Europe Trip - Amsterdam City vs Keukenhoff Garden

A new day was coming, everybody felt more refreshed after a good night sleep. We continued with our itinerary for the day: Amsterdam City and Keukenhoff Garden.

Maybe it's nearing the end of the journey, maybe it's because we were so tired, we went out from the hotel a bit later than usual. We took the train to Centraal Station and strolled towards the Dam Square.

Canal in front of Centraal Station

Glorious Amsterdam Centraal Station

We walked along many alleys and we were attracted by a shop selling doughnuts and waffles. We tried and they were glorious!

Who can resist these beauties?

Admiring many sizes of Nutella, which is like the must have in every shops

The alleys that we passed by had shops at both sides. We kept stopping to do some window shopping and actual shopping. Actually, the price of the stuffs here were considered much cheaper as compared to other part of Europe but maybe they were all past collections.

We walked about half an hour (with all the stopping here and there) before we reached the Dam Square. The alley just emerged to a spacious square that's surrounded by buildings at four side: Koninklijk Palace, Niuwe Kerk, Madame Tussauds Museum, shops, and National Monument.

Dam Square was built in the thirteenth century as a dam to Amstel River and then eventually built to be the city square. There was a shooting on 07 May 1945, two days after German capitulation. Germany started shooting the Dutch from the balcony. Only after a member of resistance shot the person from Koninklijk Palace, the shooting stopped.

The national monument was built to commemorate World War II and the shooting incident.

Emerging from Damrak, the shopping alley

Madam Tussauds Museum

Koninklijk Palace

National Monument

We then took the tram to go to our next destination: Albert Cuyp Market. It's one of my favorite things to do because I love to see that in other part of the world, all cities will need markets and humble buy&sell activities.

On the way to Albert Cuyp Markt

The market

Locals are buying and selling, and tourists too

We did not have much time here because our journey was hindered by the rain that came and went as it pleased. It was quite late and we should get going to Keukenhoff Garden. So, we had simple dinner at one of the udon shops along the market and we walked to Museumplein to see the real famous Iamsterdam.

This is a tourism gimmick of Amsterdam. There are three sets of this giant letters, two are located at fixed location: Museumplein and Schipol Airport while the remaining one is moved here and there so that the tourists can catch it. And yeah, it works, it is now a 'thing' in Amsterdam.

OMG, full of people

And no one care about this tiny one

Taking picture with a letter will do

Wefie from the back, less people

Rijkmuseum, the largest in Amsterdam

Bye bye Museumplein

It was so crowded and we did not spend much time there. In the location, there was Van Gogh Museum and Stedelijk Museum too. However, my travel companions were not museum people so we skipped these. We went to the bus stop and waited for our bus that could bring us to Keukenhoff Garden.

From the city of Amsterdam to Keukenhoff Garden, we took Bus 197 to Schipol and transferred to Bus 858 there. It was an hour journey in total, The waiting time was not bad. We bought the combo ticket in Keukenhoff website that covered the entrance ticket and the return bus rides. It cost us EUR 29 (~SGD 45) for the combo ticket.

Keukenhoff Garden is only opened during the season of tulip blooms. We scheduled our trip in such a way that Keukenhoff had already been opened when we visited. The day we visited was the third day it was opened for the year. It was not so crowded yet but not all the flowers had bloomed.

At the entrance

Posing with the Dutch Lady

A cute booth near the souvenir shop that sells CD of traditional Dutch instruments

Enjoy!

So we started our journey inside the magical garden. It was huge and colorful and seemed never ending. Other than the outdoor tulip exhibitions, the garden also host indoor flower exhibitions other than tulips. I was happy to see all the orchids, hydrangea, roses, and all the beautiful flowers. Even though the spring garden highlights on the tulip collections, you will not feel bored strolling here because the garden is designed in such a way that you can enjoy some other things: there are many trees, some small streams, a lake, some cafes, some shops, exhibitions inside greenhouses, a windmill, etc. When it is in the peak of the bloom, you can actually rent a boat and enjoy the carpet of tulips at the back of the garden. It must be magnificent!

Me and the flowers

Start wandering!

Happy and pretty mum!

A lake in the middle of the garden

Purple, my color

Experiencing clog

Aren't they adorable?

Indoor exhibition with the artist/designer

Orchids exhibition

The windmill at the end of the garden, there should be a monstrous size tulip field at the back, but it was not blooming yet\

Cute love garden

Hydrangea all the way

In love

Really in love

The last shot before leaving the garden

We spent about four hours here and we felt happy to witness such a beauty. We took the bus back to Schipol and then to Amsterdam Centraal Station. That night, we had dinner at an Indonesian restaurant called Betawi. The portion was hugeeeeee and TripAdvisor stated that restaurant as one of the best in town. But still, it can't be compared with the real Indonesian restaurant in Indonesia.

