Amsterdam...Belgium..

Day 34 - Saturday - 26th August - Amsterdam

Reached Amsterdam at 6 in the morning...Sachin and I have calculated that the best time to reach a city is at 9am in the morning..and we were both, absolutely correct. Having reached at 6, we took the metro from Amstel station to Amsterdam Central (the dutch pronounce it as Aaamsterddam)..did not like the metro here..the station names are poorly displayed..and they have metal seats..I am no princess..but at 6 in the morning it is unbelievably cold and the metal seat uncomfortably emphasizes that fact...Reached Amsterdam Central station..and the Information office opens only at 9 in the morning..so our theory stands proved..

Loitered around Daam Straat looking for a place to stay...found none! There is a festival of sorts happening in Amsterdam..just my luck..I always end up reachng a place when something major is happening..its good in a way..but the scarcity of cheap accomodation coupled with the constant jostling of ppl is something I am not too keen abt..anyways, killed time till 9 and managed to get accomodation near the airport!! Also booked ourselves on a city tour and had a nice glimpse of Amsterdam..the striking feature of this city as viewed from a moving bus is its unique architecture..the houses are all longitudinal and deep and stuck to each other..This was oen to avoid paying much taxes...each house had a hook on top to bring in furniture through the windows...coz the doors were too narrow..Went to a windmill..Why do they have windmills in Amsterdam? The city is build on the River Amstel, from which it gets its name and has 102 canals. The windmills help regulate the water level in these canals..or atleast this is what I understood from our guide on the bus..

Saw Rembrandts last house..also visited a Diamond Factory in the Jewish quarter of town..The Jews are good at anything they do!! My appreciation for them never tends to cease..anyways saw a lot about the diamond polishing process at the factory and returned to Central around noon.

Walked along Daam Straat again, this time checking out the shops along the way...Amsterdam advertises its Red Light District and drugs-are-legal-here bit a whole lot more than it advertises that it is the birthplace of Rembrandt and Van Gogh...that it was the scene of Anne Frank's Nazi experience...so did not like that too much abt the place..but then again..I guess they give the tourists what they want!!!

Went into Madame Tussaud's...Oooo la laa...I have hugged Pierce Brosnan...sat in Robbie Williams arms..had dinner with George Clooney..posed with the Dutch Royal family and what not!! Awesome fun!!! totally worth coming here...went then to the Anne Frank Huis..and then back to the hotel around 10..we were bone tired...and before I forget...today is my darling mom's birthday..hope my supermom had a memorable birthday...wishing her a year of happiness and joy..



Day 35 - Sunday - 27th August - Antwerpen, Brugge
After a well deserved good night's sleep, left for Central...our train to Antwerpen was cancelled..so we hung around Central a lil bit longer...finally got on to the train and reached Antwerpen around lunch time..showed my mom the beauty of Anwerpen central..it is one of the most beautiful stations I have seen..since we had 3/4ths of an hour before our train to Brugge, I showed her around the famous diamond district of Antwerpen..had lunch at Pizza Hut and boarded our train to Brugge.

Brugge rocks!! Its a place where you can actually relive Enid Blyton..remember the Famous Five series..how they would take off on these biking trips..and camp out in the wetlands..with heather for beds..and little rivers?? And the quaint little villages they would pass through for food?? It is all here in Brugge!! A pity I just got an hour in this wonderful place..went around to the central Markt Square and saw some brilliant architectural wonders..and returned to catch our train to Brussels..Yeah..we spent most of today connected between cities..much like a join-the-dots game..but we ended up seeing a lot too so I guess its fine..

Returned home by the Thalys from Brussels to Paris and we were home by 10...

End to a lovely weekend...