Wednesday 11 April 2012

Travel Destination: Amsterdam


I'm back from a lovely four day weekend in Amsterdam and it has taken me twice as long to download all our photographs!
Amsterdam is an amazing city, even though I don't think I enjoyed it as much as I should have, as I was feeling quite poorly with a bad case of laryngitis and a very sore throat. The cold weather didn't help, but luckily the sun was out and the rain arrived on our last day.
It's not much fun being a tourist in a city which requires a lot of walking (or cycling) in the rain!

'I amsterdam' letters at the Museumplein, in front of the Rijksmuseum

Originally 'I amsterdam' began as a marketing campaign of the area, but soon became the collective catch-phrase of it's citizens.

Amsterdam is not only famous for it UNESCO World Heritage Listed 17th-century canal ring, an icon of urban planning and architecture ...


... it's also famous for its tulips, windmills, cheeses and clogs, not to mention its red light district and legal drugs

Blue and white delftware was only available to the rich until the late 16th-century, but in the early 1600s the Dutch became acquainted with porcelain from China (which became very popular) and they imitated it to become Delftware.

I ♥ the dutch street -style


Bicycles are the best way to see the city. Amsterdam doesn't have car park stations, but multi-storey bike park stations, or they are chained up wherever you can find a spot!


art or a disused bicycle?


Amsterdam is also known for its numerous houseboats ...

amazing light shop see here for website


... and it's amazing museums, showcasing the famous Dutch masters like Rembrandt and Vincent Van Gogh to name but a few.


 the beautiful Rijksmuseum




The area is also famous for its characteristic canal-side estates and numerous monuments



... and its inspirational street art (graffiti)



Hotel Pulitzer


We stayed at the Hotel Pulitzer, twenty-five restored 17th and 18th century canal houses that have been harmoniously integrated to create a truly unique hotel. The location was perfect, all within easy walking distance to the major sites. I always try to choose a hotel that is within easy reach of the major places I want to visit, when I am only staying for a short time in a European city.
Our rooms were a little on the small side, but the Easter weekend is always a very busy one in any of the major European cities and we were unable to upgrade to a larger space ... however they were beautifully furnished in a modern style for it's traditional buildings.

I hope you enjoyed this little trip with me to the 'Venice of the North"


xx

{all images belong to Iced VoVos}

11 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing your beautiful images of an amazing City. I do hope you had a wonderful Easter. Cheers SpecialK XoXo

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful, another city to add to my list of places to visit. I was close once - northern France, but didn't quite make it to Amsterdam. It looks very cool. Thanks for sharing. xxx

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fabulous photos Marina. That old bicycle is a cracker. Love it. Art or discarded, it's art to me! Sounds like you packed a lot in to a long weekend, sick or not! Hope you are all better now though. xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely tour. You encapsulated the city's character beautifully for me, as I have never been there.
    Seeing all the bicycles made me think, if I have trouble finding my car in a car park sometimes, it might be even worse finding a bike amongst all those! x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought the same thing Penny! I had so many more bicycle photos to post ... you would have got a real sense of how many are around, if I did!

      Delete
  5. That's what I love about Europe.. you can hop on a train or plane and be in another country in a couple of hours! Lovely photos.. I wish I could see those Rembrandts up close.:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I will truly miss exactly that Helen, when we eventually move back to Australia!
      The flight from London to Amsterdam was 50mins, but if you add the 2 hrs either side to get to the airport early, then it turns into 5 hours! Eurostar will also get you there in under 5 hours.

      Delete
  6. Looks and sounds like you had a great trip.
    I would love to have a peep inside some of the canal houses!
    Lizx

    ReplyDelete
  7. I loved Amsterdam! The red light district as definitely a sight for sore eyes haha! I have friends that live in Venlo actually, such a gorgeous place. I would love to go back & visit some time soon...

    ~ Clare x

    ReplyDelete
  8. What's up, this weekend is pleasant in support of
    me, for the reason that this point in time i am reading this
    enormous educational paragraph here at my residence.


    Have a look at my homepage; 手錶

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow, incredible weblog structure! How lengthy have you ever been blogging for?
    you make running a blog look easy. The overall glance of your website is wonderful, as smartly as
    the content!

    My web page - Love quotes

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your lovely comments!

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails