Part 2 of the "My time with the Geislers" picks up on Saturday the 19th of May. We had returned home early from our travels in North-East Germany and had decided that the entire family would go for a day trip to none other than Amsterdam. We had spoken about this before as Ron and Elisabeth had suggested it to me as an activity whilst I was staying there. As such, early that morning we awoke to a relaxed breakfast and then the family piled into two cars and headed off.
I wasn't aware how close Amsterdam actually was to Neuss! After around 3 hours worth of driving (once again on the autobahn-so good) we arrived in Amsterdam.
My first impression of the city was that it was an interesting place that you could easily get lost in; a maze of twisting and turning alleyways and laneways that wouldn't necessarily be safe late at night! Possibly the most amazing thing was the ridiculously high number of bicycles and pedestrians. As such driving in the city was almost a dangerous and strenuous activity.
We arrived and, after parking the car, set off in search of Anne Frank's house. Arriving there we found the line to reach almost around the church next to which it is located, so decided instead to tick something else off the lift of things to do.
We wandered down towards Centre Ville, intending to find the canal boat tours. After a short walk and bathroom break, we arrived at the piers and wandered around looking for the best price. We ended up taking a lovely old boat around the canals for a good hour and fifteen, listening to the multi-ligual (yay!) commentary before disembarking and deciding on what to do next.
The decision was made; as neither myself or Ina had seen Amsterdam before, we were to walk through the infamous Red-light district before we found a place to eat lunch.
The Red-light district certainly was interesting! I can't say that watching semi-naked women in windows is really my thing, but I can understand that for some people...well...each to their own! Needless to say the district wasn't really explored as such, but between that and the fumes I was walking through on the street, for a first time in Amsterdam I got a pretty good overview! *laughs*
We found a lovely little Italian place to have lunch, and after our break we got back up and continued walking. Ron and I decided to go and wait in line for the Anne Frank house whilst the rest of the crew went shopping. The line was still long but moving rather quickly, so after about half an hour we were at the front, and joined right on time by Ina and Christoph who were also coming through the museum, which ended up being a definite highlight of the day for me. I love history and so walking through the house and actually being able to read all about the experiences and lives of the inhabitants first hand was a sobering but completely worthwhile experience.
After exploring walking though the House for an hour or so, Ina, Christoph and I made our way back to the rest of the family, at which point we made our way back to the car to dive the 3 hours home just in time to watch Bayern Munich unfortunately lose to Chelsea in the Final of the Champions League. I wasn't a massive football/soccer fan before I started travelling however I must say I've been converted and quite enjoy it now.
And so ended the my day in Amsterdam! It is definitely on my list of places to go back to; I have already decided I will come back to Europe sooner rather than later! The ext few days require their own blog, so once again I will leave it here.
Until next time,
Love Love!
Clem xx
 |
| My excellent photography skills on the canal tour... |
I wasn't aware how close Amsterdam actually was to Neuss! After around 3 hours worth of driving (once again on the autobahn-so good) we arrived in Amsterdam.
My first impression of the city was that it was an interesting place that you could easily get lost in; a maze of twisting and turning alleyways and laneways that wouldn't necessarily be safe late at night! Possibly the most amazing thing was the ridiculously high number of bicycles and pedestrians. As such driving in the city was almost a dangerous and strenuous activity.
We arrived and, after parking the car, set off in search of Anne Frank's house. Arriving there we found the line to reach almost around the church next to which it is located, so decided instead to tick something else off the lift of things to do.
 |
| The clock tower |
We wandered down towards Centre Ville, intending to find the canal boat tours. After a short walk and bathroom break, we arrived at the piers and wandered around looking for the best price. We ended up taking a lovely old boat around the canals for a good hour and fifteen, listening to the multi-ligual (yay!) commentary before disembarking and deciding on what to do next.
The decision was made; as neither myself or Ina had seen Amsterdam before, we were to walk through the infamous Red-light district before we found a place to eat lunch.
The Red-light district certainly was interesting! I can't say that watching semi-naked women in windows is really my thing, but I can understand that for some people...well...each to their own! Needless to say the district wasn't really explored as such, but between that and the fumes I was walking through on the street, for a first time in Amsterdam I got a pretty good overview! *laughs*
 |
| Beautiful buildings and stunning photography skills. |
We found a lovely little Italian place to have lunch, and after our break we got back up and continued walking. Ron and I decided to go and wait in line for the Anne Frank house whilst the rest of the crew went shopping. The line was still long but moving rather quickly, so after about half an hour we were at the front, and joined right on time by Ina and Christoph who were also coming through the museum, which ended up being a definite highlight of the day for me. I love history and so walking through the house and actually being able to read all about the experiences and lives of the inhabitants first hand was a sobering but completely worthwhile experience.
After exploring walking though the House for an hour or so, Ina, Christoph and I made our way back to the rest of the family, at which point we made our way back to the car to dive the 3 hours home just in time to watch Bayern Munich unfortunately lose to Chelsea in the Final of the Champions League. I wasn't a massive football/soccer fan before I started travelling however I must say I've been converted and quite enjoy it now.
And so ended the my day in Amsterdam! It is definitely on my list of places to go back to; I have already decided I will come back to Europe sooner rather than later! The ext few days require their own blog, so once again I will leave it here.
Until next time,
Love Love!
Clem xx
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