excited about was the Van Gogh Museum
because I am a Van Gogh fan. The entrance fee there is 8 euro.
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| Canal Houses in Amsterdam |
I was smiling a lot while I was in Amsterdam, I told you I
wasn’t stoned. It’s just sometimes walking around Amsterdam you feel as if you are in a movie
set or in an old fairytale. Almost all objects are on a walking distance from
one another and you can see the whole city centre without using buses or trams.
What /in
my opinion/ you don’t have to miss in Amsterdam:
- City Canal Cruise – the journey lasts 1 hour and the ticket price is from 7 to 14 euro, /it depends on the company/ but the places included in the offer made by any company are the same. In fact this is one of the best ways to see the city – through its canals – it’s touristy, of course, but maybe this is the best way to see Amsterdam in a short time. There is commentary in English, so you will know what you are seeing.
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| Amsterdam City Center |
- Dam Square – the very heart of Amsterdam. Some of the important and significant for Amsterdam monuments could be seen there – The Royal Palace, The National Monument and The New Church.
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| The Flower Market |
- The Red Lights District – it is located quite closer to Dam Square, the area is significant although the representatives of that special profession, presenting themselves on glass windows are… well, not that attractive. Anyway, when you ask on any street about directions to the Red Lights District everyone smiles first, but then everyone knows the place. The lights actually could be seen better in the evening but if you are just browsing through the area without intending to use “the service”, during the day is safer.
- The Flower Market – I am very upset I couldn’t see any tulips because those are my favorite flowers but in the end of May their season was over. You could buy different flowers seeds and bulbs but I don’t know exactly if you are allowed to take it in the plane and pass with them through the security control at the airport. The Flower Market is in the heart of Amsterdam’s main shopping street Kalverstraat.
- The Food Market – it’s situated close to the Royal Palace and you can find there very delicious local pastry, fresh juice, coffee and variety of foods on reasonable prices.
- The Skinny Bridge – I liked it a lot. There is a legend connected with the Bridge according to which it was built to make it easier for two sisters who lived on opposite sides of the river to visit each other.
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| The Red Lights District |
- Van Gogh Museum – they say exactly there in Amsterdam is the biggest collection of Vincent Van Gogh’s Paintings – 200 paintings, 580 drawings, and more than 700 letters by Vincent, himself.
- Amsterdam Canal Houses – maybe at some point you will feel that you are walking the same streets again, it’s just some houses look so similar and still they are so different. According to our tourist guide on the canal cruise – the bigger a house’s window is, the wealthier the people who live there are.
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| The Skinny Bridge |
Find a nice small restaurant or a Café close to the
canals, drink beer, feel the sunshine, try the local cheese, drink coffee and
feel the energy of Amsterdam…
It is of that places which you think about when you are upset or just want to
be day-dreaming. It’s like a Déjà Vu and like an expectation for a future visit
at the same time… It’s Amsterdam…
* pictures made by Assya Stravolemova
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