I❤️amsterdam, Part II: Canals, Red Lights and Coffee Shops

This post is not meant to be a review of the city of Amsterdam, but an overview of the things I saw and did while I was there.  Hopefully the photos I've included will entice you to visit this marvelous little metropolis.

Amsterdam is such a lively, compact and beautiful European city.   Amongst the quaint and uniquely Dutch edifices that make up the city itself, you experience the whizzing of thousands of bicyclers peddling their way to one place or another, trams carrying the masses to and from work, and of course, the canals.  At any given moment, while walking around, you may come upon one of a myriad of these picturesque waterways for which the city is partly famous.

    

Canals

Here are some photos I snapped of some pretty beautiful canals, both big and small:

Red Lights and Coffee Houses

Amsterdam is also known for being a very liberal city, perhaps one of the most liberal in the world.  Between the infamous red light district to the legalized cannabis, people who enjoy participating in the more risque things in life flock to the city to partake in the world's oldest profession and the world's most popular drug.  Wherever you find a coffee house, you will find the almighty weed, and whether or not a visitor chooses to partake in either of these things, you can't help but notice...

So, for what it's worth, I enjoyed every moment of my three days in Amsterdam.  To learn more about the city, check out iamsterdam for everything from soup to nuts, and in the meantime, stay tuned for the rest of the story of Europe 2018.

Also check out I❤️amsterdam, Part I: The City & Architecture & I Was On a Paris Train

I❤️amsterdam, Part I: The City & Architecture

Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities in Europe, and when I had the opportunity to spend the first three days of my vacation anywhere, I chose to come here.  I'd been to Amsterdam before, twice on school trips, but never on my own, and I was excited at the prospect of seeing the beautiful city in more of its entirety.  I wasn't disappointed.

There are so many things about Amsterdam that I love, the architecture, the scenery, the people, the openness and the quaintness of it all, and of course the canals.  Here are some photos and comments on this wonderful Dutch city that you should surely visit at least once in your lifetime.  Check it out...

Amsterdam is a small enough city to navigate (though admittedly I did get lost on more than one occasion, lol.)  The one thing to remember is that Amsterdam Centraal, the main train station in the city, is pretty much central to everything.  Whenever I did get lost, all I had to do was look for signs that pointed to the beautiful edifice at the center of it all and I could easily find where I wanted to go.

Architecture

The city of Amsterdam and The Netherlands in general is famous for its architecture, and there are plenty of beautiful edifices throughout the city.  The Dutch style is very uniquely geometric, and very pleasing to the eye.  Here are some examples:

This style of architecture is not the only style found in this beautiful city.  There are plenty of other beautiful buildings and sites all around town that give you the feel of being in a European city.  Check out these pictures:

Rembrandt Square

Well I'm realizing that Amsterdam is too special a city to cover in just one post, so I'm going to leave it here for now.  Stay tuned for many more beautiful photos and commentary on this wonderful place...

See also I Was on a Paris Train

  

Joanne's Broken Wheel

Who the heck is this Joanne person?

That was one of the first questions I'd been asked by my friends after I got back from Europe.  I'd been posting pictures on Facebook from over there, and she was in many of them.  I don't really talk about her to my friends at home, so that's why they'd never heard of her before, but I'm so glad she was a fellow chaperone on this trip.  She provided a lot of laughs all around and she and I spent lots of quality time together.  The two of us have became closer because from the whole experience, as have we all, but she and I definitely took a lot of selfies together.

You have to really know Joanne to understand her.  She is a character, and her sweet, almost naive way and her genial nature make her easy to like, and easy to have fun with.  Case in point: the broken wheel...

Now this was one of a couple of humorous incidents that happened with Joanne in Europe.  It happened on just our third day.  We'd just left the hotel in Amsterdam and we were scheduled to catch the high speed Thalys train to Paris.  All was fine until we got to the train station and had to unload the bus with all of the luggage.

Our bus driver was a mannish woman, and she tossed out the bags from the belly of the bus like a pro, except when she got to Joanne's.  Somehow, one of the two wheels on her big bag got caught up on the lip of the baggage area and it came off.  We had all been rushing to catch the train...we had to walk some to get there...and no one noticed, except me.

She broke my wheel!  Joanne yelled out as she rushed up behind me, now practically dragging a wheel-less, and heavy, bag down the cobblestone street.  I couldn't help but chuckle a little at the site, and I offered to switch with her.

I can't believe it! What am I gonna do now?

She was more worried than angry, thinking about going the next ten days like this.  

I gotta buy a new bag!  

Okay, so that was definitely a plan, but I still found the whole thing pretty funny.  We finally got to the train station and we gathered on the platform waiting for the train to show up.  She was still all ruffled about the wheel, and I suggested taking a picture to remember the incident.

Okay Joanne, hold the wheel up and show how angry you are...

I'm laughing now even as I post this... 

Joanne, you are angry!  That woman broke your damned wheel.  Show me you're a tiger...

Okay, well I guess I was making her laugh.  She started to try...

