Amsterdam is a fun city that offers a variety of activities: You can easily spend a day or two walking along miles of beautiful canals, or do a day trip to nearby Old Holland towns to check out the farm animals.
Holy cow!
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Holstein cow, best known for her black-and-white spotted body, is a type of dairy cattle originated from the Netherlands. No two Holstein cows have the same spots.
@Marken
There are 13 operating windmills in Zaanse Schans, and the paint windmill is likely to be the last one in the world.
@ZaanseSchans
Canal walk.
@Amsterdam
It is legal to use marijuana in Amsterdam and you see it everywhere in the city. Within a mile radius, there are hundreds of coffeeshops that sell cannabis and its products – Not “coffee shop”, “cafe”, or “restaurant”. Only “coffeeshop” (with no space) sells cannabis products: Brownie, cookie, cake, ice-cream, lollipop, etc.. Almost every snack that you can think of has a cannabis version of it.
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I don’t smoke or do drugs. Even though marijuana is legal in some states in the US, I had never walked into a cannabis shop. So I figured, let’s go check out a “coffeeshop” in Amsterdam!
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Even before I walked into the coffeeshop, there was already a fairly strong smell of cannabis present. As I entered the entrance I was asked for my ID. Then I walked past the lounge area, where there were half a dozen coffee tables and couches where people were sitting and smoking. Next to the lounge area, there was a sales counter with a glass cabinet and a big screen TV right above. On the screen there were 20-30 different types of cannabis being sold at different prices by the gram: Each gram costed $10-20 and up; at the same sales counter they also sold all sorts of cannabis edibles. As I was told, cannabis edibles are quite tricky: Tourists from all over the world, many have never seen cannabis before, come to Amsterdam open-minded. They may be curious and decide to try a cannabis cookie (they called it “space cake” in Amsterdam). Unlike drinking a glass of wine or a pint of beer where you feel tipsy almost immediately with its effect lasts for only a few hours, cannabis edibles take a long time to enter your bloodstream. You don’t feel a thing until hours later, with the effect kicks in and lasts for up to 24 hours. I was told that a lot of tourists eat a cookie, feel nothing, then keep eating and later regret it when the effect is too strong.
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Although it is legal to use cannabis in Amsterdam, there are strict rules regarding the location of the coffeeshops (away from schools and playgrounds). This continues to tighten as Amsterdam positions itself as a destination for high culture rather than, well, the other kind of high culture.
@Amsterdam
The (in)famous red light district in Amsterdam. In the evening, you see rooms illuminated by red (more like pink) light all over the area and tourists flocking to the streets. Once you enter the area, you are no longer supposed to take pictures due to privacy reason. Along the canals and alleys, business is being conducted in these little rooms with big glass windows: Some have their curtains opened with a “worker” standing right behind. Some have their curtains closed (temporarily) when business is being conducted. Some others are half-opened with a client standing there negotiating.
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Because the use of marijuana is legal in Amsterdam, at this time of the day it is not hard to see people getting stoned, sitting along the river, and are totally incapable of walking a straight line.
@Amsterdam
Marken is big town and it is much easier to navigate through the farmlands with a bike.
@Marken
Farm animals in Old Holland town.
@Marken
Farm animals in Old Holland town.
@Marken
Farm animals in Old Holland town.
@Marken
A tractor hauling a mower that turns cut grass into hay.
@Marken
The last day when I was in Dublin, I started looking for accommodation for Amsterdam. I was having hard time finding a hostel room within the city, so I ended up booking a B&B in Almere, a suburb 20 miles east of Amsterdam. Almere is a fairly new and upscale neighborhood – The only catch is that this small B&B (private rooms only) is 2 miles away from the nearest bus station. I didn’t want to have to walk 2 miles to catch a bus every time, so I spoke with the owner of the B&B (a friendly couple who speak Dutch and did my laundry) and they gave me a bike so that I could bike to the bus station to catch a bus to the city – A bike with a child seat.
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Got no kid but I’ll take the bike!
@Almere
The last day when I was in Dublin, I started looking for accommodation for Amsterdam. I was having hard time finding a hostel room within the city, so I ended up booking a B&B in Almere, a suburb 20 miles east of Amsterdam. Almere is a fairly new and upscale neighborhood – The only catch is that this small B&B (private rooms only) is 2 miles away from the nearest bus station. I didn’t want to have to walk 2 miles to catch a bus every time, so I spoke with the owner of the B&B (a friendly couple who speak Dutch and did my laundry) and they gave me a bike so that I could bike to the bus station to catch a bus to the city – A bike with a child seat.
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Got no kid but I’ll take the bike!
@Almere
Inntel Hotels.
@Zaandam
Inntel Hotels.
@Zaandam
Wooden shoes, or clogs, have been traditional Dutch footwear for hundred of years.
@ZaanseSchans
Wooden shoes, or clogs, have been traditional Dutch footwear for hundred of years.
@ZaanseSchans
Wooden shoes, or clogs, have been traditional Dutch footwear for hundred of years.
@ZaanseSchans
Canal walk.
@Amsterdam
Canal walk.
@Amsterdam
Farm animals in Old Holland town.
@Marken
Farm animals in Old Holland town.
@Marken
Farm animals in Old Holland town.
@Marken
Traditional Dutch bacon and apple pancake.
@Amsterdam
There are 13 operating windmills in Zaanse Schans, and the paint windmill is likely to be the last one on the world.
@ZaanseSchans
