Amsterdam,Netherlands

It was the start of the holiday rush so I had to decide if I wanted to spend another Christmas alone and bored at home or go explore. Hmm let me think….this is definitely a no brainer! I decidedly took advantage of the cheap winter airfares. Arriving in Amsterdam in winter the city had many tourist, but they were mostly europeans.  It was a short visit and I only had 3 days before my train trip into northern Germany, so I needed to make the best of the opportunity.  I secured a room in a very nice hotel in the heart of the city directly across from central station, reasonably priced and a quick 5 minute walk across the bridge. The familiar European charm of cobbled stone streets is hard on my suitcase wheels but the crisp winter air and a light rain was a welcomed change from the usual humid Florida weather.  

Day 1 one was spent on an airplane, checking into hotel and securing dinner. I was a little jet lagged so today was a short one, tomorrow early rise to take the hop on hop off tour I booked online a few days before. On day 2, the hop on hop off tour was easy to find as it was close to the central train station just off the canal. This tour was reasonably priced at $20-30 USD thru booking.com and included access to all the main points of the city by bus and by canal boat.  The ticket I bought was for 24 hrs use, I decided not to do 48 hrs because on my final day I wanted to do some shopping within walking distance of the hotel and just take it easy.  In the end I chose to access only the canal boat tours as it hits all major tourist points, kept me dry and kept me out of city car traffic, which by the way, was a tip from one of the concierge at the hotel.   

Day 3 a shopping and relax day.   A good chance to buy some souvenirs, my items  are always small enough to fit in my backpack/carry-on.  A couple years ago I decided not to buy useless items that I will never use once at home . So now I stick to refrigerator magnets for myself….still mostly useless but it will do. I did not get into the Anne Frank’s museum/cafe as you need to book tickets on line and it was packed with tourists, so I gave up that idea. There is a chocolate museum, the famous red light district, and good food including the famous Dutch Pancake Company. A nice city for sure, with lots to see and do. If you traveling in the spring you can also wonder thru the tulip and flower fields the Dutch are famous for. With the exception of the obvious smell of cannabis my short time in the city was well used but if you like the smell of cannabis then you will be in good company with a lot of other visitors. Day 4 was uneventful as I had to catch an early train to Dusseldorf , Germany here I come.