Finally, she got angry...really angry.  Way to go Joanne!!!  You did it!

Just another day later and Joanne bought a new bag in Paris.  She no longer had difficulties lugging a big bag around sans wheel, and she was happy...until the next incident...Love her!

Check out my other posts about my trip to Europe:

Amster...dam, Part I

Gouda Cheese and Clogs

Amster...dam: The End

Amster...dam, Part III...The End!

Looking back at that Europe trip, it seemed as if Amsterdam was the place we spent the most time in, and even then, it wasn't enough.  I'm hoping to go back to Europe in the summer of 2016 and when I do, I'm definitely going to spend much more time there...

After leaving Volendam, we headed back into the city of Amsterdam for one last visit.  The plan was to visit the Anne Frank House, one of Amsterdam's most popular attractions, and have some free time to explore the city a little on our own, but there was one last unplanned stop at another site for which this country below sea level is famous for...windmills.  

There it was, right alongside of the road back to Amsterdam, one last bastion of old Dutch life. Without even investigating it any further, I would imagine that the Dutch use much more modern forms of energy harnessing, and so this surely is a relic of times gone by.  Cool!

After a few snapshots by the old mill, we headed back into the city of Amsterdam for one last time. The line at the Anne Frank line was enormous...at least a two-hour wait to get in.  We were all given the option to either wait, or get three-plus hours of free time.  Since I am one of the very few people who never read The Diary of Anne Frank, I wasn't too keen on waiting that long, so I opted for the free time.  Besides, if I hadn't, that would have pretty much been it for Amsterdam, and I so wanted to explore!

My fellow chaperone and music teacher Audrey and I then embarked our own, long exploration of the city...and we had a blast!  We ate at a rooftop restaurant with beautiful views of the city, we walked around, interacting with several Dutch people, all of whom were very nice, and we shopped. I even got a cool new sweater out of the deal!  It was a wonderful way to end our first leg of the trip.

All in all, visiting Amsterdam was a great experience!  The next morning we were off to Paris, but I have definitely put this place on a future travel to-do list...there's so much more to experience!  Here are some final pictures from Amsterdam.  I hope you've enjoyed all that I've shared about the place and perhaps dream of visiting there yourself.  Check out my past posts on Amsterdam below the photos and stay tuned for Paris...

Look what I found at the flower market!

This pancake looks like a pizza, no?

Me n my pal Joanne!

Check out:

Amster...dam, Part I

Gouda Cheese and Clogs

  

Amster...dam, Part II: Gouda Cheese and Clogs

To discover some of the more traditional Dutch things to be found in the Netherlands, we had to traverse outside of Amsterdam, which is how we began our second day. This day felt less rushed and a bit more relaxed than the first, as we headed by bus towards Volendam, a small, quaint historic seaside town in northern Holland, about a half hour's drive from the city. Before setting off to explore the harbor town, though, we took a quick stop to learn about two tried and true Dutch staples: Gouda cheese and clogs...

Yes, they still make clogs in Holland, and for some strange reason, they make cheese in the same places, too! Somewhere on the road between Amsterdam and Volendam, there was a ruralish area that was home to at least a couple of these cheese/clog shops, and we made a stop at the first one we came upon, I believe it was called Irene's.

A quick check inside by Steve, our tour guide, and Ivan, the tour leader, we were ushered off the bus to watch and learn how both world-famous Gouda cheese and clogs are made.  I have to say, it wasn't as boring as I thought it would be.  The cheese-making demonstration was interesting enough, but the clog maker, I think, missed his calling.  In between shavings and cuts of smallish pieces of wood that would eventually become traditional Dutch shoes, he had the kids laughing with a slick sense of humor and some humorous clog-making demonstrations.

 

After the demonstrations, it was off to the gift shop to browse and purchase, what else...cheese and clogs.  I tell ya, even though this place was in a rural area, they sure knew how to market their goods. Delectable samples of about twenty varieties of Gouda and other cheeses were there for the tasting and the clogs, oh the clogs...even I was tempted.  In the end, though, I was sensible and only purchased several logs of cheese, some of which I gave as gifts and other that I just finished enjoying only yesterday.

Volendam

After the fun and educational stop at the cheese and clog factory, it was off to Volendam, a place my friend Lori had been to on a past trip and highly recommended as one of her favorite spots.  I was excited!  

Volendam was as charming as it was beautiful.  With one main promenade along the waterfront, alongside a marina, dozens of quaint little shops and eateries abound.  For two hours or so, my fellow travelers and I explored all it had to offer, and I think we all enjoyed every minute.  This place is definitely worth a half-day's visit if you ever find yourself in Amsterdam.  Check out the pictures and you'll surely be intrigued by this beautiful place...

I didn't buy clogs, but I tried some on...

Well, that's about it for this turn at a post.  We ended up spending about a half a day exploring the more traditional side of Holland and that morning sticks in my head as one of the highlights of the trip.  Check out my first post on my European adventure below and stay tuned for more...

Amster...dam! Part I