Our Europe trip - Part 1 Amsterdam
Dear friends,
It has been quite a long long time since my last post here. I logged in here and found that I posted the previous article more than 3 months back! That is a long gap! If a blog needs to be active and popular, one should constantly update it with any interesting topic. Since mine is not a blog which specializes on one subject, I am free and happy to write on any topic I feel passionate about.
As I would have mentioned in my previous articles, one of my passions is travelling to new places and observing the limitless possibilities a place offers us. Travel relaxes and rejuvenates our souls from our stressful routines, broadens the outlook of life. It is no wonder that a person like me looks forward to grab opportunities to explore places in and out of our country. Though we have travelled outside India a few times, it was my long-cherished dream to go and see places in Europe. We remember Kajol (Simran) begging her authoritative dad in DDLJ (dilwaale dulhaniya le jayenge) to allow her to explore Europe with her friends before leaving England for good to marry ' anjaane ladka' far off in India. The idyllic locations shown in the movie only increased my desire to visit. My husband tells me that just to post the photos of exotic locations in the social media, people keep travel and out of 'peer pressure.' But for me, it is not the pressure of social media, but a genuine desire.
Some months back, when we went for our practice runs, one of our friends mentioned that they were planning to go to Amsterdam on October to run marathon. I grabbed the idea of participating in the event and in addition to that, visiting a few places. We registered for marathon event online and started planning for the trip to go around beginning of October. But we had to face some hiccups and setbacks on our personal front which tested our patience and determination. My husband was not in favour of going ahead with the trip, but I anyway wanted it to happen. So we rebooked the tickets (as our travel agent cheated on us and the entire group) and planned the travel itenary on our own. We were running short of time and as it would take 3 to 4 weeks to get Visa to enter Amsterdam, we applied to enter Paris as the point of entry. Getting a Schengen visa is not very easy and one needs to show the proof of all the hotel bookings, residence proof of relatives if we plan to stay with them, exactly how many days we are staying in each place of Europe. So, if you plan a trip to Europe, plan well in advance and in rare cases, be prepared for rejection of visa also. After our visa came through, I was all excited and looked forward for a dream trip.
We had to go to Paris from Bangalore and from there catch a connecting flight to Amsterdam. As Paris was our entry port, we were unexpectedly put up at the airport in a long unmoving queue to get immigration clearance, and we were given the connecting flight ticket only in the evening that day and we were forced to spend some hours at the airport! We cursed our luck and had words of praise for the functioning of our own airports, as travellers will not be put through in a situation like this. With larger population in our country travelling within states and out of country, I feel that our airports are managed much better.
Finally , we arrived at the Schipol airport in Amsterdam and we were warmly received by our niece and her family.
Amsterdam is a beautiful and idyllic city situated on the banks of Amstel river. The city is the bicycle capital in the world and we had a brush with the serious cyclists there. Look out for cycle lanes everywhere and do not walk on them, or else, you will be given warning stares from the locals. Hollands or Netherlands is few metres below sea level, and that is why the name 'Nether'. The country was planned by building large dykes over centuries. Today Netherlands is the largest cheese and flower exporter of the world. Amsterdam is well connected throughout with the help of tramlines, buses, metro lines. With the help of a city pass, one can use any modes of these transports. Population is less, the city is clean and it has about hundreds of canals running throughout the city. The city developed around the canals and the old buildings on the either side of each canal is a treat to watch and look like gingerbread cookies. Being October, the weather was on colder side, but nevertheless, it is worth visiting this time as this is the best season to enjoy different fall colors of the leaves of the trees. It is a treat to our eyes that our nature offers us for free. We took a boat tour on Delft canal and the boat guide explained us the history about the city, about the buildings on either side of the canals. Many locals are in touch with English language as they are forced to be in touch globally. From the Delft canal, we alighted to go to the Porcelain museum which houses variety of ceramic and porcelain items , all in white and blue colour. There were big pumpkins made out of ceramic, large and awesome paintings on the wall done on ceramic tiles depicting the Dutch royal families, lot of cutlery. Visitors were allowed to take photos there. Even to this date, the ceramic painting is done by artists there.
