Amsterdam

The first thing we noticed when arriving into Amsterdam by train is the many bridges and canals you cross before getting into Centraal Station. “The canals of Amsterdam have been part of the city‘s landscape since the early 14th century. However most of the current canals were built during the 17th century, Amsterdam‘s golden age. At that time, officials of the thriving city decided to build a series of three concentric semi-circular canals around the old city center.”

From the moment we arrived in Amsterdam we already could tell that bicycles were a big part of the city. Everywhere you went, you would see bicycles parked along the streets and people riding to and from different parts of the city.

We spent a full morning and afternoon exploring two museums, The Van Gogh Museum and Heineken Brewery. The Van Gogh Museum offered the most concentrated collection of Van Gogh paintings in the world as well as a complete history of his life as an artist. The Heineken Brewery was a nice change of pace where we learned about the history and process of making Heineken’s world famous beer.

Of all the cities we visited on our two separate trips to Europe, Amsterdam was the one city we felt like we could both be happy living in. We left the city by plane, knowing full well that we will probably be back some day.