That night, I dreamt of flowers.

Next - The Windmill of Amsterdam

Love is in the air,
Little Feet 

Europe Trip - The Red Light District of Amsterdam

Maybe buying tickets with no seat reservation was a huge fault. We ended up struggling with our luggage and minimum energy inside the train which was very packed, maybe the most crowded one that we took through out the journey. 

Most of the seats were taken by people with seat reservations, we could find seat here and there but we could not stick together. In the end, we were separated and so were our stuffs. It was quite a tiring 3-hour ride, but yeah, we reached Amsterdam in the end!

Amsterdam Centraal Station is huge and integrated with the metro station. In front of the station there are a few tram stops and bus stops. It is the heart of the city. Upon arriving, we brought a metro-tram-bus pass for 4 days cost EUR 20.5 (~SGD 33) per person. Even until the last day of our stay, we did not know that the pass did not cover the train. 

We then took the train to Sloterdijk Station where our aparthotel was located. We got an apartment hotel near Sloterdijk Station, just 1 train stop away from Centraal Station. On the map, it looked near to the station. However, the actual condition was not that ideal. The wind was strong like hell and we needed to roll our luggage to the next block crossing the road. We were almost blown by the wind while walking. It was such a scene! When we settled down in the hotel, only we know that the wind speed was about 40 km/h that time. Oh Gosh, lucky we did not get blown away by the wind and landed somewhere else.

We took some rest and then made our way to the Red Light District of Amsterdam.

Amsterdam Red Light District is located at the Centruum, a short walk from Amsterdam Centraal Station. The area is actually called de Wallen whereby rows of shophouses in front of a small canal are actually brothel, sex shops, sex museums, peep shows, bars, gay bars, etc. And the most unique attribute of Amsterdam Red Light District is the prostitutes being displayed in the windows.

Prostitution is not something new in Amsterdam. The Red Light District is actually a way to prevent forced and illegal prostitution. Prostitutes in Amsterdam have their own union, frequent testing and standard monitoring. This is a profession!

Amsterdam Red Light District was there since the fourteenth century and now prostitution is legal in Netherlands.  However, only EU residents can have this occupation since no working permit will be given.

The Red Light District, still sleeping 

One of the window

One of the shop

The later it is, the more people will flock this area. We walked past and found many 'live mannequin' selling themselves: some were young, some were old, some were skinny, some were not so skinny, many kinds, many forms. We saw some ongoing transactions and we saw some closed curtains. However we did not take any picture because it's not allowed for the privacy of everybody transacting in the area.

I guess this is another face of Amsterdam which shows the openness and the respect towards all people. 

We closed our day and got back to the hotel after a simple dinner in Amsterdam Centraal Station. Most of the restaurants were not opened because Monday after Easter Sunday was a public holiday.

Next - Amsterdam City vs Keukenhoff Garden

Love is in the air,

Little Feet

Europe Trip - A Lovely Morning in Koln

We initially bought the seat tickets from Zurich to Koln since we were not able to get the couchette tickets due to full booking. After much consideration, we decided to suffer the seats for a night. However, the missing seat reservation caused us to be upgraded to couchette. For EUR 49 (~SGD 76) per person, we were able to get some sleep throughout the night.

We arrived in Koln main station at 6:00 am. In my thought, Koln should be a small city and the station should be small to. But to my surprise, the station is huge and it is integrated with many eateries and shops.

We went to deposit our luggage for EUR 7 (~SGD 11) per item. Then we went to the ticket office to buy another ticket for Koln-Amsterdam. Due to the bombing in Brussels 6 days earlier, we decided not to visit Brussels and just do short stopover in Koln before continuing our journey to Amsterdam.

We chose to have second class ticket without seat reservation. The customer service helped us to mix and match the best fare and we got the six tickets cost EUR 397.2 (~SGD 621), approximately SGD 100 per pax. That's the risk of purchasing the tickets last minute.

We sat in Starbucks until my friend arrived. The view that we got by sitting inside was just amazingly cool. Afterwards, we walked out and the breeze that morning was cold as ice. We then moved to our first destination just in front of the station, Koln Black Church or Cologne Cathedral.

Cologne Cathedral is a world heritage site since 1996 and the biggest gothic church in Northen Europe. The construction commenced in 1248 as the temple of three wise men but was completed only in the 19th century after a few stops. Prior to the construction of the church, the site had been utilized as grain storage, roman temple, to Christian buildings.

During World War II, the city of Koln was targetted in a bombing spree as the towers of Cologne Cathedral was easily spotted. The cathedral itself suffered fourteen hits. The whole city was flattened, but the church kept standing tall and proud at its 157m. The restoration was then completed in 1956.

Some people said that this cathedral was previously a satanism temple. However, there is no proof to that. I guess it was just some stories people made because of the gargoyles surrounding the facade of the church seem scary.

