"A short trip to a small country" a Amsterdam Travel Page by abi_maha

My husband had been posted on work in NL, so after listening to him rave about the beauty of this place for a month I decided to take a break and join him for a fortnight. having completed a week here now, I must say I am very glad I did that!!Day1:19th may 2008
Having taken Air France, I sat through a very uncomfortable flight with hardly any 'asian vegeterian' food that I was promised! Then followed the confusion of a flight that was delayed and a terminal change in CDG that almost ensured I missed my KLM to Amsterdam!
However it was all worth it to see my husband waiting at the lounge to pick me up at the amsterdam airport, and what an airport- one of the most organised one I have been to!
However my happiness was short lived as I learnt from him that the famous tulip gardens of Keukenhof closed on 18th may!! I had just missed it by a day!
We headed to our hotel- Blue Towers in Bossen Lommerplein , a nice place with a good view on the seventh floor Very courteous receptionists who spoke impeccable english!

The Amsterdam canal system is the result of conscious city planning. A comprehensive plan was developed that was based on four concentric half-circles of canals with their ends emerging at the IJ bay. Known as the Grachtengordel, three of the canals are mostly for residential development: Those are the Herengracht (Gentleman's Canal), Keizersgracht (Emperor's Canal), and Prinsengracht (Prince's Canal’). The fourth and outermost canal, the Singelgracht (not to be confused with the older Singel), served purposes of defense and water management. The defensive purpose was established by moat and earthen dikes, with gates at transit points, but otherwise no masonry superstructures.The map of Amsterdam thus looks very interesting with concentric canals and I had a fun time walking or cycling thru the city reading the same :)

Amsterdam is the capital of Netherlands and being famous for unique reasons such as the RLD, free unrestricted doping and the first nation to legalise homosexuality I cannot say I wasn't curious about this little country! It has all the advantages of a big city: culture, nightlife, international restaurants, good transport - but is quiet, and largely thanks to its canals, has a little road traffic. In Amsterdam your destination is never far away, but get a bike for most authentic experience.