Arriving in Amsterdam

Amsterdam takes liberty and freedom to an altogether different level. Beautiful in so many ways, the city is such an amazing collage of contrasts.
As for most parts of Europe, the advent of spring bodes well for the Netherlands too. The weekend gone by saw a bunch of us basking in the glorious sights and sounds of the popular city of Amsterdam. After a fun train ride of a little over four hours, and after figuring out the public transport system there, we finally checked into our hotel. Then, we made our way to the city centre.

Amsterdam is a city of bicycles. Rows and rows of bicycles is what catches the eye on every road. Methinks, the Dutch sure must be a very fit lot! Can't really blame them for wanting to ride their bicycles at every given opportunity, though; the city is just so pretty with its myriad canals and cobbled streets.

The trams and bicyclists have a menacing reputation preceding them; they are thought to wait for nothing! Quite often, we were told not to incur the wrath of the bicyclists and to steer clear of the cycling tracks. Bicyclists having to ring their bells to even nudge a pedestrain a little to the side, is just not a done thing! It is almost always accompanied by a bout of glares, frowns and stares, all from the concerned bicyclist, of course! :-)

The Oldest Clock Tower in Amsterdam

Central Railway Station

Our first stop at the city centre: the all famous red light district in Amsterdam.
To be continued in my next post...