For my 29th birthday Clifton decided to plan a trip to Amsterdam and last minute booked a train to take us to Antwerp, Belgium on Friday. We woke up at 330 in the morning and got to the airport at 5 and on a plane at 6 on the way to Amsterdam. We then went to the train station from the airport headed to Belgium. The Amsterdam central station was quite an experience. They continued to announce two things over and over in all different languages. "There are pick-pockets in this train station and the cleaning crew is on strike". The train station was absolutely disgustingly dirty to the point where you didn't want to put your bag down on the floor. So those two announcements made you feel pretty comfortable right from the get go. Ha! We then got ready for the hour long train trip to Belgium where we saw tons of windmill houses and there were acres and acres of green houses. I have never seen so many greenhouses growing everything from vegetables, fruits, flowers and marijuana. The Netherlands is at the forefront of professional greenhouse technology. We arrived around 11 and were incredibly impressed with how beautiful Antwerp was. First off, Antwerp is the world's diamond center. There were tons of jewelry stores lining the streets along with great fashion stores as well. The thing I loved most was the smell of the Antwerp streets. Every few blocks there was a Belgian waffle stand which made the entire city smell amazing. Of course Clifton and I both had a Belgian waffle and some famous Belgian chocolates. Both were to die for! The city reminded me a lot of Paris but not near the crowds. There were a ton of outdoor cafes with seating and squares were everyone gathered. The architecture was beautiful. Clifton and I were only in the city for five hours before we had to head back to the train station but we would love to go back to Belgium.
Amsterdam
We arrived back in Amsterdam around 5pm and immediately were almost killed by bicyclists. Yes I said bicyclists. When you look through the slide show you will see how many people ride bikes in Amsterdam. It was amazing. So when you got to a cross walk you had to make it across the bike lane, the tram lane and then the car lane. Seriously it was insane! The bicyclists have little horns and bells and will yell at you if you are in the bike lane or in their way when they are riding past. They do not care if they hit you. In there eyes they have the right of way everywhere even though they are supposed to stop at lights and crosswalks for pedestrians. I also loved the people who had babies, toddlers and kids riding on their bike with them. Just think in America we strap our kids in to where they can barely breathe or move and these people just put the kids in seats or in carts that are at the front of the bike to take there kids around. I saw babies less than one in little seats on the front of the bike strapped in. It was hilarious. I have about three pictures of kids on the bikes on the slide show. My favorite is the one with a guy holding an umbrella over his little boy while he is on his own bike. They also have bike car parks or parking garages. I put a picture on the slide show of that as well. It is just amazing how different cultures are with transportation. You would never see that many bikes in America or dare see anyone strapping their kid in on the front. :)
One of the other things Clifton and I loved about Amsterdam were the canals. We of course took a canal tour all through the city where you saw amazing architecture and some of the 2500 houseboats. The canals are another way people get around in the city. There were tons of small boats as well just docked on the side. Really it is the best way to travel when going to visit Amsterdam rather than taking the bus tours.
Clifton and I did some of the touristy things like going to the Heineken Brewery and seeing the Amsterdam Palace. The Heineken Brewery was interesting and we learned how they brew their beer, saw the famous Heineken horses and carriage and then of course in the end we got to enjoy the beer in the Heineken bar. After the Heineken brewery we went to see the palace which was beautiful on the inside. We did not get a good look of the outside because it was under construction so everything was covered up. We also went to the Ice Bar. It is entirely made of ice and we had to dress up like Eskimo's to even go in. At first, it was kind of neat but after about 10 minutes you didn't think it was that cool anymore and you just wanted out. They trap you in there for thirty minutes. Oh yeah and right before we went in I was splashed by a car on the street with tons of water so my legs and bum were freezing. Clifton thought it was hysterical when this occurred!
Lastly, I know everyone wants to know about the red light district and "coffee shops". Clifton and I did pass by many so called coffee shops. Coffee shops is where they sell pre-rolled joints, and marijuana. Again so different from American culture. Some of the streets smelled of marijuana and it was nothing to see someone smoking a joint as they walk past you. They also have what they call smart shops which is where you get seeds to grow your own marijuana. They have menus that show you what seeds to buy depending on the strength. They also sell mushrooms in these smart shops. In some of the pictures on the slide show you will see a smart shop and at the flower market they have cannabis starter kits to grow your own. The red light district was quite an experience too. We went there around 7 at night so before it got dark because I was a little nervous. Come to find out it is completely safe and a big tourist attraction. I even saw families down there but I would not recommend that to anyone going with a family. There were girls in lingerie and bikinis standing in the windows ready for negotiations and tons of triple X shops and shows. Again completely different world when you are walking down the streets. The store fronts are extremely risque and something you would never see in America. Supposedly, the Red Light District at night is even more crazy but we decided that seeing it in daylight was good enough for us.
All in all we had the most amazing vacation and officially decided out of all the places we have visited thus far Amsterdam and Belgium were our favorites. Just amazing cities!! We were also surprised by how many American tourists that were there for Easter weekend. The service was incredible everywhere we went and the dutch speak great English. I seriously think everyone in that city is bilingual with dutch and English. Everyone we spoke with at museums, restaurants, taxi drivers, and hotel spoke incredible English. I had an amazing 29th birthday and I am pretty sure my 29th year will be amazing!
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