Koln Black Church, view from Starbucks

No matter how cold it was, we should pose

Somebody told me that the church had been in restoration forever

The station, view from the church

The so called park in front of the church

The church main door, so magnificent

The interior of the church

High ceiling, strong pillars

The organs

Mother Mary

The side view of the church

The gargoyle in front of the church

We then walked out and was greeted again by strong wind. We walked towards the Hohenzollern Bridge, which was destroyed in the assault during World War II. Prior to the bombing, the bridge, which spanned across the Rhine River, was utilized as railway and vehicular bridge. However, the reconstruction only catered for railway and pedestrian. And, this is the Hohenzollern Bridge that we know today.

The bridge was repaired fully in 1959. Additional two tracks were added during the renovation in 1980. About 1200 trains pass through this bridge nowadays and God knows how many pedestrians put their 'love lock' here and throw the key away into the Rhine.

Hohenzollern Bridge

Across the river, looks like industrial part of the city

Love locks

Rhine and the beautiful city

Taking picture on the famous bridge

We did not manage to walk all the way to the other side of the bridge because of the winds. We walked back and decided to warm ourselves inside a cute little cafe at a corner nearby the station. My friend kept urging me to try the cakes. She said no people in the world could bake like Germans did. So, yeah, of course, we tried the cakes. And all were heavenly!

Our feasts

Selfie

We intended to visit Lindt Museum actually but the band were tired and seemed to fall sick already, so we decided to take the noon train to Amsterdam for early check in and some rest. We bid goodbye to my friend and we bid goodbye to Koln.

I like this little city and I hope I can visit again, of course with the rest of the Germany.

Danke schans.

Next - Red Light District of Amsterdam


Love is in the air,
Little Feet

Europe Trip - Wandering in Zurich

We reached Zurich around 7:00 pm and I had my good friend waiting for me at the platform already. I was so happy to see her even for a short time. She is living in Zurich with her husband and she told me that Zurich's beauty would be nothing as compared to Lucerne's.

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland located at the German-speaking part of the country. It has Lake Zurich at the south-east. Zurich is full of financial centres and banking giants, despite low population. 

There was evidence of settlement during the stone age and bronze age nearby Lake Zurich. In Roman time, Zurich was called Turicum and Turicum was the border between Gaul and Italy. There was a tombstone dated back to the second century referring Zurich as the tax collection post.

Germanic Alemanni tribe settled here in the fifth century. Louis the German founded Fraumunster Abbey next to a Roman castle, Grossmunster in the year of 853. The city was then ruled by an abbess until the fourteenth century when an independent mayor took the throne.

To date, Zurich has a democratic culture which is quite unique. The citizens can vote on legislative proposals and laws and elect the members of municipal council and executive. 

So, my friend brought me to walk along the city centre but all of the shops were closed due to the public holiday. It was Easter Sunday! It felt so quite and serene. We walked along Banhofstrasse where all the luxury boutiques were located. Then, we reached the bank of Lake Zurich.

Lake Zurich is much wider than Lake Lucerne, but without the Alps at the background, it felt kind of plain.

Lake Zurich

Another view of Lake Zurich

The wind messed my hair

The lake and the city at the other side

We crossed over to the other side and they told me all the water fountains found around the city were drinkable, unless a notice not to drink it present. We kept walking on the cobblestone alley while chit-chatting like there would be no tomorrow.

Please feel free to drink

The streets to be explored on foot

There are 2 famous churches in Zurich, namely Grossmunster and Fraumunster located at each side of the lake. Grossmunster is Roman Protestant church while Fraumunster is Evangelical Reformed Church of Canton of Zurich. We stopped a while in front of Grossmunster.

Fraumunster

The miniature of Grossmunster

We then walked to the so-called night district of Zurich. But yeah, don't think of something naughty because the night district here just means it's more lively at night. I saw many restaurants, pubs, and local shops.

Entering the night district

They brought me into a Swiss restaurant and we had delicious Swiss food. I love rosti! I had difficulties reading the menu and got them to explain every single dish to me before I finally chose.

Rosti, sausage, and onion sauce

Rosti and pork with mushroom sauce

Spatzle with cheese sauce

We were having fabulous time

After having a nice dinner and continuous chit-chat with this dearest friend of mine, we walked back to the station since I have to catch the train to Koln. The sky had turned dark blue but the city still emerged its beauty. Zurich may look like an old lady but surely an elegant one. I hope one day I can be back and explore more of this city, and of course to meet them again.

Zurich at night

They accompanied us till we boarded the train. There was some glitch as our purchased tickets did not come with seat reservation and there was no instruction to reserve seat beforehand whatsoever. So she helped us to talk to the machinist and he asked us to board the train first.

We waved good bye to them and really thanked them for the hospitality.

I miss you.

Next - A Lovely Morning in Koln


Love in the air,
Little Feet