Amsterdam, Part One

Some friends of mine from Oz, Ben and Claire, were visiting and we all decided to spend Easter in Amsterdam (yes, I know life is tough). Tamsin decided she would tag along as well, so after picking Ben and Claire up from the bus station (yes, they came direct from Heathrow) we headed out to Bournemouth to catch our flight.

We must have landed in Belgium because it took up about 20 minutes to taxi to the terminal, it was longer then the time we spent in the air! Anyway, we were now in Holland.

Most of you should know by now how much I love the country. So it was great to be back. We jumped on a train and headed for the city centre and then down to the hotel (which was only about a 15 minute walk from Centraal Station).

By the time we arrived Ben and Claire were stuffed (which was not a surprise considering they had not slept for about 30 hours). So they headed off to bed and Tamsin and I went to have a look around. It was three years since I was last in Amsterdam, but I still remembered my way around! We stopped to grab some food at Wok To Go (very cool!) and then just wandered through the old city. Eventually we ended up in the Red Light District (much to Tamsin's shock) - which was still an eye opener!

We eventually made our way back to the hotel (via the bar across the road) and went to bed!

The next morning Ben and Claire looked a little bit more alert! So we headed down towards the Rijksmuseum via the Begijnhof. This was an enclosed garden and once you entered it was like the city did not exist. It was so quiet and peaceful inside!

The line for the Rijksmuseum was huge (it pays to book ahead - then you can wander straight in!). But we stuck with it. Unfortunately most of the museum was closed for renovation, but the small exhibition they kept was interesting and we still got to see Rembrandt's Nachtwacht.

We then had a spot of lunch before jumping on a canal boat for a tour of the city. This is something I had not done before, so it was different to see the city from a different angle!

Afterwards Tamsin went back to the hotel to have a nap while Ben, Claire and I sat down and had a drink. We then headed over to the Anne Frank Huis (another place I had not been before) which was quite heavy going. Luckily we arrived late enough in the day that it was not too busy.

We then headed to an Argentinean Steakhouse (which seemed to be all the rage) for dinner, before giving Ben and Claire a tour of the red light district (Tamsin was an expert now after her visit the night before). It is interesting (or a shame depending on how you look at it), that the district is in one of the nicest parts of the city.

Anyway, Ben and Claire seemed to enjoy it (well Claire especially! ;-)) which was good. So after a quick drink we then headed back to the hotel!



The Begijnhof


Canal View


Crooked Canal House


The Rijksmuseum


Canal


Canal Houses


Claire, Tamsin and Ben (Kearns)


More Canal


More Canal


A 3D Nachtwatch


Canal Crossroads!