I went to Amsterdam with one of my collegue named, Sian. Sian and I were friends from many years and we have many common leisure pursuits; like – water games, tennis, gardening and travel. I always wanted to visit Amsterdam, as I have heard so much about the city, its canals, museums and nightlife but due to my busy life I couldn’t visit Amsterdam and when Sian suggested Amsterdam, I just said yes!
I always plan my trip well ahead and try to book my flights and hotel tickets at least one month ahead, to avoid any disappointments. I always do research on all the major hotel booking websites to get the best deal possible and I would recommend all the travellers to always do a through research about flights, hotels and top attractions before making their journey.
Like other travellers I don’t enjoy running from one location to another because if you plan too many tourist destinations in one day then you won’t be able to enjoy the place or won’t get enough time to relax. For me breaks means relaxing and enjoying. I always spent my time by exploring local markets, local cuisines, culture and interacting with local people.
Our plane landed in Amsterdam Schiphol airport at 6PM and from there we took train to central station as it is the most easy and fastest way to reach city centre. Train service is after every 10 minutes and it just takes around 15-20 minutes to reach Amsterdam central station. One way journey costs ¬3.50 which you can obtain either from the self service ticket machine or from ticket counters. I bought my tickets from ticket counter as I am not very good with machines. Our train journey was comfortable and quick. Our hotel was just 7-8 minutes walk from the central station so instead of taking cab we walked to our hotel and reached their by 7:30pm.
Our hotel near close to the river Amstel and my room was on the 7th floor. The view from my window was amazing; I could see the entire city glittering with lights and tiny boats were passing through the river. I would have spend hours in that room but as we didn’t have any food for quite some time so we went to a small Mexican restaurant to have food. The food was good and the waiters out there were very friendly.
Next day we took the canal cruise to travel around the city as it is a must thing to do if you are in the town. We bought Hop on Hop off day pass for ¬22. If you buy this ticket then you can take any canal bus any time and as Amsterdam is full of canals so you can go anywhere in the city. We visited Van Gogh museum, Anna Frank House and 9 streets. I did some shopping and had chips with mayonnaise for lunch, I know it’s not healthy but once in a while it’s ok.
Amsterdam is one of the most happening places for clubbing. There are number of nightclubs to suit different tastes and people. I and Sian went out to explore the much talked about night life in Amsterdam. We went to Chemistry’ night club which is the most famous nightclub in Amsterdam, so be prepared for huge queues.
Contrary to popular belief Amsterdam is a safe city for women of all ages. I and Sian reached our hotel at 2:00 AM using public transport and we didn’t face any problem. Travelling in Amsterdam at night is fairly safe but avoid going to red light district at night.
I would like to suggest few things that you should keep in mind while travelling in Amsterdam.
Beware of pick pockets
Do not buy drugs
Avoid using cycle lanes
Do not travel by car inside the city as parking fee is very high
Do not smoke in train stations
¢ Always travel with valid tickets
Always avoid taking photos in the red light district
Amsterdam is a beautiful city and Dutch people are very social and they speak fairly good English so communicating with locals is not a problem. In Amsterdam you can find a large number of hotels for suit your budget. You don’t need to spend a fortune to travel to Amsterdam. Museum entry fee is pricy so if you are not a big fan of visiting museums you can avoid them but I would advice that you should at least visit 2-3 museums as they are worth it.
Kacper Xena writes travel guides. Lately he is writing about Amsterdam hotels. He has just found a great selection of Manchester Hotels for his next trip.
Amsterdam is the capital of Netherlands and is one of the largest cities in Europe. It has unbelievably beautiful canals and impressive architecture along with friendly people and great shopping.
Something or the other is available to match the tastes of different travelers and hence it is one of the major tourist destinations in the world. There are number of ways to reach this city, which is also known as the Sex and Drug capital of the world.
The best part is that most of the city is designed in such a way so as to be friendly to disabled people or those who use wheelchairs. However, there are a number of historical buildings where it is neither appropriate nor practical to reconfigure the interiors for complete access.
Airports and Train stations
Any person first reaches either the airport or the train station when they visit a city. In Amsterdam, all the airports and stations have easy access and a person with a wheel chair can easily come and go, usually without any help. Lifts are also provided to go from one level to another with relative ease.
Hotels
Once you reach the hotel, the staff is friendly and helpful and even if there are a couple of steps at the entrance, rest assured as someone will be there to help you across. Also, when you are inside, most of the modern hotels are disabled friendly.
Sightseeing
A number of places of tourist interest like the Van Gogh Museum have a disabled access next to the main entrance. It is a kind of a self operated lift that raises a wheelchair up to the level of entrance near the ticket office. In fact the Rijk’s Museum provides free entrance to all disabled people.
You need not worry about going to toilet as there are some that are disabled friendly and hence easily accessible. Also, various lifts are provided to comfortably travel from one level to another, easily and quickly.
Eating and shopping
Most of the restaurants and shopping malls have a disabled entrance either next to the main entrance or just nearby. Once inside, the places are easy to navigate and the staff is friendly and helpful enough to take care of any potentially embarrassing situations.
Amsterdam is hence one of the most easily accessible cities in Europe and also the world. It is also one of the few that can be reached by land or air or water and each individual should select the mode that he or she likes most.
The best part is that if the travel is planned well in advance, you get bookings in places that are completely disabled friendly and also works out to be extremely inexpensive. Most of the travelers who come to the city for the second time try out a mode of transport different form the one they used the first time as they are sure that any mode with be easily accessible even to the disabled. It is partially due to its easy accessibility to disabled that it is one the most visited cities.
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. I would recommend Kos as a vacation destination its an amazing island! ©Copyright Dave Masseur 2011 Dont steal this video. Or actions will be taken!
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