My mind brings me back to the last leg of our first European trip – to Amsterdam, Netherlands. We were able to spend 18 hours there.
We landed at Schiphol past 9PM, coming from a short flight from Vienna. Took a 20 minute cab ride to Apollo Museum Hotel where we would stay for the night, and headed off very early in the morning to explore the neighborhood.
Because we have to leave the hotel at 10 AM, we couldnt’t go in the nearby museums like Van Gogh Museum, or the Rijksmuseum. We only saw them from the outside, on our bicycles. We rented bikes because it was the fastest and lightest way to go around. It was a good decision as cycling through the area was such a breeze. This is one of my favorite things about to do when traveling for tourism purposes.
It was an express trip and I’m glad we had the chance. Before this pandemic a trip back to the Netherlands was as in our list later part of the year. Now looking back I’m more determined to go back and have a proper stay!
Living Free and Making a Difference 
Miss this city, Amsterdam is such a cool city, I’m sure the days are never boring there 🙂 cool photos 🙂 stay safe, PedroL
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Thanks for reading, Pedro! Stay safe too!
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Looks fun! I had a similarly short experience in Amsterdam too. Looking forward to seeing it properly one day.
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I bet a longer stay will be fabulous. Cheers!
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Oh, how I would love to visit Amsterdam — or anywhere in the Netherlands. I discovered that my great-grandmother was from Zutphen, so I’ve been exploring my Dutch heritage and learning the language. A nearby town — Pella, Iowa — usually has a “tulip festival” each year in May. It’s very much a Dutch town, and we’d planned to go this year. Then the pandemic came and shut everything down. Oh, the tulips are still there and still blooming, but we didn’t make the drive. I say the town is “nearby” — but it’s about four hours one-way. Maybe next year we’ll be able to make it to the festival. Perhaps by then I’ll be speaking more Dutch! I can read it fairly well and understand a bit of it, but I’m not yet fluent in the language.
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You are lucky to have an annual tulip festival nearby – something to look forward to next year? I am always in awe of tulips as we dont have it here (except in flowershops, and they’re in the fridge). Enjoy mastering the Dutch language!
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great pics. I never really warmed to Amsterdam but perhaps one day I need to go back and give it another chance…
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