Amsterdam

7 May

Last night we caught an overnight bus to Amsterdam. Much to our surprise we arrived 45 minutes early. I slept badly as the Eurolines bus was nowhere as comfortable as the Flixbus.

We walked to our accommodation and our host Marcel gave me his bed so I could sleep. (The room we were staying in still had the previous guests due to the early hour.)

Two hours later I felt human again and we set off to Central Station to explore the main city area.

We went to a large cheese shop and I discovered that I quite liked the smoked cheese. There was EVERY kind of gouda available. Exotic flavours available was beer, truffle, three peppers, pesto and bacon.

After that we headed to a main square and saw the exterior of the Royal Palace and we popped into the De Nieuwe Kerk (The New Church).

Then we walked to the Oude Kerk (Old Church) and we saw De Waag.

Monument 

Old Church

De Waag

We eventually found China Town but I feel that the name oversells it. More like China Block or Two!

From there we checked out the Church of St Nicholas.

Next we took the ferry to the other side of the water and back. Many people got on with their bikes. Amsterdam is crazy. Even on the pedestrian crossings the cyclists hardly wait for you. You have to get over a bike lane, tram lines, look for cars (that come from the wrong direction - still not used to it) and then get across another bike lane to reach the footpath.

After all the walking we decided to take the tram to the Diamond Museum. There was a paid section but the workshop part was free.

I wanted to see the wind mill so we caught another tram there. It wasn't going but it was still nice. Below it was a restaurant and beer tasting place.

From there we walked through Dappermarkt where Jay bought a slushi (it was a hot day). We were headed to Ooster Park (East Park). At the park we relaxed in a shady spot and then wandered around.

After that it was back to the accommodation where we cooked a vegan capsicum sweet and sour concoction.

Dinner with Marcel and previous guests

 8th May

Again we headed to the city this time catching another quick ferry (Buiksloterweg Ferry). We had a look around at the other side before returning to the city.

After that we took the tram to Westerkerk (West Church) and Anne Frank's House. Unfortunately we couldn't see the museum as the Anne Frank House was booked out well in advance it's so popular.

To complete the set we then saw Noorderkerk (North Church).

Stunning views on our walk

After that we caught the metro to see the Lunchtime Opera. It wasn't too bad. The songs were in French and there was an English translation available.

After the half an hour of culture we headed to Central Station to catch another ferry. We wanted to get a tram to Central Station but the trams had all stopped due to a fault on the line. So we walked to the metro.

We caught the N. D. S. M Warf Ferry. There wasn't anything of interest on the otherside so we stayed on the boat. We saw a rundown submarine parked with lots of grafiti on it.

Next we caught the train to Zaanse Schans. The way to the windmills was clearly marked which was great. As we walked I could smell cocoa. Apparently the town processes a lot of cocoa beans. It was a big improvement on the smell of marijuana in the city!

When we arrived at the windmills I was so excited because the town was just too cute! We went into a windmill that ground spices. It was interesting to see how it worked. Then we walked along the path admiring all the other windmills.

Grinding Cloves

After that we headed to where the crowd was. The number of people was quickly explained by the number of tour buses in the carpark. The people were going crazy in the shop buying a lot of cheese. Jay sampled some (okay maybe a lot) cheese as usual.

Next we went to a clog museum where we saw a demonstration of how they make clogs.

Then it was time to walk back to the station and catch the metro back to our accommodation. This time for dinner we cooked broccoli stir fry and salad for dinner. It was very healthy and yummy.