Day 1

Amsterdam… City of almost everything what is forbidden or unusual if we are comparing with other countries.

Cheap flight, hotel reservation made by internet and here we go!

We decide (with my sister) to go from airport Shipool to city with train. Difference in price is huge – 8€ per 2 tickets per train or about 60€ with taxi.

We arrived in Amsterdam in the morning and it was full of people. All around was a lot of garbage. Later we found out one evening before they had big celebration for Queen’s birthday. Great – so happy birthday queen!

Our first decision was buy tickets for tram, go to coffee and slowly find a hotel. When we were waiting for tickets for tram we found one very interesting book, actually ticket bookJ - I Amsterdam card. It’s very nice ticket book/card (for 2 days costs around 50€ per person) and you get there tram ticket for 2 days and 15 tickets for free visit of museums and other sights, and what is more you have also discounts for if I remember right around 20 museum, sights and restaurants. Later, when we count what everything we should pay without this card we find out that we save more than 60€ per each…

So – after long waiting in line to get this book/card we decide that we will walk to coffee. It was sunny morning, some amazing smell in air, like some new experience… We walk from main station by Damrak street, stop for a while on Dam and then turn left…

We walked with our luggage by some narrow streets before we decided where to go to coffee. We enjoy sun and start watching map – and suddenly – Oh my god, we are in the middle of Red Light district! Just great, brave girls and in some way lucky…J

We just start laughing and found out why were all who was passing by so staring in us and our luggage.

Now it was new mission in front of us. I already know I made a reservation for some quite BWC room almost in city centre, near tram station. Everything was true, near centre, even near Heineken brewery, near tram station except---it was not so nice room and it was common BWC. Dirty and ugly common BWC. We don’t care so much how the room looks like, anyway we are usually all day around and we need room only for sleeping… but dirty bathroom and toilet – bljak.

After check in in hotel we decide to go to the largest and most famous park in Amsterdam – Vondelpark. Park is full of people which are enjoying a sunny day, dog-walking, jogging, roller-skating, listening to music, people-watching, or just lazing about in grass. It was nice even the weather start being cloudy. Probably I never saw so many dogs at same place like there.

For first day we had one more thing in plan – Bloemenmarkt, one of the most interest places in Amsterdam, which is located between the Koningsplein and the Muntplein. First we just made sightseeing and later we also bought some flowers. It is great because they have already prepared useful packages for tourist that you can take flowers with you on plain, train, bus…

After that we carried all the stuff we bought to hotel and went to dinner. It was almost 8 in the evening and we – usually party animals – were already tired. We decide for some Argentinean restaurant in Rembrandtplein, take a short walk and go home to sleep. Before we fall down in bed we just prepare shortly plan for next day.