Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Amsterdam, The Venice of the North. (Photo Gallery)

This was my first full weekend here since I arrived in Regensburg Germany. It was by chance that I came to know that some of the gang here were heading for Amsterdam for the weekend and I tot why not just trot along ?

Ever wondered why ppl say "Dun bring me to Holland" ?
Now I know that it is because the Netherlands or better known as Holland to us, is a very flat and low-lying country, where nearly a quarter of it's territory is below sea level, in which permanent settlement was only possible once dikes had been built to withstand the sea.

The Netherlands has always taken great advantage of its position on the sea and the rivers and, as a result, the low-lying western coastal areas became the most densely populated. The fact that these areas that have formed the centre of economic activity since the late Middle Ages later became known as the provinces of North and South Holland led to the Netherlands being better known as Holland in many countries.



The Journey~
I had barely slept for 2 hours when I had to wake up at 1:30 am to prepare for the journey. We started at 3am and drove for 8 hours in our Mercedes E-Class with GPS, which proved so handy. After checking in to the hotel, we drove 25 km to the city. Bad idea !!!! There are limited parking spaces and all of them are expensive !!! After 1 hour of jam and confusion, we finally parked our car in Waterloopien Shopping Complex which cost us EUR 34. Not a great start but.....it's OK.

The Route~
Day 1 :
Waterloopien Flea Market -> Canal -> Damrak -> Van Gogh Museum -> Rijks Museum ->
PC Hooftstraat -> Vondel Park -> Dam Square -> Madame Tussaud -> West Church ->
Amsterdam Houses -> Magna Plaza -> De Waag -> Red Light District -> Sex Museum ->
Central Station -> Red Light District.

Day 2 :
Den Haag -> Kinderdijk.

Waterloopien Flea Market~
Our first stop is the largest flea market in Amsterdam. In the olden days, the merchants on this square used to sell everything from bric-a-brac to genuine antiques, genuine junk, goods of dubious origin and second-hand clothes. Since the reinstatement of the flea market on its original location the merchandise has become more geared towards visiting tourists with lots of second-hand apparel and smoking paraphernalia, souvenirs n tulips. Great place for souvenirs and parting with your cash :(

The Canal Belt (Grachtengordel)~
The canals of course are one of the major attractions of the 'Venice of the North'. By daytime already very charming, by night they become even more enchanting because a lot of the canal houses and bridges are beautifully illuminated. This is ironic because the canals were filled mainly for sanitary reasons. Even now, the remaining waterways are still pretty filthy. The four main city center canals are Prinsengracht, Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Singel, and of course there are numerous smaller canals. You could take a canal tour with special candle light dinner, canal bus or boats. Canal Tour: €10.00

Damrak~
From bars and shops to cafes and erotic entertainment, you can find it all on this picturesque main street of Amsterdam. In case you didn't know, drug is legal in Amsterdam and thus coffeeshops are unique Amsterdam establishments where it's okay to smoke weed. The brew they serve comes not in a cup but in a bowl, with digestible such as space cakes. Walking into one of these joints is a trip all by itself. You are immediately enveloped by a cloud of smoke so thick it can induce a residual high without ever having to light up. As we did not want to wander aimlessly through town after consuming these crazee concoctions, we skipped the coffeeshops altogether :(

Van Gogh Museum~
The world's largest collection from the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) features more than 200 paintings and 600 drawings. Among my favorites are Sunflowers and The Potato Eaters.

Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, in their gold, red , rust, blue, and purple, are like no other sunflowers. They are giant in shape, with abundant seeds and unexpected shapes. The petals and leaves seem to shake and move with life. It is ironic that Van Gogh, whose life was tenuous because of poverty and illness, was able to paint about life in a most stirring way. It is as if his illnesses made life all the more sweeter to admire and portray.

The Potato Eaters, completed in 1885, is considered by many to be Van Gogh's first great work of art. Although the piece is laced in darkness, the mixed emotions residing in the faces of the occupants shine out brightly. These figures are so intense that one can nearly hear the conversations being spoken around the table. Perhaps this vibrancy layered with the darkness is what draws one closer to examine the smaller details of the painting.

