Oh, To Be Back In The Land of HEINEKEN! ;-p and other Amsterdam, Netherlands General Tips

Favorite Thing: "Sailing round the world in a dirty gondola oh, to be back in the land of Coca-Cola!"
- Bob Dylan

Instead of a dirty gondola.... change that to -

"Cruising round Amsterdam in a fine glass-roofed boat. Oh to be back in the land of Heineken!"

I think Bob Dylan can see the humor behind this....

Fondest Memory: Surely one of the best ways to explore Amsterdam is to cruise around the canals in one of these glass-roofed canal boats. As it meanders through the network of canals, you'll be awed by the delightful sight of elaborate galded houses and narrow hump-backed bridges flashing by....

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Favorite Thing: I love Tulips. Period.

When my best friends from school and I first started going out on dates with the opposite sex (yes, I'm a late bloomer!), roses were the "di rigeur " thing we received from the boys - trying to impress us girls.

Unfortunately for that boy who was paired off with me, my silly giddygoose girlfriends had to spoil it all by exclaiming: "Oh... but she only likes Tulips!"

Duh?

So when I first arrived in the Netherlands, can you imagine the delight on my face when I saw sooo many different varieties of tulips! There were violet, shocking pink, orange, red... mixed colors... tutti frutti ;-p It was amazing! You see, in Singapore, we don't get such a wide array of tulips to choose from. You either take the white tulips or the dark purple ones or the pink tulips. Not much choices to choose from.

Whether you are a tulip fan or not, KEUKENHOF GARDENS is a must-see.
Those colorful tulips will surely win you over soon enough....


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Favorite Thing: Visit the quaint fishing village of Volendam!

Fondest Memory: Volendam, a fishing village founded in the year 1200 boasts of a lovely picturesque harbor (see pic below). The livelihood of the villagers here depend to a large extent on the tourist trade... Thankfully, the throngs of tourists who conscientiously flock by the THOUSANDS annually to Volendam to get a taste of what quaint Dutch village life is like - never cease.

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Fondest Memory: Here I am at a clog factory in Volendam.


Don't leave for home without buying some of these clogs as souvenirs. The things here are relatively inexpensive although it would be wise to compare prices first before grabbing your favorite souvenir, dutch clogs et al. Many stores in Volendam stock the same products but quote different prices!

So remember, shop around first.

One IMPORTANT tip: After comparing prices, I realized that it costs 10 Guilders LESSER if you were to buy the clogs here vis-a-vis buying the same pair in Amsterdam!!!

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Fondest Memory: The windmills of Zaanse Schans, yet another quaint Dutch fishing village.

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Favorite Thing: SHOP! SHOP!! SHOP! Start your shopping expedition from Nieuwendijk and end at Kalverstraat. This long pedestrain mall area has everything. Paralleling these streets one block east is another set of shopping streets, the Damrak and Rokin.

Vroom and Dreesman, a large department store can be found here.


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Favorite Thing: pay a visit to the palatial Rijksmuseum located at Museumplein. Please note that most of the museums are closed on Mondays, including the Rijksmuseum. Here, you can see a vast number of priceless art collection including Rembrandt's famous masterpiece - 'Night Watch' which an acid thrower tried to destroy in 1990.


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Favorite Thing: photograph this gorgeous looking building called the Weigh House @ St.Antoniespoort at Nieuwmarkt. Isn't it just breathtaking?!


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Fondest Memory: If the museum crowd at the Rijksmuseum frazzle you, try heading instead to the Stedelijk Museum (which houses a huge collection of modern art) and, the anachronistic Van Gogh Museum - all located side-by-side at Museumplein. Again, remember that most of these museums are closed on Mondays except for Stedelijk Museum which is open. Do check the opening and closing times of these museums before you head that way. Stedelijk Museum costs less than 20 Guilders to get in and it houses an impressive collection of modern art which stretches from French impressionists to German expressionists. Awesome!

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Fondest Memory: This is busy Dam Square. (See pic below). In and around this area, there are many top attractions to keep you busy, namely:-

(1) Anne Frank House.

(2) Koninklijk Paleis (The Royal Palace).

(3) Nieuwe Kerk (a lovely and famous church located next to the Royal Palace).

(4) Oude Kerk.

(5) Rembrandthuis Museum.

(6) Rijksmusuem, of course.

(7) Nederlands Scheepvaart Musuem (did you write it down, dear boat lovers?).

(8) Van Gogh Museum.

(9) Stedelijk Museum.

(10) Vondel Park.

Have you jotted down all the hip places to explore in Amsterdam?

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