As the Wind Blows

Two months after coming over to the UK I finally ventured out into the Continent, and what a beautiful European city to start with! Amsterdam is made up of several canals (the way I always envisioned Venice to be like), rows and rows of narrow connected houses that overlook the canals, and cobblestone streets that are dotted with trees. The main modes of transport are bicycles (which are absolutely everywhere!), trams, buses and finally cars, though they are nothing in comparison to the number of bicycles around the city. The rest of the world needs to look to Amsterdam to learn how to reduce their carbon footprint because the air is just so much fresher in Amsterdam (with of course the exception of the aromas that escapes from coffee shops tucked away in several of the smaller streets. . . )

I’m not going to waste time in describing the city, as pictures speak a thousand words and I’ve posted mine up already. That said, a picture is hard to capture the peacefulness of the city, the unhurried way that people and tourists go about their merry way. You don’t hear horns blasting in the streets of Amsterdam, instead you hear bicycle bells ringing at poor unsuspecting tourists who have just managed to cross the street only to discover that they’re on the bicycle path and not the footpath (there is a difference!). But the Dutch people don’t even raise a sweat or get mad like other cities, they just keep calm and keep moving.  

One of the highlights of the trip for me was cycling through the countryside. After watching Getaway or some other travel show when I was younger, I had this image of cycling past a windmill in a field of tulips. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to turn this image into reality. I did however cycle around the countryside and I recommend that everyone who comes to Amsterdam sets aside some time to do this. It’s so relaxing and peaceful just cycling along the green countryside and through quaint villages, which are just really just made up of one street that overlook a canal/river, either in the front or the backs of the houses. (Imagine having a river run through your extremely tiny and green backyard!) Your bottom probably won’t thank you for it later, but Amsterdam is reasonable flat, so it’s not much effort to cycle around and after you’ve spent a day or two watching the locals do it, it’s definitely an activity you’ll be motivated to try out.

My main aim in going to Amsterdam was to see the flower show however, and very unfortunately, I didn’t manage to get there. It would have taken me completely out of Amsterdam I would have liked to see more of The Netherlands (especially more windmills and tulips :) ). The next time I go I want to visit Edam, the Rotterdam or the Hague and if these cities, including its people and its dogs, are half as beautiful as Amsterdam, it’ll be worth the visit.