After about 2 hours of intense feeding of my artistic brain cells, I needed a break. I rushed through other drawings and journals and heads out.
Admission : €13.50; Audio Guide: €1.50

The National Museum (Rijksmuseum)~
This museum boasts the largest art collection in The Netherlands. It includes paintings dating from the 15th century up until 1850, as well as some quite stunning pieces of furniture. The star painting, Rembrandt’s Nightwatch, hangs alongside several Vermeers and Van Hals. But...seen enuff ! So ...no more paintings :)
Admission: €9.00

PC Hooftstraat~
From museum, we switched our attention to shopping as we walked through this shopping street on our way back to town. It's a street where all the branded stuff are. Altough, it's on sale, shopping just wasn't one of the items on our agenda. Too bad...

Vondel Park~
Just walked briskly through Vondel Park as we were running behind time. This Amsterdam's most famous park was designed and built in 1850, which today is a popular place for tourists and residents who can enjoy a variety of outdoor activities such as biking, hiking, jogging and picnicking.

Leiden Square (Leidse Plein)~
On the way back to city center, we passed by Leiden Square. If you are planning for a night out in Amsterdam, this is the place to be. It is known as the center of nightlife where you can choose from hundreds of bars, clubs, restaurants and discos that would suit every style and taste.

Dam Square~
All roads lead to Dam Square, the real heart of Amsterdam, where The Royal Palace, the Nieuwe Kerk and the War Memorial overlook this vast and bustling open space. The Royal Palace, designed by Jacob van Campen, was built in 1648, as Amsterdam’s city hall. When King Louis Napoleon arrived in Amsterdam, in 1808, he had the city hall turned into a palace. The large collection of Empire-style furniture, chandeliers and clocks date from this period.
Admission: €4.50

De Waag~
The Waag, located on the Nieuwmarkt square, was part of the old town ramparts. It had a new function: a weighing house. Nowadays, De Waag also functions as a restaurant and media centre .

Houses~
One of the many impressive feature of Holland is their multi-storey houses. Houses were normally 4 to 6 stories high with large window and very narrow horizontally.




Red Light District~
Just behind the Nieuwmarkt square, hidden among some small alleys is the red light district. This is probably the highlights of our visit (u noe...hahaha). This area in the oldest part of Amsterdam is known for the red neon windows that display barely-dressed prostitutes advertising their services which is legal in Holland. Once you gets near them, they will somehow seduce you by shaking their "body parts". Anyway, besides the windows and the "goldfish" in it, the area sports various erotic bars and theaters. We went into 1 of them and took a peep show for about 3 mins.
Peep show: €4.50 ; Other Services: No comment :(

Sex Museum (Seks Museum)~
Amsterdam is infamous for its Sex Museum. The extremely tacky Museum, the only one in Europe, is full of erotica – objets, photos, prints, paintings and videos – dating from the Roman era to about 1960, although somehow manages to be totally devoid of eroticism.
Parental advise is required to view photos from this gallery :)
Admission: €2.60

Hmmmmmm.....after the Sex Museum, the Sun had finally set at 10 pm. We decided to go back to the red light district and patrol for another round. After all, a visit to the red light district wouldn't be complete if you have not witness the glittering red neon lights :) It was much fun this time as the crowd has gathered on the street but many of the "displays" were already "working"...if U noe what I mean ;)

And so, the day ended the same way as it started for me, tired n sleepy but well worth the experience. That was all of Amsterdam city that we could cover.

The next day is dedicated for other parts of the Netherlands. We had planned to drive south along the coastal area of Den Haag and stop by at Kinderdijk where the windmills are. Also in the plan is Rotterdam but we had 2 scrap it due to time constraint.

The Hague (Den Haag)~
The Hague is a compact version of a cosmopolitan city. Seaside and woodland are never further than a couple of miles away. It's a great city if you are looking for a blend of nature and sky scrappers. That sounds too good of a city which resulted in us getting ourseulves into a massive jam on your way to the beach. Almost everyone in the Netherlands were heading for Den Haag during summer !!!

Den Haag is also known as the Legal Capital of the World. This is because the Peace Palace, the International Criminal Court, the Yugoslavia Tribunal, ICJ, Eurojust – they all have their seat in The Hague. In addition, The Hague houses many NGOs and organizations such as OPCW and Europol. Did you know that the water dispute issue between Singapore n Malaysia were trialled in the Peace Palace ?

Kinderdijk~
One of the highlights of our trip must be the visit to Kinderdijk. Just 30 mins from Rotterdam and situated in a rather rural location, Kinderdijk is a historical location known for its 19 traditional windmills, which is now a United Nations global cultural monument.
Admission to Windmill: €5.00

That's it for The Netherlands. Now...time to endure the 8 hour journey back home.

more pix...

Regensburg, Germany

Coming up...