Amsterdam: Tale of Two Cities

Crisscrossed with amazing canals, Amsterdam has to be considered one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.

We decided that our visit to the Netherlands would include a stop in the both famous and infamous city of Amsterdam. Known equally for its canals and red light district, Amsterdam is truly two cities in the same place. Since neither of us had ever visited it, we thought it was worth making the trip.

However before I really start on the city, I have to tell you about probably one of the most unique and nicest hotels I have ever stayed in. If you are travelling to Amsterdam, make a reservation at the Citizen M Hotel. A king size bed, wall mounted plasma television, waterfall showers, it is very luxurious. One small catch however. The rooms are the size of a broom closet. Fear not though as the design is incredible. We had a lot of fun staying here and I would for sure recommend it.

The entire room at the Citizen M Hotel. The circle on the floor on the left of the picture is the toilet which has a sliding glass door. In the right-center is the shower, also with a sliding glass door.

Anyway, on to the city. The bright side of Amsterdam offers tree-lined canals where houseboats are parked next to water-front restaurants serving a delectable variety of foods and beverages popular in Holland (see Heineken beer). We strolled through a market, toured the Anne Frank House, and enjoyed inspecting the exterior of the houses we passed. The city had a very relaxed feel to it (no, not in the pot-smoking relaxed way) that a lot of other cities seem to lack. Maybe it's due to the lack of cars in the city as everyone rides their bike everywhere. Whatever the reason, we enjoyed it.

At the top of the bike parking lot.

Beautiful buildings along one of the many canals

Everything is a little bit smaller in Amsterdam when it comes to buildings, including the doorways!

And even the houses. Number 7 Singel is listed in the tour books as the narrowest house in the world with a front facade boasting a width of only 1.3 meters.

Breakfast on Sunday was at the Pancake Bakery. Delicious!

And then there is the other side of Amsterdam. Legalized marijuana and prostitution in the infamous Red Light district of the city probably draws just as many tourists to this beautiful city as all of its museums, canals, and restaurants. Due to the laws and controls in the city however, Amsterdam is still clean and classy in this part of the city. It was interesting to see this part of the city although after seeing the basics, we were ready to make our way to other areas of the city.

One of the many "coffee" shops that doesn't quite specialize in the Starbucks blend.

Where else in the world would this museum be located?

The Red Light district at night.

We even found a Canadian connection to one of the "coffee" shops. Of course, that link would be to Vancouver, BC ;-)

Having to chose between the two sides of Amsterdam, this picture below pretty much shows the one that we prefered.