Note: To those expecting a steamy blog about the seedy red light district or visits to coffee shops, you will be very disappointed in this blog. However, if you're interested in Amsterdam's more mundane side including great architecture, bike rides along canals and a secret village of tiny houses hidden away in the woods, then read on! So, with a weekend to spare before my flight back to the U.S. to meet up with Claire & Evie, I decided to hop over to one of my favorite cities - Amsterdam. Flights were cheap and with just myself to take care of I figured I could get away with the "Europe on $20 a day" scheme that seemed to work back in college. Oh how wrong I was.
On the way to the airport in East London I made a quick pit-stop to take a few photos of the Thames barrier structure - an engineering (and design) masterpiece! I've seen lots of pictures but have always wanted to see it up close. Pretty amazing. It's the world's second largest flood barrier and was built to prevent London from being flooded. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_Barrier
After arriving at Schipol airport, I took the train to Amsterdam's Central Station, by-passed the busy part of town and headed straight for Hotel Von Onna in the Jordaan district, a great little minimalist hotel I've been staying in for years. The owner, Liuek, is one of the nicest people I know and is always willing to sit down and chat or give a tour the neighborhood. The best part of the hotel is the breakfast - good coffee, ham, cheese, four slices of bread, butter, hard-boiled egg and, of course, toast with chocolate sprinkles.
Central Station, Amsterdam
Liuek, owner of Hotel Van Onna
Summer is here
Somewhere in the Jordaan
Toast with chocolate sprinkles!
The first thing I did after settling in was to rent a bike and head out. The weather was great the first day so there were plenty of people on the canals drinking beers and enjoying the summer. After getting to grips with riding a bike in the city I decided to venture for a park outside the city, Amsterdamse Bos. It was more like a huge nature reserve with bike paths through the woods and a was great place to get lost. About thirty minutes into my ride, I noticed a few people walking through some narrow paths in the woods and decided to follow them. After a few turns the path opened up into what looked like a little neighborhood of tiny wooden houses hidden in the woods. After poking around a bit Isoon realised that this WAS a little neighborhood of tiny wooden houses hidden in the woods! The houses were no bigger and 25' square and all had emaculate gardens and there were no cars (paths not big enough). It had a commune feel to it - neighbors helping other neighbors load things into bike/trailors. Locals repairing some of the paths, etc. I managed to get off a few pictures but you have to visit to get a good feeling for the place:
Just before heading into the woods...
Tiny house #1
Tiny house #2
Tiny neighborhood along canals The next two days were spent doing more of the same. Riding bike through neighborhoods, beer breaks, a few photographs and eating. My type of break.
Ice cream while riding bike while taking pictures
Vondelpark
Heron in the street