The City: Amsterdam, The Nethelands
Travel Dates: 21-24 MAR07
Lodging: Flying Pig Downtown
Airline: British Midlands
Travelmate: Dear!
Amsterdam: Capital of The Netherlands
A little bit of History - Amsterdam started off as a fishing village in the 12th century and has since bloomed into one of the most historial and cultural cities in europe. the 17th century marked the golden age of this city. Amsterdam is situated on the banks of the Amstel river and was founded by 2 fisherman. the daming of this river gave Amsterdam its name over time (in Dutch: Amstelredam "Dam in the Amstel")
City of 'Sin'- Pple are smoke pot wherever u go. Famous for its dodgy coffeehouses and red light district. Its ironic that the amsterdam coat of arms and flag bear 3 red 'X's though it has totally nothing at all to do with 'that industry'. (Historians believe they represent the 3 dangers that traditionally plagued the city: flood, fire and pestilience). Despite these, the city has many redeeming qualities! - great museums, rather picturesque (though not really so at the moment since they are building another tram line), nice large parks to walkabout, fantastic local public transport at an affordable price (unlike london.. bleagh), train lines connect amsterdam to the rest of Holland and even Brussels in Belgium! u can cycle all over amsterdam within 5 km (apparently). nice.
Den Haag (The Hague): The old capital of The Netherlands, the centre of government for Holland. All the aristocratic and political activity occurs here. Embassies, government buildings and ministries are located here.
Most widely recognised dutch symbols: Windmills, Clogs, Cheese, Tulips (Holland is the largest exporter of flower bulbs in the world - no surprise there.)
Keukenhof Spring GardenS!!!
My most enjoyed attraction - the most beautiful spring garden in the world. Keuken-hof: meaning Kitchen Garden (it was a garden surrounding a castle in the past and herbs were gathered from this garden for the castle kitchen). 7 million bulbs are planted each year. The park is open for 2months in spring; massive bulb fields surround the park. Designed by a dutch who modelled the garden after an english landscape garden.
Flower Market @ Singel, Amsterdam
Hint: Place your cursor over the pics to enlarge!
Tonnes of flowers, roots, bulbs, souvenirs available here at very affordable prices! Holland roses @ SGD13 for 10 stalks!! cheap. my goodness.. -_-
Amsterdam Attractions
Imagine owning your own boat house (250,000) and sailing around holland in it. amazing.. Windmills were traditionally used to pump water out from lakes in holland to create 'polder' land or new arable land. FYI, 40% of the country lies below sea level. the dutch have a saying, "God created the world but the Dutch created Holland.'
Heineken Brewery, Amsterdam
I still think the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin was better despite 1.5pints free Heineken, 2 "rides" and a free gift. Guinness tastes better too.
Dutch Countryside
Visited the famous Windmill Village Zaans Schans where we saw a clog-making demonstration at a woodenshoemaker's; the fishing village of Volendam where we learnt the traditional way of making cheese; finally we took a boat ride to Marken and walked through the small village, which used to be an island until it was connected to the main island by a dyke.
Blue Peacock Delft Pottery Factory, Delft
Demonstration and explanation of the making of Delftblue porcelain, also known as Delftware. 95% of "Delftware" sold in Holland are imitations. Look for the original logos! Nice, very expensive but looks like imitation of chinese porcelain - though its supposedly a combination of european and oriental styles.
Marudodam
The miniature town of Marudodam where Holland monuments, landmarks and attractions are built on a 1:25 scale! Spot the Singapore airlines plane at the miniature Schipol Airport. Haha~ The Ice Zoo is open to visitors for 2 months in spring.
City Review: 8/10
Spectacular. 4 days isn't enough. Too many museums unseen and not all the flowers @ keukenhof were in bloom. the best time to go to amsterdam would be in early may i believe. wish i could have spent more time there learning and understanding the Dutch culture and history. Great city, would definitely visit it again and get around by bike.
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