From there, we took another boat to reach the famous Adam lookout which is near Amsterdam Central Station. From the top of the building, which is more than 20 floors, one can get a beautiful view of the whole city. I will post some photos here.
Adam Lookout
On the rest of the days, we went to Van Gogh museum which is a must see for every tourist. As photography of the paintings were not allowed, we toured the museum peacefully! With the help of audio set, we get to know a miserable life this famous painter led. The courtyard of the museum was beautiful with a well laid lawn and trees surrounding it which was full of fall colours. After that, we bought some souvenirs and just took a stroll around before heading to a hangout place known as Leids Plein. The place is full of shops and restaurants offering cuisines from various countries. One can hang out here the entire day going to shops, watching people and spending time near a canal there. We also went to Dam square, which is equivalent of Trafalgar square in London and it was surrounded by old palaces. This is a famous hangout place for the locals. What we observed throughout is that people find time to dine, wine, shop, spend time with friends and families and thus giving more importance to living life. There were no traffic jams, no rush, no pollution and going around was not tiring. We went around the city with the help of public transport and google maps. The frequency of public transports are pretty good and so the waiting time was not much.
The famous windmill
From Amsterdam, we went to Den Hague where the famous
miniature museum known as Madurodam was situated. The museum was built and dedicated by a soldier's parents who died young while fighting a war. This is one of the most visited tourist spot as children and adults can enjoy all the miniature buildings, rails, roads, airports, castles were displayed in a park. The place is a treat for anybody. We took the train to Den Hague from Amsterdam and from there to reach Madurodam , we took a tram. Of course, wherever I go, souvenir shops are always an attraction for me and I can spend hours looking at those tiny magnets and other accessories. From Madurodam, we went to Sheveningan beach which was a few stops away. As it was getting windy and cold, I wanted to go back and so did not spend much time there. But we got to view promenades, shops, casinos, restaurants, hotels etc which was good for night life there.
Our Marathon
----------------------
Yes, we went to Amsterdam to participate in the marathon and a month before, I constantly used to check the local weather conditions there. The fellow marathoners in the facebook page assured us and gave us tips as to how to deal if the weather was too windy, cold or rainy. It was a delight getting to know lot of aspiring and seasoned marathoners virtually in the 'TCS Amsterdam Marathon' page.
Mine was half marathon and my husband's was full marathon. I practised my run to my best, but did not put too much pressure on myself. Thankfully, the weather on the D-day was perfect for running. There were no winds, no rain, it was not freezing cold. It was as if the organizers and the weather had got into some understanding between them! And of course, running in a different location with the local crowds cheering us all the way is something we will remember forever!!We finished our dream runs to our own satisfaction and adorned ourselves with those prized finisher medals! One more thing I would like to treasure is when we were descending down the stairs of the railway station near Olympich Stadion after our run in our stiff and sore legs, one passer by lauded us by telling "You did it!!" :)
From the Olympich Stadion, we headed to Arnhem which is situated to the East of Amsterdam to visit our friends there. They were in Bangalore before, but now almost settled there. It is of no surprise because we could see that the life there is much more easy going and relaxed. The quality of day to day living is better there. Arnhem is a pristine, beautiful neighbourhood. They eagerly awaited our visit and were most happy to receive us. The next day, they took us to Arnhem War Cemetery which was established in 1945 and is home to 1764 service men. The park surrounding the cemetery is paradise on earth with lush green meadows, paths lined with trees on either sides and we could happily spend any amount of time there! This visit was one of the best part of our whole trip. We then visited the Arnhem marketplace and got a glimpse of people and lives there. I would have loved to spend more time there, but we had to get back because we had to head to Berlin the following day.
By writing this, I have virtually travelled to Amsterdam and relived those days. I hope you will enjoy reading this travel article. The remaining part of our travels to follow.
