Amsterdam – A City Which Smells of Freedom

The Amsterdam City Travelogue, Brought To You By DelhiPlanet Travel

Country: Capital Of Netherlands, pronounced as Nederland in Dutch.

National Carrier: KLM, Royal Dutch Airlines

Local Language: Dutch

Time Zone: Like the UK the Netherlands operates a winter and summer time. In the winter it is 1 hour ahead of GMT(i.e 4.5 hours behind IST) and in the summer it is 2 hours ahead (i.e 3.5 hours behind IST)

Best Time To Visit: Well for this city anytime is the Best Time. The peak tourist season however is in the months July, August and the best weather is found from April to October.

Best Place To Stay For Youths:

The Flying Pig Hostel, Amsterdam is one of the best backpacker hostels in the city. It has a very lively and care free spirit and the bar at the basement is the place to be on Fridays and Saturdays. If you love meeting new people from all across the world, then flying pig is the place to be. It has 2 major locations in the city, uptown and downtown in addition to a beach hostel. Checkout more details on www.flyingpig.nl.

Description: The Free City, The Cycle City, The City of Sex and Drugs, Heaven, these are probably a few of the titles that one would give a place called Amsterdam. Known all across the world for its liberal outlook and open culture this city draws millions of tourists ever year just for of it’s way of living. They say that the dutch love “Gezellig(heh-ZEL-ick)” things and places. A gezillig environment is one that allows good times to happen. It’s like a vibe. A gezellig place is cozy and inviting, for example: A two hour leisurely meal with friends is quite gezellig but eaiting a Big Mac on your lap in a car is not.

While everyone likes coziness, the Dutch gear their whole lives towards or in other words they live and enjoy every moment of their life. If you still don’t feel too excited about this place, then you probably need to know about some of it’s tourist attractions. Let’s check them out:

Must See: Amsterdam is a city that is a mix of modernity and culture. One hand you have a state of the art biometric recognition system at the airport, while on the other you see cycles as the most common mode of transport. Amsterdam has more than 1 million cycles and the highest cycle theft rates in the world. You would find families going out together on cycles, businessmen going to work on cycles and even good looking woman wearing skirts and high heels riding cycles (Checkout Ski-Epic for pictures on Amsterdam- the Cycle City). While in Amsterdam you can checkout some of it’s world famous museums which attract many tourists from all over the world.

The must visit museums are the Van Gogh Museum(you’ll easily be able to identify a van gogh painting after a visit to this place), the Heineken Beer Museum better known as the Heineken Experience, the Sex Museum(Lots of porn here right from the early 19th century to the present day) and the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. If you love beer, then do go for the Heineken Experience. Here for a 10 euro ticket you get to see the entire history of Heineken and an overview of the Beer Making process. Plus you also get three glasses of beer and a souvenir, all if which is included in the cost of the entry ticket.

Must Do: Well for smokers and drinkers, there are plenty of options here and most of you would already know about them. If you don’t then just goto any of the coffee shops and you’ll find out(just don’t ask for any coffee, you could however ask for a hash brownie.). If you don’t smoke or drink but still wanna get high then try some hash and cannabis lollipops or some edible mushrooms. Ofcourse no visit to Amsterdam is complete without a walk across the famous Red Light District, just make sure you go there in the night otherwise you won’t see any red lights. The RLD as it is better known is quite a safe place just like the rest of the city and is well monitored by the local Police.

If you have some time on your hands, then do visit any of the huge roadside cafe’s where 100’s of people gather in the evenings and enjoy each other’s company while sipping on chilled beer. You would truly understand the meaning of gezellig when you are here. You could also rent a bicycle and cycle across the city. If you are here for a few days then spend some time at the wonderful Vondelpark, a visit here and you would realise why most europeans love the outdoors so much. If you are keen on getting a tatoo, then visit the world famous house of tattoos and get that tattoo you always wanted.

If you are one of the lucky few people visiting Amsterdam for a vacation and are keen to checkout another city then plan a trip to Benidorm in Spain. It is one of the best holiday resorts in Spain, also sometimes referred to as “Manhattan of Spain” and while it may feel like a pricey place there are plenty of cheap benidorm holidays that are now available to those who plan ahead.

Night Life: Amsterdam has a very active night life with many restuarants, bars and clubs open till late in the night. Leidseplein is a lively square in central Amsterdam popular for its nightlife, restaurants, bars, cafes and coffeeshops including the world famous Hard Rock Cafe. Rembrandtplein is another major square of amsterdam named after the famous painter Rembrandt van Rijn. It has many terrace cafes, lounges and clubs. Escape at Rembrandtplein -11 is a giant club that hosts different nights and one-offs, and is one of the best clubs of amsterdam.