As I mentioned in a previous post, today I went to Amsterdam. It is about 4 hours by train north of Paris. Amsterdam was very surprising to me and nothing like what I was expecting. I had imagined Amsterdam to be a very young, hip city with a very friendly and open vibe. Needless to say, that is not the Amsterdam I experienced today. While Amsterdam is a very open city and a lot of people do speak English, it is not a friendly city. And while the city is very clean and efficient, like other Scandinavian cities, the people are not very lively. Amsterdam was a very quiet, clean city. The Dutch architecture wa
s very beautiful. To me, the most interesting thing about Amsterdam were all the canals. Amsterdam is the "City of 100 Canals" and I believe it! Also, there are bicycles EVERYWHERE in Amsterdam. I have posted pictures on my photobucket account of a three story bicycle garage. It is just like a car garage, but with bicycles. My friend and I only spent a day in Amsterdam, and we saw the Anne Frank House and the Rijks Museum and then spent the rest of the time walking around and seeing Amsterdam. I talked about the Anne Frank House in a previous post and the Rijks Museum was also really interesting. It has the famous "Night Watch" by Rembrandt and also had a Constable painting on loan from London. The museum is being renovated so they only had their masterpieces out, which was just fine, it made it more convenient for the tourists, I think. I left Amsterdam glad that I went, but happy that I am back in Paris. I am thankful that I go to see Amsterdam, but I'm not sure I'll go back again. However, before I finish this post, I want to mention that on the way to Amsterdam, the train stopped in Brussels, Rotterdam and the Hague. Both Rotterdam and the Hague (both are in the Netherlands/Holland) were very pretty. I wouldn't mind visiting one of those cities. On an unrelated note, I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season!
s very beautiful. To me, the most interesting thing about Amsterdam were all the canals. Amsterdam is the "City of 100 Canals" and I believe it! Also, there are bicycles EVERYWHERE in Amsterdam. I have posted pictures on my photobucket account of a three story bicycle garage. It is just like a car garage, but with bicycles. My friend and I only spent a day in Amsterdam, and we saw the Anne Frank House and the Rijks Museum and then spent the rest of the time walking around and seeing Amsterdam. I talked about the Anne Frank House in a previous post and the Rijks Museum was also really interesting. It has the famous "Night Watch" by Rembrandt and also had a Constable painting on loan from London. The museum is being renovated so they only had their masterpieces out, which was just fine, it made it more convenient for the tourists, I think. I left Amsterdam glad that I went, but happy that I am back in Paris. I am thankful that I go to see Amsterdam, but I'm not sure I'll go back again. However, before I finish this post, I want to mention that on the way to Amsterdam, the train stopped in Brussels, Rotterdam and the Hague. Both Rotterdam and the Hague (both are in the Netherlands/Holland) were very pretty. I wouldn't mind visiting one of those cities. On an unrelated note, I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season!