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Never Never Dam
It strikes me that Amsterdam is like a modern day fairy tale city, a mini utopian world. Granted, I am a tourist, visiting for only a few days, so naturally I only see the shiny, beautiful, and pretty parts of the city. But having visited many cities, Amsterdam is the closest thing to that fairy tale picture perfect town we dream of. The canals and roads ring around the central area, forming picturesque streets lined with slightly leaning heritage houses in a multitude of colours. Each house comes with a little hook at the top, a feature carried through from the days when all these houses were merchant houses and…
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The Anne Frank House
Years ago, I read the diary of Anne Frank and must admit that I’d forgotten many of the details now. I’d forgotten that the house where the Frank family hid, was right in Amsterdam, but once I realised, I had to go for a visit since the house is now a museum. For those unfamiliar with the story, Anne Frank is a young Jewish girl who grew up during Nazi Germany. Her family emigrated to the Netherlands to escape Hitler’s regime, but when the Nazi’s invaded the Netherlands, they were forced to go into hiding in their father’s office building in the centre of Amsterdam. The museum is one of…
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International Reunions
I was lucky to catch up with two friends during the time I was in the Netherlands. Wouter is a friend I met seven years ago while studying in Milan. We met up for the day in Amsterdam and played tourist, visiting a cheese tasting shop and doing a canal cruise, wrapping up the day with a few beers by a canal. Though it’s been 7 years, both of us apparently look the same and we both feel it’s only been a few years…time flies! Mijiza, a friend I met through a fellow Canadian while in Sydney, lives in Rotterdam. She invited me to stay with her for…
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Walking tour of Amsterdam
I thought our guide was North American — he sure sounded like it. But he introduced himself as “Geert”, a very Dutch name and announced that he grew up in Portugal. Interesting… So our tour guide for our free three hour guided walking tour through Amsterdam’s historic centre is a Portugese-Dutch guy with a very American accent, a booming voice, and a witty sarcastic sense of humour. I like it already. Geert is essentially a “freelancer”, working for tips. The tours are free and organised by a group called the Sandeman tours. If you are happy with the tour, you can tip as much or as little as you want…
