Amsterdam 050515

After years of talking about going to Europe for a holiday, I finally did! I'll try to post as many info as I can :)

Our first destination was the beautiful Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

5th May - we arrived at Amsterdam Airport Schipol. It is also where the train station is. Bought a ticket to Amsterdam Centraal. They have really good public transportation and wifi. They have wifi on the train and also tells you the train stops till your destination. I loved it! What we did was store our main luggage at the lockers at Amsterdam Centraal (there are 2 sizes - large and small) - we stuffed both our bags in the small one for a lower price (sorry I can't recall, could be EU7 for 24hrs). 

The gorgeous tulips and the symbolic I amsterdam signage at the Airport

From there, if you need help, ask the policemen/women or the tourist information counter outside the station. The others will NOT assist you. I was taken aback, they basically say "they don't know" or "I just take care of the lockers". I guess they get asked too often! 

We wanted to get to the Van Gogh museum, but didn't know how to get there. So we asked the Tourist information and she said to take either Tram 2 or Tram 5. We took tram 5. We were advised in advance to purchase the tickets online as the line can get VERY long - it proved to be true! The lines stretched very long, even the online tickets line were long, but thankfully it moved pretty fast. You are able to store your luggage, backpack and coats in their storage area for free. No photos are allowed in the museum. His works are just exquisite. I was in awe most of the time! His famed Starry Starry Night is NOT kept here :( how unfortunate. His Sunflower was though. His lesser known works were just so beautiful. It was worth going! The ticket is priced at EU17. You can buy it at the website (click here). You can choose what time you would like to visit, and they give you a grace period of half hour to arrive (thankfully we had that, cause we were running late!) We spent about an hour there and when we were in there, it rained!

A talented genius

See the line behind us? That's the Van Gogh line!

Once we came out, it started to get pretty windy and cold. We had a quick lunch of hotdog and stroopwafel (SERIOUSLY YUMMY). Then walked about till we reached Anne Frank's house.

The Rijksmuseum, and another I amsterdam

Tulips!

Beautiful canals all over the city

Anne Frank's House

Her house is small, but the feeling you get when you visit is indescribable. I read her diary when I was 13yrs old in school, and re-read the extended version when I was older. This too, require online ticketing purchase! The lines stretches over several streets. You need to purchase it online at least a month before your trip as they get snapped up pretty quickly! Click here for the online tickets' site. It was hard to imagine that 2 families stayed in the attic for about 2yrs until they were discovered during Hitler's reign. I learnt that the names she used for the other family in the diary were false, to protect their identities and till now they do not know who revealed to the Nazis about their hiding. Anne actually re-wrote her diary to incorporate special dates and war decisions after finding out on the radio that they were looking to publish first hand accounts of the war once it was all over. Her original diary was written in a book, a gift from her father. Later on once the book was filled, she continued writing them in loose paper. It was very surreal to see her handwriting and her book! She died in the camp due to (what they assumed) was typhoid. They were already ill before this due to scabies and what not. They did not mention how or what caused her death in the museum, but I read about it online. She is a true inspiration of grit and courage. For someone who was so young and to go through all that she did, we are truly blessed to have read about her experience first hand. War is never the answer!!

After leaving Anne's house (oh it rained super heavily while we were inside!), It was TREMENDOUSLY windy and cold outside! I wore a light jacket, which proved of no use. The winds were so strong that you had to stop and wait for it to subside. It almost blew me away several times!! Just checked the temperature and it was a low of  8-11 deg C! something someone from the equatorial weather is not used to! I almost died :p 

These buildings were sort of opposite Anne's house. Can anyone tell me what they are called?

Well I had one request from my cousin when I was in Amsterdam - to find the bench from the movie The Fault in Our Stars (a replacement bench). I managed to obtain the address online, Leidsegracht 2, Canal District Amsterdam, 1016 CK Netherlands. So where I come from, the house number is written at the beginning, before the street address. In my brain I assumed that Leidsegracht has a second lane, hence it being called Leidsegracht 2! Walked all over in the cold to search for it. In the end a kind lady walking her dog showed us where it was. We were close! hehe 

Ta-dah! Tonnes of quotes graffiti on the bench

After that I went to buy an extra sweater cause I just couldn't possibly walk. Hema is a good place to shop as the give bargains and the food is also affordable. They offer breakfast set of croissant, coffee and juice for EU1 or something of that sort. 

Walking around Amsterdam

May 5th is a celebration for the Dutch as it signified the end of World War 2. They were preparing for the celebration at night. However, we had to return to the train station to get a train to Leiden. 

Consolation was, I watched it on telly upon arriving at Leiden! :) Too tired, just went to bed right-away after that.

View from the train Amsterdam-Leiden

Rows of tulips!

 We stayed in Leiden as it was nearer to Lisse, where the Keukenhof Gardens were. That's where the TULIPS AREEEE!! Will post them up when I can. :)

Beautiful Leiden