If you’ve never been to Amsterdam then I suggest you visit, we’ve all heard the stories of people on stag parties. However Amsterdam is more than Mirwana and Alcohol, their is an incredible history and architectural background like no other city I’ve seen so far.
They don’t call it the city of Bikes for nothing, they’re everywhere and it really is a sight to behold.
They’re so caring about their environment, driving electric cars, riding trams and many other public transport systems. Unlike public transport within the UK, which is usually unreliable and most people end up in taxi’s, Europe’s transport is just second to none. I never spotted a taxi, which was surprising, although the fact that a bike could run you down was a scary enough thought.
Amsterdam holds lots of Museums and Art Galleries, lots of culture to absorb, I had spent 5 days exploring the city. Collecting an IAMSTERDAM City Centre card in which you got to visit many a museum and art gallery and have your transport included, how handy.
The Red Light District is a strange one indeed, I went to visit it during nightfall and low and behold, girls draped in the window, taping on them and alluring customers in. Most of the girls were in pretty great shape, I guess maybe because they’re not my type, but overall I had nothing but respect. Reading some of the stories is quite saddening and scary but overall its treated like a job, in which girls can make a living and some are forced into it but theirs no guaranteed numbers. I think it takes pure confidence to do what they do, many people in the UK wouldn’t do it they do in Amsterdam even if it was legal in some form.
There are lots of bars and restaurants in the city, so if you;re in the mood for fancy dining, roughing it in an Irish bar they cater to most audiences in Amsterdam. Well, unless you have to eat Gluten Free then maybe not, since most restaurants we visited didn’t have anything Gluten Free, so prepare for lots of Salads.
Visiting the Van Gogh museum was something special indeed, although I was disappointed not to see Starry Night as that was currently in New York. Learning about his life was completely inspiring, to know that he was painting almost everyday was just fantastic, you could see that the Lead paint was slowly poising the artist, making him more manic as the years went on – leading to cutting his ear off and shooting himself in the chest.
Also popped into the diamond museum in the Netherlands which is called GASSAN, producing some of the finest diamonds in Amsterdam. The lady was walking us through how diamonds were made and talking about what makes up their pricing, which is cut, colour and clarity. Pulling out their diamonds in colour difference, size and brilliance – brought lots of “WOW’s” in the people visiting.
What I didn’t expect to see out there was a Castle, which is called Muiden Castle. Which is very pretty castle with an interesting history, known as a defense castle – which was built upon later on after it was destroyed. The grounds it was built on have a lovely flower garden, a real sight to behold.