Love,
Deepa.
It has been quite a long long time since my last post here. I logged in here and found that I posted the previous article more than 3 months back! That is a long gap! If a blog needs to be active and popular, one should constantly update it with any interesting topic. Since mine is not a blog which specializes on one subject, I am free and happy to write on any topic I feel passionate about.
As I would have mentioned in my previous articles, one of my passions is travelling to new places and observing the limitless possibilities a place offers us. Travel relaxes and rejuvenates our souls from our stressful routines, broadens the outlook of life. It is no wonder that a person like me looks forward to grab opportunities to explore places in and out of our country. Though we have travelled outside India a few times, it was my long-cherished dream to go and see places in Europe. We remember Kajol (Simran) begging her authoritative dad in DDLJ (dilwaale dulhaniya le jayenge) to allow her to explore Europe with her friends before leaving England for good to marry ' anjaane ladka' far off in India. The idyllic locations shown in the movie only increased my desire to visit. My husband tells me that just to post the photos of exotic locations in the social media, people keep travel and out of 'peer pressure.' But for me, it is not the pressure of social media, but a genuine desire.
Some months back, when we went for our practice runs, one of our friends mentioned that they were planning to go to Amsterdam on October to run marathon. I grabbed the idea of participating in the event and in addition to that, visiting a few places. We registered for marathon event online and started planning for the trip to go around beginning of October. But we had to face some hiccups and setbacks on our personal front which tested our patience and determination. My husband was not in favour of going ahead with the trip, but I anyway wanted it to happen. So we rebooked the tickets (as our travel agent cheated on us and the entire group) and planned the travel itenary on our own. We were running short of time and as it would take 3 to 4 weeks to get Visa to enter Amsterdam, we applied to enter Paris as the point of entry. Getting a Schengen visa is not very easy and one needs to show the proof of all the hotel bookings, residence proof of relatives if we plan to stay with them, exactly how many days we are staying in each place of Europe. So, if you plan a trip to Europe, plan well in advance and in rare cases, be prepared for rejection of visa also. After our visa came through, I was all excited and looked forward for a dream trip.
We had to go to Paris from Bangalore and from there catch a connecting flight to Amsterdam. As Paris was our entry port, we were unexpectedly put up at the airport in a long unmoving queue to get immigration clearance, and we were given the connecting flight ticket only in the evening that day and we were forced to spend some hours at the airport! We cursed our luck and had words of praise for the functioning of our own airports, as travellers will not be put through in a situation like this. With larger population in our country travelling within states and out of country, I feel that our airports are managed much better.
Finally , we arrived at the Schipol airport in Amsterdam and we were warmly received by our niece and her family.
Amsterdam is a beautiful and idyllic city situated on the banks of Amstel river. The city is the bicycle capital in the world and we had a brush with the serious cyclists there. Look out for cycle lanes everywhere and do not walk on them, or else, you will be given warning stares from the locals. Hollands or Netherlands is few metres below sea level, and that is why the name 'Nether'. The country was planned by building large dykes over centuries. Today Netherlands is the largest cheese and flower exporter of the world. Amsterdam is well connected throughout with the help of tramlines, buses, metro lines. With the help of a city pass, one can use any modes of these transports. Population is less, the city is clean and it has about hundreds of canals running throughout the city. The city developed around the canals and the old buildings on the either side of each canal is a treat to watch and look like gingerbread cookies. Being October, the weather was on colder side, but nevertheless, it is worth visiting this time as this is the best season to enjoy different fall colors of the leaves of the trees. It is a treat to our eyes that our nature offers us for free. We took a boat tour on Delft canal and the boat guide explained us the history about the city, about the buildings on either side of the canals. Many locals are in touch with English language as they are forced to be in touch globally. From the Delft canal, we alighted to go to the Porcelain museum which houses variety of ceramic and porcelain items , all in white and blue colour. There were big pumpkins made out of ceramic, large and awesome paintings on the wall done on ceramic tiles depicting the Dutch royal families, lot of cutlery. Visitors were allowed to take photos there. Even to this date, the ceramic painting is done by artists there.
