"Amsterdam" a Amsterdam Travel Page by vickss

Amsterdam encapsulates the best of Europe with a liberal dose of libertine culture. Its clean, tourist infrastructure is just great, nightlife is amazing, its next to none for artists-- with the museums, and ofcourse the canals..
Just perfect setting for those looking for history(WW2 types with Anne Frank House), sex(can't escape it--RLD), paintings and for the romantics..( probably not as great as Vienna) but equally enchanting canal ride on light street lighting.
Over the years it has become to be known more for its RLD(red light district) and liberal attitude towards drugs rather than natural beauty but it brings together a great cornucopia for all kinds of tourists and all kinda options one might expect.
I was there for three days in Autumn of 2003 when I was staying at Leidensplein right next to the Hard Rock Cafe.
It is not as central as the Dam area where lotta hostels can be found as it is also the closest to the RLD, it is quite close to all the places one should visit in Amsterdam- Anne frank House, the museums- Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh etc and just about 15 minutes from the tram/bus to Centraal Station- which inturn is close to the world famous RLD.
I visited Amsterdam again.. in September 2009. This time with my wife enroute to our two weeks Europe tour. This time we stayed at an apartment at Keizersgracht and I visited some new places like Vondelpark besides exploring Reikermolen, the old windmill next to Amstel river to the south of the city. Since my wife was visiting it the first time, we also did the usual touristy things like Anne Frank Huis and RLD etc besides trying out spacecakes :)