One of Europe's top weekend break destinations. The sort of place you feel just have to tick off while you are young and yes there is a Hard Rock Café in the centre which sells the usual souvenirs.
This is the just about every tourist's first view of Amsterdam - from Centraal Station looking towards Dam Square. There is a regular train service from Schipol Airport. Make sure you get on a train to Centraal Station and not one going to one of the outer areas of the city, you should be warned about this though. In addition to the airport service there is also a twice daily boat train service from Hoek van Holland (mistranslated as the Hook of Holland when really it should be the Corner of Holland.)
The thing to remember is to watch out for the trams as they are quiet and can start without warning while you are listening to the buskers, trying to take in that you have actually made it here and wondering what to do next. The usual warnings about pickpockets apply particularly in this area.
After successfully crossing the tram tracks we can look back to the station and take a picture to prove to our friends that we've actually made it here.
Anyone who has ever been to Amsterdam will recognise the shape and colour of the St. Nicolas Kerk.
The Main Drag in American terms. The Damrak to you and me. In reality a tourist street full of the usual outlets, beureux de change, fast food joints, tourist versions of various national cuisines. You could be almost anywhere in the world at this moment.The only thing to tell you that it is Amsterdam is the Beurs van Bilage on the left.
The memorial at The Dam.
The Palace at the Dam. Tick this one off quickly before moving on to explore the real Binnenstad..
Ah that's better . Away from the crowd now. One of Amsterdam's grachten (small canals).
This is what we came here for wasn't it. It's really nice just to take it easy, stroll round and soak up the atmosphere rather than rush round ticking off the sights. You can cover more distance on a hire bike but the traffic and trams are not for the faint hearted though you can always get off and walk if the going gets tough. As I am a keen cyclist. I would recommend taking a train out of the city for a day and practicing somewhere a bit quieter in order to build up your street savvy. Bikes can be hired from all the major railway stations but in the peak Summer months it is advisable to make a reservation.
I do love the way the light reflects off the water on this one and as I cant paint this is the best I can do. If you want a better image you'll have to go to the Rijksmuseum. If you can't afford the trip you could always visit the site by clicking here:
Back to the hustle and bustle and here we see the Bulldog on the Leidseplein. Very popular with British tourists largely because it reminds them of home I think. Even the girls are like those from Britain (that's of course because they are !!). It serves pints but bear in mind they are stronger than those in your local and nobody rings the bell at 11:00 giving you 20 minutes to charge your glass, swill it down and beat the rush to the kebab van.
Looking the other way. Not that many people about but it gets buzzing from about 7:00 p.m. on a Saturday night.
The Rijksmuseum. The photographer made a mistake and left his thumb over a portion of the lens but thanks to judicious use of Paintshop I've managed to produce some sort of resemblance of this important landmark. The Nightwatch is housed here which unlike the Mona Lisa is not a serious anti-climax.
The Van Gogh Museum from Museumplein. Modern Art Lovers can also visit the Stedelijk (Municipal) Museum in the same area which you can just see as the red building on the extreme left of the picture.
When you are tired of traipsing round art galleries you can unwind in the nearby Vondelpark. It?s tall and thin and runs roughly East-West. There are plenty of cafes and restaurants where you can escape the hustle and bustle of the city. The park is also popular with rollerbladers, skaters, cyclists and the like but thankfully these are separated from the pedestrians.
Longer distance cycling is also possible.
The main location of the World's Favourite Brewer. Tours are available by the way.
Those in search of a watercourse wider than the grachten can head for the Amstel to East of the main tourist centre. This is the river from which the city gets its name and also the name of a popular beer (brewed by Heineken up the road). One rather cynical tourist guide was heard to quip that Amstel water is the sole ingredient of the export form.
The Price Waterhouse Coopers building by Amstel station. "Another boring office development" I hear you say but this structure is interesting in a number of ways. Firstly the British accountancy professionals in Europe tend to do business in a very British way but to me the building looks as it it has been designed by an American architect in their post-modern corporate style. The British in an identity crisis. Never.
Originally there were two (or perhaps four) firms. Coopers and Lybrand and Price Waterhouse. One has to ask what every happened to Lybrand. My theory is that he attempted to embark on a solo career and ended up like Gary Barlow rather than Robbie Williams. Musical differences are often cited in these cases but the reality is that Lybrand got all the girls and the other three got fed up with waiting in the van after gigs.
Just a normal grass bank at first sight but if you look again you will see lamp posts and a blue rubbish bin at a higher level than the road. The astounding thing about this is there is actually a large volume of water at the higher level which makes the non-Hollander feel very vulnerable indeed. Make own jokes here.
By mistake I managed to discover a very rural area of the city within its limits narrowly escaping this flock of geese with just a couple of nipped ankles.
A real working waterway that doesn't just carry tourists and canal bikes. The Amsterdam-Rijn (Rhine) Canal connects the city with the great river at Utrecht allowing access to the Rhine/Rhur industrial region of Northern Germany.
A rather moody shot of a bridge over the canal. In reality it's 4:30 in the afternoon and the photographer has about two minutes to find shelter before getting a soaking.
Now that the rain has stopped it's time to head back to the centre via another gracht.
Time for a quiet cup of coffee and the chance to send some email home.
The view back towards the Rijksmuseum.
No this is not the World's first piece of graffiti written in Times New Roman but a composite photograph of the Three Sisters pub and a sign above a furniture store near the Rijksmuseum. I couldn?t resist experimenting with Paintshop though I'll have to improve before the tabloids come knocking at my door.
Readers are invited to save the photograph (218_18a.jpg) and create their own versions but please keep it clean and don?t mention my name or I'll get sued by the Foreign Office.
I wonder where the name came from. There is a set of chalk spikes like The Needles on the South Coast (what is the correct name by the way) and a Seven Sisters Road and tube station in London. There were two ugly sisters and five Nolan Sisters so that can?t be it. The Beverly and Andrews Sisters were American and there was only one Shakesphere's Sister. My theory is that it is a monument to corporate downsizing - the philosophy of reducing business to it?s core activities. I can only hopusiness to it?s core activities. I can only hope that the long distance footpath between the tube station and Spurs? ground at White Hart Lane has been preserved. Note that this ancient well trodden route is said to have magical powers as the distance on the return journey doubles when your team has lost (though these days this is a rare occurrence so there's no need to take a tent).
Novermber 2002
The Three Sisters do actually exist but in the French Alps but don't tell the regulars (sorry boys.)
Be warned it gets very dark, very quickly here. I only popped in for a quick pint.
There's plenty of trams even at this late hour but I'm heading for the train
A welcoming sight now let?s get home.
I'll finish with a link to the Tourist Information Site.
http://www.amsterdamtourist.nl/
Enjoy your trip if you come.
