A trip to Amsterdam last weekend has once again made me desperate to go travelling. With this in mind I thought I would update my travel map and show people where I have been on my travels so far.
I hope you enjoy looking through my map and if you have any questions about my travels or anything else you have seen on my bloge, feel free to email me at FDent1@uclan.ac.uk
Saturday 5 March 2011
A weekend in Amsterdam
Photograph by Francesca DentWe flew into Amsterdam during the night and went straight to our hotel, The Best Western Blue Square. While it was a little way out of the centre of Amsterdam the bus into the centre only took around 25 minutes and the buses were regular and always on time.
The hotel itself was very clean and comfortable the rooms were cleaned daily and had all the amenities that you could need. The staff were very friendly and helped us with all of the questions we had.
On saturday we awoke to the sound of the rain hitting off the windows but refused to let the wet weather spoil our weekend. We got bus 21 from the bus stop just down the road from the hotel to the tourist information centre at the cities Central train station. If you visit Amsterdam and plan to use public transport, getting a OV-chipcard is essential. These cards are available from the tourist information centres and hotels and cover travel on all GVB (travel company) trams. These tickets can over between 24 hour to 7 days so there will be one to suit your visit.
Once we had our chipcards in hand we headed towards Dam square for some food and stumbled across , a cafe which served giant pancakes. In the interest of reliving my childhood I ordered my first pancake of the weekend and was very impressed when it arrived. After refueling we walked along through the labrynth of canals towards Anne Frank's House.
Despite the rain hundreds of people queued in front of us but once we got into the House it was worth the stand in the cold. Anne Franks house is a building which is so full of history and emotion it is hard not to feel affected by what you learn about what happened in the attic of a dutch canal house.
By Sunday the rain had got worse. Despite this we still went exploring an opted to go on one of the many bus tours Amsterdam has to offer. We hopped on the tour bus and our first stop was at a Diamond factory where we saw a 'perfect' pink dimond - a bargain at £2500! Our next stop was to the Heineken brewery, another great place to visit if you take a trip to the city. For 15 Euros you get a tour of the museum and a tasting lesson and two free drinks in the bar. I have been to a few breweries in the past but the Heineken experience was the most enjoyable by far.
Amsterdam is the perfect destination for a relaxing break and has something for everyone.
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