From there, we took another boat to reach the famous Adam lookout which is near Amsterdam Central Station. From the top of the building, which is more than 20 floors, one can get a beautiful view of the whole city. I will post some photos here.
Adam Lookout
On the rest of the days, we went to Van Gogh museum which is a must see for every tourist. As photography of the paintings were not allowed, we toured the museum peacefully! With the help of audio set, we get to know a miserable life this famous painter led. The courtyard of the museum was beautiful with a well laid lawn and trees surrounding it which was full of fall colours. After that, we bought some souvenirs and just took a stroll around before heading to a hangout place known as Leids Plein. The place is full of shops and restaurants offering cuisines from various countries. One can hang out here the entire day going to shops, watching people and spending time near a canal there. We also went to Dam square, which is equivalent of Trafalgar square in London and it was surrounded by old palaces. This is a famous hangout place for the locals. What we observed throughout is that people find time to dine, wine, shop, spend time with friends and families and thus giving more importance to living life. There were no traffic jams, no rush, no pollution and going around was not tiring. We went around the city with the help of public transport and google maps. The frequency of public transports are pretty good and so the waiting time was not much.
The famous windmill
From Amsterdam, we went to Den Hague where the famous
miniature museum known as Madurodam was situated. The museum was built and dedicated by a soldier's parents who died young while fighting a war. This is one of the most visited tourist spot as children and adults can enjoy all the miniature buildings, rails, roads, airports, castles were displayed in a park. The place is a treat for anybody. We took the train to Den Hague from Amsterdam and from there to reach Madurodam , we took a tram. Of course, wherever I go, souvenir shops are always an attraction for me and I can spend hours looking at those tiny magnets and other accessories. From Madurodam, we went to Sheveningan beach which was a few stops away. As it was getting windy and cold, I wanted to go back and so did not spend much time there. But we got to view promenades, shops, casinos, restaurants, hotels etc which was good for night life there.
Our Marathon
----------------------
Yes, we went to Amsterdam to participate in the marathon and a month before, I constantly used to check the local weather conditions there. The fellow marathoners in the facebook page assured us and gave us tips as to how to deal if the weather was too windy, cold or rainy. It was a delight getting to know lot of aspiring and seasoned marathoners virtually in the 'TCS Amsterdam Marathon' page.
Mine was half marathon and my husband's was full marathon. I practised my run to my best, but did not put too much pressure on myself. Thankfully, the weather on the D-day was perfect for running. There were no winds, no rain, it was not freezing cold. It was as if the organizers and the weather had got into some understanding between them! And of course, running in a different location with the local crowds cheering us all the way is something we will remember forever!!We finished our dream runs to our own satisfaction and adorned ourselves with those prized finisher medals! One more thing I would like to treasure is when we were descending down the stairs of the railway station near Olympich Stadion after our run in our stiff and sore legs, one passer by lauded us by telling "You did it!!" :)
From the Olympich Stadion, we headed to Arnhem which is situated to the East of Amsterdam to visit our friends there. They were in Bangalore before, but now almost settled there. It is of no surprise because we could see that the life there is much more easy going and relaxed. The quality of day to day living is better there. Arnhem is a pristine, beautiful neighbourhood. They eagerly awaited our visit and were most happy to receive us. The next day, they took us to Arnhem War Cemetery which was established in 1945 and is home to 1764 service men. The park surrounding the cemetery is paradise on earth with lush green meadows, paths lined with trees on either sides and we could happily spend any amount of time there! This visit was one of the best part of our whole trip. We then visited the Arnhem marketplace and got a glimpse of people and lives there. I would have loved to spend more time there, but we had to get back because we had to head to Berlin the following day.
By writing this, I have virtually travelled to Amsterdam and relived those days. I hope you will enjoy reading this travel article. The remaining part of our travels to follow.
Love,
Deepa.
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