Amsterdam

Concertgebouw
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What can you say about this place?  Amsterdam is the Las Vegas of Europe but not as artificial or made up. First off, the Dutch are by far the friendliest and most helpful people we have ever met. They all speak English and they don’t make you feel like an uncultured American when you ask for directions. Even the soccer “hooligans” and junkies that hang out on the streets, who have a reputation of being overly rowdy, still have that Dutch charm and regardless of the neighborhood we never felt threatened or in danger. The weather was perfect our entire stay, high 70’s and bright sunshine. Also, due to Amsterdam’s location we got about 17 hours of daylight during our stay. The sun rose about 6am and there was still light in the sky till about 11pm.

Heineken Brewery
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One note for those traveling to Amsterdam, there is major reconstruction being done pretty much everywhere. Most of the major streets are all torn up due to construction of new Metro lines and many of the major tourist attractions like the Rijksmuseum, and Royale Palace are closed for renovations. In the Rijksmuseum’s case the main building has been closed due to asbestos contamination and will not reopen till 2009. However, you can see the Masterpiece’s collection that is open in the new West wing of the museum, if you want to brave it.

What a Town!

Leidseplein Square
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Overall the city is beautiful. The Dutch architecture is, for lack of a better word, precise. The houses have straight even lines, efficient designs while still exuding that friendly open Dutch flavor. You can even see some similarities to those older buildings located in lower Manhattan, rightfully so, since it was New Amsterdam before it was New York. We spent most of our time walking, walking and more walking. Amsterdam is a great walking city since it is located right on sea level. The rest of the time was spent taking pictures of closed attractions and trying to find nice outdoor cafes that weren’t too touristy (since they gouge you on the price and way too crowded). We would recommend exploring the number of smaller side streets as opposed to the main squares for nice, charming and moderately priced cafes. And usually the quality of the food will be much better. We even left our bank card in the hotel and only realized it after we had ordered our lunch. The waiter was very relaxed and said nonchalantly “what can we do now” and let us come back later and pay him for the meal. Great town and great people!

New Church
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Well we’re now off to Croatia, enjoy the pics!