For the letter I was gonna write a post about impressionism, and I intended to mention our visit to the Van Gogh Museum.
Only that the visit didn't take place. Because obviously getting tickets for this popular Amsterdam museum is about as challenging as for Alcatraz! You have to purchase them way in advance. So the only impressionism or Van Gogh we got to see was his wax figure at Madame Tussaud's ;-)
Instead I'm sharing some impressions of the city of Amsterdam with you.
Hubby and son left Sunday night. They thought it was gonna be cool to travel by night train. They were not impressed though.
It turned out that the booked two-person compartment in the modern train carriage was a four-person compartment in an ancient carriage, which they had to share with two strangers. And of course it was cramped and uncomfortable. There was nothing to eat either.
That made me feel better. I spent a nice day and took a 1.5-hour flight in peace and quiet on Monday evening, from which they picked me up by train.
This is the main train station in Amsterdam. Pretty, isn't it.
I have been to Amsterdam before when I was 18 with my parents, and later, when I worked for Starbucks. Amsterdam used to be EMEA HQs, and we had one or two meetings or trainings a year at least. However, this era dates back more than 15 years, which is how long ago Colin was born. If I had to put my finger on how the city has changed, I would say:
A - it has become cleaner
B - this lamppost was straight when I last visited ;-)
What do I mean by cleaner?
Amsterdam had a reputation of allowing people to be naughty. Public drinking, "coffee shops" whose main purpose was to facilitate the trade and consumption of marijuana, and a red light district where women literally offered themselves in shop windows.
Today they're still liberal, but they call for sensible consumption, if you can call it that.
Similarly, measures have been taken to address concerns surrounding the red light district, including efforts to combat human trafficking and improve the area's overall atmosphere.
So this leaves us with bicycles, flowers, picturesque houses, canals and cheeses. No complaints. Enjoy the pictures!
Tomorrow we expect the weather to be sunnier and warmer, and we're going to explore more. For now, I hope you enjoyed these impressions. Good night from Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Hi Tamara, I'm sorry to hear you weren't able to get tickets to the museum - but I am still very impressed with the photo you took at the wax museum of Van Gogh - its incredibly lifelife. The photos you took of the river with the flowers decorating the bicycles and around the river, are so very pretty indeed!
ReplyDeleteThese are so beautiful that I feel transported.You took some stunning pics.Thank you for sharing the cleaner version of Amsterdam. It's really a gorgeous city.
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice tour! I especially love the flowered bicycles.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your impressions on Amsterdam, and especially enjoyed your photos and the impressions they made on me.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos, especially the train station. I can't believe women actually offer themselves up in shop windows. The world never stops surprising me :-)
ReplyDeleteNice photo from the plane. No shortage of bulbs it looks like!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely trip down memory lane. We were guests of a Rotary Exchange person many, many years ago. I love staying with them in Groningen. We rode bikes thru the windmills and down the narrow paths between the farm land. It was delightful then. Your pictures are priceless to me today. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos! I was in Amsterdam in 1989, a very long time ago. My daughter and I backpacked through Europe, and it was freezing cold, but still very beautiful.
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