Amsterdam

May is a busy month for us. Two bank holiday weekends and the lure of good weather means we have booked a trip away for three of the four (and a half) weekends. The first trip was Amsterdam where we had a great time.

Early morning flights are cheap. They are also really hard. Flying out of the ill fated Terminal 5 made things even more difficult. And so it was that we got up at 5:00 on the Saturday of a long weekend to fly out to Amsterdam. We spent more time taxiing than we did in the air. They seem to put more staff on these short flights so that they can hand out the snacks fast enough. By the time you get up you start coming down again.

By mid day local time we were safely into the city center via our very handily placed hotel. Given that the weather has (with the odd exception) been pretty average up until now, we were gifted three cracking days of sunshine and temperatures in the low 20s. We spent some time on our first day joining the rest of Amsterdam sunbathing in the park. The tulips are out, the trees are green and so is the water.

After a day of wandering around we thought it would be a good opportunity to drop into the Heineken factory and partake in one of the local 'H' delicacies (the other two being hookers and hash). It was hardly surprising that true to our record of visting famous buildings wrapped in scaffolding, the factory was closed for renovations. A pint in the park had to do. Bugger.

We started off day two by hiring a couple of bikes. We were staying to the north of the city so we were nice and close to the 'countryside' and spent most of the morning and early afternoon peddling along the canals watching windmills and locks. The afternoon was spent back in the city which was packed (it was the Dutch remembrance day). A wander around the redlight district was, shall we say, entertaining and disturbing, all at the same time. It's safe to say that quality varies greatly.

Shopping anyone?

Our last day started with pancakes. These were closely followed by the Anne Frank house and a wander through some newer (and tidier) parts of the central city. The Anne Frank house was interesting and sobering but bigger than we had thought....not that living there in fear without any sunlight for a number of years would have been much fun. The new developments are very Dutch modern – interesting, sobering and bigger than we thought.

Finally we wandered along the 'waterfront' towards the new library (which proved to be a very nice modern library) and NEMO, the new science center. This bit of town felt very different to the rest of the city with long views and an openness you don't find elsewhere. The new civic buildings are very good and clever in a number of ways. The roof of the NEMO is for instance, a public roof terrace with fountains and a cafe.

Amsterdam Library

NEMO

All in all Amsterdam was very nice. We feel like everyone should ride bikes more (although we suggest everyone else should be careful not to step out in front of a bike as we witnessed waiting for the Anne Frank House). Now we look forward to our next trip to Berlin!

M&S

When Kiwis go to London they.....

Get up at five in the morning to go somewhere else
Sunbathe in Kensington Gardens pretending that the round pond is like the sea.
Don't go to sex shows in Amsterdam but get to witness one close hand in Hyde park.
Catch up with cousins they haven't seen for years.
Take a fancy to cider and ice in the sun.

The best meal we've had since our last update was.....
Thai at our new favourite restaurant in Soho.

Underground countdown
Our total so far is 63/321 and new entries include:
T5 and Clapham North for Jacinda's birthday