The first thing I noticed as we flew over Holland was how flat it actually is. We touched down at Shipohl airport on a windy but sunny day and jumped into a taxi. It was a very stylish Mercedes and we felt like royalty as we drove on what seemed like the wrong side of the road.
We pulled in at our hotel on Koninginneweg Street, (don’t ask me to say it).

It was then I noticed the first bicycle. The city seemed to be bicycle heaven, everybody used them, and the streets were crammed with them because there are no hills, as well as it being more economical.

In Amsterdam you have to be very careful, the street trams have the right of way and run all the time. There is no definition on the roads there, cars, trams, bicycles all carry on oblivious to pedestrians. If it wasn’t for the bell on the trams there would be numerous road deaths.
On the second day, we went to the Van Gogh museum and were treated to a selection of his original work, in a very hot museum. My wife bought the usual poster and we also got some postcards.

The first night we were there we found a little Italian restaurant, which served some of the best food I have ever tasted. I had Calzone which is a pizza folded in two with Bolognese sauce on top of it. I’m a new man after eating it. We went there every night.

The visit to Anne Frank’s house was a very interesting one. I saw the secret doorway behind a book case that led to the famous secret hideout of Anne and seven others. It was a three storey annex that overlooked a canal.

She was captured and killed in a concentration camp just one month before the war ended. I came away feeling depressed at this tragedy. There were little pictures on the walls where she had tried to amuse herself. They had stayed in hiding for two years without leaving.

We decided to cheer ourselves up and went to a flea market at Waterlooplein. There I bought an army hat that covered my ears and in the Dutch winter it was needed as well as being very comical. I also came across a box of Swiss army knives that had been used before and picked a good one for five euro.

We then went to Rembrandt’s house and to a museum showing many of his great works. It was a very enjoyable way to finish a trip to Amsterdam. I would recommend Amsterdam for a great weekend or longer if you can manage it.

Main picture: Brian (on the left) is greeted by a man in a funny hat, and below: Amsterdam’s trademark bicycles and lively night life.