A Trip to Remember...

Having seen few places around UK, my husband and I decided to explore few cities in Europe to mark our third year of marriage together. Despite Paris and Switzerland being our favourite destinations, we decided to settle in for Amsterdam simply because of good flight and hotel deals. However, we were totally oblivious of the amazing days we were to spend in this historic city.

Day 1: It was sunny and bright and we loved it. Our hotel was just 15 minutes away from the airport. We checked in and were out in no time to enjoy the city. During our train journey from Schipol to Amsterdam city, to be honest, we were not at all impressed by the places we saw. “Alright, this might just be the outskirts of the city”, we thought; rather pacified ourselves. After reaching the city, we walked straight to Dam square. The first sight we saw was a Krishna temple right in the middle of the square. And, a Dutch guy doing bharatnatyam! After enjoying the hustle and bustle of the square, we decided to take a canal cruise. We started at a stop near Dam square, still apathetic with the old buildings around.

Dam Square

The cruise took us to several canals or grachten (in Dutch), which run through the heart of the city. We were awestruck by the beautiful cobbled streets that lay on either side of the canals and the narrow pristine buildings. It appears that there are number of people who live on boats (houseboats) along the canals due to shortage of houses in the city. The common narrow buildings are dated back to those days when owners had to pay taxes based on width of the house. The canals, buildings and streets added a special charm to the city.

A House Boat

Grachtens (Canals)

The canal cruise changed our perspective about Amsterdam. We were mesmerised by the city. After the cruise, we decided to explore the city by foot. Amsterdam is a small city, meant to be seen by bike or on foot. We strolled through the streets, enjoying every minute of it. Finally, our hunger got the better of us and we decided to settle in for Spanish tapas in the most beautiful street along Prinsengracht (Prince’s Canal). We savoured on every dish that came our way; ending the day with a sense of contentment.

Narrow Street along Prisengrachten

Day 2: We began our day with the trip to Vincent Van Gogh museum. After waiting for two long hours, we finally entered the museum and must say, it was worth the wait. We simply loved the beautiful works by the painter and also got a glimpse of his life.

We decided to walk through the streets of Amsterdam to the city centre from the museum. On the way, we stopped at several places like Vondel Park, the famous flower market in Singel and a busy square named Leidseplien.

I was purely fascinated by these arch-shaped windows.

Without seeing a wind mill, a trip to Amsterdam would be never complete. Our final destination was the wind molen in the city. Picture perfect it was, set along a canal.

The canals were more beautiful by night with lights adorned all over the bridges and streets.

It was indeed a trip to remember. Amsterdam has a unique historic and untouched charm. We would definitely go back, given a chance.