Amongst the Tulips

They said Amsterdam would be cold and rainy, but all I got was sunshine and flowers. Of all the streets and neighbourhoods we could’ve stayed, we landed one of the last hotel rooms available, due the the King’s Birthday National holiday, in the historic town centre known as the Red Light District. It did not disappoint.

Deanne and I spent the week as roomies since the city was packed.

Deanne was assured our hotel was located on the ‘edge’ of the red light district, but when we got there, we appeared to be the only ‘green light’ in a sea of red lights . . .

We made ourselves right at home.

Our nights, every night, were spent perched on the footpath in chairs in front of our hotel observing the scene along our street. There were couples pushing prams down the street well after midnight and groups young and old casually taking in the sights. We got know who was making multiple laps up and down the strip (and how often), the ‘costs’ of doing business, clocked the progression of street drunkenness, identified dealers, analysed drug deals, observed a fist-fight or two, and reveled in the mixture of couples and families enjoying this somehow contained and well-maintained scene with us.

Who needs Netflix, when you have front row seats here?

To balance things out, we caught the last few days of this season’s Tulip Festival.

And I tried on every pair of clogs I could find.

It got tiring, so I was lucky to find a kangaroo in the middle of it all.

If you are heading to the Netherlands, don’t miss the opportunity to visit Utrecht. It is as stunning as Amsterdam and maybe even more so given the banks of the canals are lined with cafes, bars and restaurants unlike AMS.

And this couple. Wow.

While we were in Utrecht, I suggested we do a late afternoon trip to The Hague in order to see the European Parliament. We hopped on another train and wandered around The Hague looking for an impressive parliament building. I finally looked it up on Google and discovered it is actually located in Strasbourg, France.

We had Dutch apple pie and tea in The Hague instead.

I am totally down with the Netherlands and glad I gave myself a week to explore beyond the red lights . . . I even squeezed in a couple of museums.

Next up . . . Copenhagen!