As this blog is also supposed to be about travel, I figured it was about time I went somewhere and found out about new things. I will now share those new things and tip top tips for visiting this vibrant European city in The Netherlands...uhm...Holland...You know...where the Dutch people live.
Best viewed in later spring. I found the air to be a bit too cold this time of year PLUS we totally missed out on all the bloomin tulips. I think end of April (during Queens Day, perhaps) or May would get you there for all the right reasons.
The feel of the place seemed very easy going, very livable. I could have spent three days, three weeks, three months just getting to know the place. Finding small retreats. Sitting on benches overlooking the canals. The wonkiness, the leaning facades, the uneven brick roads and walkways. It's amazing that the place doesn't collapse in on itself.
Personally, this place rates right up there with Prague (which I liked significantly more than Paris) just because of the atmosphere, the brown cafes and the open terrace seating. Lush. As for the Red Light District..uh...very surreal, but not as seedy as I was expecting. It was odd to see girls standing in small rooms the size of a telephone box. It was sad to see how normal they looked. Really. Like their real names could be the names of friends, sisters, daughters, neices. Do their families know? I did not dimiss them or look down on them. I just simply wondered what events unfolded to bring them to this place?
Tip top tips: It is worth figuring out how the bus and train system works the minute you land. A taxi to a central hotel will set you back two meals worth of money. Best to spend that cash on something you like. Also...make sure that your hotel is in fact within the canal system, or very close. My accommodation was a short bus journey away. Transportation is NOT cheap. Spend the extra cash and get into the thick of things.
Anne Frank looked at this church through her attic window. The Anne Frank House is a must see! Very moving, even for the hardest of hearts.
Thank you for information. Your information is quite useful for me. I hope i will go there very soon Let me check flight ticket on ECT.
Posted by: New York Hotel | November 12, 2009 at 03:48 PM