amsterdam

canals everywhere
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Well, Amsterdam didn't really live up to our expectations.  We've been to a few other European cities and Amsterdam just seemed dirtier, and more run down.  It definitely lives up to its reputation for free living, and the Red Light District seems to have infiltrated the whole city.

We spent a day at the Keukenhof.  This is an absolutely beautiful garden.  Even though we were late for the tulips, the garden certainly supplied our fix for flowers.  It's easy to get to, we took the train to Leiden and then a bus from there.  The admission plus the bus ride was 18 euros each, and it was well worth it.  It's about 45 minutes from the city and it makes you feel like you're in a whole other world.  We spent about 5 hours there and probably could have spent longer.

It definitely lives up to its reputation for free living

flowers form keukenhof
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The city of Amsterdam is very easy to get around by foot.  We walked everywhere.  We walked up and down the canals, through the flower market  and all around the Red Light District.  It does seem though that the Red Light District is everywhere, so there's no getting around that.

The Anne Frank House is a great place to visit.  It looks like every other building from the outside, but once inside you feel like you're being swept back in time.  I think most of us have read the Diary of Anne Frank, and this really does bring it all to life.  It's amazing to see the house as it was 60 years ago, right down to the wall paper and plumbing fixtures.  There are videos and written displays that try to explain what life was like for those 2 years that the families spent in the house.  There are excerpts from the book all over the place and an interview with her father playing on one of the monitors.  It's very interesting and should be on everyone's destination list.

display at keukenhof
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We spent one whole day taking a bus tour around the country. We went to a wooden shoe factory and a dairy farm.  Getting away from the city is very different from being in the city, and more what we were used to from Europe.  We went through Haarlem -- which was beautiful.  We drove by the government buildings and the consulates.  That is a city we would go back to (maybe next year for the flowers.)  The day ended with yet another rain storm (it rained 3 out of the 4 days we were there) and a visit to the Madurodam.  It's a miniature version of all the tourist sights of the whole country.

Overall, I'm glad we went, but I was glad to leave too.  I don't think I'd go back again, but I do still want to see the fields of flowers that I thought we'd see this time.  I would say if you get the chance, go.  It's an experience that needs to be seen and lived, it definitely can't be described on paper (or a computer monitor LOL.)