We recently had a city break in Amsterdam. It was our first time visiting this beautiful city and despite the climate being just as unpredictable as that in the UK, we had a great week being tourists and visiting some of the must do places.
First off, let me say this – Amsterdam is very expensive – and by this, I mean everything! I don’t know if this is just down to the Euro / Pound exchange rate but be prepared to pay 3-4 Euros for a bottle of Coke / Pepsi, and 30 Euros for a McDonalds!!! Ouch!
That aside, the city is packed full of things to see and do, and in the three full days we had there, we really enjoyed visiting the Anne Frank House, the Van Gough Museum and also just taking time to wander around the cobbled streets to see the architecture of the city – keeping a look out for the never-ending stream of cyclists.
We stayed in a hotel close to the city centre and found that the daily travel card on the trams more than met our transportation needs. Trams are very frequent, and you can get to most places easily using them, or on foot once you get your bearings.
The people are very friendly and most speak good English, so we had no issues ordering meals etc in any of the places we visited.
This aside, I did get some time to head out with my camera as I was keen to capture some of the endless photo opportunities along the waterways and streets. Many of the bridges light up at night and they look amazing with the reflections on the water. The crooked houses of Damrak are a must see, as is (in my opinion) the Astoria building.
Most of my photos on this trip were taken in the late afternoon / evening as this seemed to be the only time the rain stopped for a while and gave me chance to grab some shots.
These are just some of the highlights of our trip and being just a short flight from the UK, I would imagine that we will be returning at some point in the future to see more of this amazing city…..
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