a quick look at amsterdam

Here's a little throwback to the summer when I visited Amsterdam...

I decided to visit as I had a friend studying in Breda and visiting her and both these cities on my way back to Finland just made sense. Any reason to travel is a good reason! So, I had a few days in Amsterdam and I really loved it. I love the contrasts of the city; the history, the art, the churches and the coffeeshops, the red-light districts, the usually less-seen areas of culture. It makes such an interesting city and atmosphere. For me it was all about the museums, the architecture and the flowers. Honestly, all the houses and canals are just so pretty.

I tend to enjoy wandering around a lot while travelling, but I also visited some of the must-see attractions. (Obviously leaving some for a future trip!) The floating flower market is cute and something I more or less stumbled upon rather than went out of my way to look for. I wish I had had more space in my bag so that I could've gotten all the flowers. Out of all the museums I only had time for the Anne Frank House, the Van Gogh Museum and a quick look at the Sex Museum. If you're planning on going to Amsterdam I'd advise you to be wiser than I was and book tickets to the bigger museums in advance as it'll make your travels so much easier and possibly less frustrating. I - characteristically for myself - hadn't made any concrete plans and ended up queuing for both Anne Frank and Van Gogh for 1-2h. I'd say the waiting was worth it as both places were so impressive, inspiring, interesting and moving in their own ways. I also happened to be visiting on Anne Frank's birthday and they gave every visitor a free postcard which was lovely! (Postcards are one of the things I usually buy for myself as keepsakes on my travels because they're pretty, don't take a lot of room and are easy to display at home.)

Like I said, I really loved Amsterdam. I'm looking forward to revisiting in the not-so-distant future. If you've been or would like to go, let me know of any places I should add onto my itinerary for next time!