In the last years I have visited Amsterdam countless times, but somehow we have always stayed only in the heart of the city. Two weeks ago, we have met our dear friends in Amsterdam West for dinner, and I was surprised to find out that this is such a great neighbourhood. It's densely populated, but there are not as many tourists as in other parts of the city. There are some very busy streets with shops, restaurants and bars, but there are also many quiet areas with typical townhouses and so many house boats!
We came to the city a bit earlier, so we had enough time to walk around and I would love to take us on a virtual tour with us!
Every time I come to Amsterdam I change my opinion about it a little bit. In the beginning I didn't like it that much as there is so much traffic and way too many bicycles driving at such high speed. I have always been scared to walk around there. I still don't feel comfortable, but it is getting much better. And it's not too bad if you don't walk around the main areas.
And the weather isn't great there either. We were lucky this time, but it usually rains when we're there.
There are countless bridges around the canals. There is a place where you can see 15 bridges at once! Well, as you can see it's not where we were 😊
Each house boat is unique and I find it very interesting to look at them. Also, the Dutch like big windows and no curtains, so you can often see inside of their homes. I know, I know, it's creepy, but I can't help myself and I believe that if they didn't want people to look inside they would hang some curtains. My husband walks by without even noticing, but I always take a peek. They have great interior design skills.
At some places there are house boats on both sides of the canal, and they are also very close to each other. I like the concept of living on the water (even though I would never do it), but I find it a bit scary too as they are easily accessible from the road, so it doesn't seem safe to me.
I used to think that all of them were boats used as houses, but apparently most of them are houses built on the water. I guess it's also because there is no place to build new houses and there are too many people living in Amsterdam. But I'm also sure that some people simply prefer this way of life.
When I say easily accessible then I really mean it. This house boat even has a small garden in front of it.
Someone was doing their laundry 😊
I have always thought of Amsterdam as highly populated city with little to no greenery. I was so wrong! There are many parks around the city, some of them are quite large.
There are also many trees along the canals...
We have also enjoyed the sunset...
This is probably the oldest and ugliest ship that I came across there, although it's still somehow charming.
A typical Dutch picture: House boats, boats, cars and bicycles...
Some of them even have small terraces...
What is another sign of Amsterdam? Yes, it's bicycles!
They can have flowery details...
All possible colours...
They're parked everywhere...
Have cute details - look at the hearts on the front wheel...
A little bit of glamour...
Or romance...
Bicycles of all sorts is what characterized Amsterdam.
I know that this photo doesn't fit into this story, but to me it's also Amsterdam - cool doors and beautiful decoration.
We saw a dad who took his child of out its pram and walked up the stairs. When he opened the door there was another long narrow staircase in front of him. I'm afraid of walking up such staircase myself, but he did it with his child in one arm and the pram in another with so much ease. I do admire him! You can't really see from this photo how steep these stairs are, but believe me they are way too steep.
And I was confident that this cat was plotting to kill me. My only luck was the window between us! 😊
After our walk we went to the restaurant to meet our friends. We had a great evening and I can't wait to meet them again!
See you next time...