Hello Amsterdam

Day 3 (Wednesday 27th June 2007)

Due to the time difference it was only 5.15am when I arrived in Amsterdam. I cleared customs in absolute record time and by 6am was on the train into the city. I got to Amsterdam Central about 6.30am, and wandered around in a cold drizzle trying futilely to find somewhere to sit down and have a coffee until the transit office opened at 7.30am so I could buy a 3-day pass for the trams. After 40 minutes of futile searching I gave up and went back to the railway station where I got a takeaway coffee and went and huddled outside the ticket office.

Now that I had my tram ticket I caught the tram out to Leidseplein which is where my hotel is located. My first view of the canal was really promising.

Unfortunately the hotel doesn't quite live up to it's surrounds.

Now don't get me wrong. I am staying at a budget hotel and for what I am paying it is fine.

The room is tiny, but clean, the toilet and shower are located in the hall and shared between six rooms, but they're also well looked after and spotlessly clean, and the location is terrific.

I got to the hotel around 8am but couldn't check in until 2pm. They were happy to mind my bags for me though so I set off for the Rijksmuseum.

I got their a few minutes before they opened, and you ever go I strongly recommend you do the same - the crowd builds quickly and the place was packed by midmorning. The paintings were superb, and the night watch really is something special, but the museum is being renovated and so only a portion of the collection is currently on display. Still it was a great way to spend the morning.

I had lunch just off Leidesplein at a small cafe. Now this is where it gets confusing. In Amsterdam a cafe is what we call a pub back in Australia. A cofeeshop is where they sell and smoke Marihuana, and they seem to be everywhere. I still haven't worked out what they actually call the the shops that really do sell coffee, but those are everywhere too, and the coffee here is terrific.

After lunch I went to the Dam, which is the historical centre of Amsterdam.

There is a palace on one side of the Dam, and the Nieuw Kerk (New Church), which has some beautiful decorations but is also partly closed off due to renovations.

After that I went for a walk through the Red Light District, but that doesn't really get going until after dark, so there was not much to see.

I was surprised to find out that the name isn't just a reference to what takes place there - they really do still put red lights outside the houses of ill repute.

By that stage I was well and truly walked out, so I had a quiet beer sitting outside one of the cafes overlooking a canal, then caught the tram back to Leidseplein for an early night.