Amsterdam: The Venice of the North

Hi everyone!! Hope your new year is off to a great start after the wonderful holiday season. It was so great to be able to be back in the States for the holidays. I really enjoyed spending time with my family, and even getting to see Ben's family for a couple days. It reminded me again how truly blessed I am. As many of you know, we were a little concerned about traveling back to Europe due to some technicalities, but we made it back without a scratch. We decided to fly into Amsterdam this time, and I can say that that was the right decision. Because we were concerned about our arrival, and the fact that we flew stand-by we didn't have any hotel reservations or any real plans for our arrival in Amsterdam. We didn't want to get our hopes up if things didn't work out. So, needless to say, when we made it into Amsterdam we both looked at each other like "ok, now what?"! Thankfully my compassionate, helpful boyfriend loaded himself down with suitcases and we started going from hotel to hotel looking for a good price for a one night stay. By the 4th hotel and a few km we found one! A Best Western located near the center, right next to Vondelpark. After exploring Amsterdam for a day we decided that one day wasn't enough and we needed to stay another night. Needless to say, we had a great time and enjoyed everything that Amsterdam had to offer :)

One of the many canals that run through Amsterdam

There are 4 main semi-circle canals that run through the center along with several other smaller canals

BIKES EVERYWHERE!! You had to constantly be looking out for them. When crossing streets in Amsterdam you had to look for cars, trams, busses, bikes, and mopeds. And everyone seems to yields to the bikes.

Another main canal

Houseboats are very popular in Amsterdam. They don't seem to be occupied in the winter.

Fate?

Red Light District in Amsterdam. It was everything you expected and more. Girls in the windows, sex shows, and specialty shops galore. 

FEBO! Fast food vending machines. Great for late night snacks :)

Cheese

Luckily for us the weather wasn't too bad during our trip. The temperatures were very nice for January (about 40 degrees), but it was extremely windy everyday.

A canal lock

Church of St. Nicholas sits near the water and is said to be a guide to ships out at sea.

Dam Square houses the Royal Palace (left), New Church, and Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. It also has a statue honoring WWII victims.

Vondelpark

Ducks in Vondelpark

The park was absolutely beautiful. Notice how green the grass is in January. There were runners everywhere, parents out with their children, and dog owners everywhere. In the summer and warmer months its also the prime hippie hangout.

Looking don a street in Amsterdam. Another interesting thing about this city is that all the buildings are brick. And there are plenty of modern building mixed in with the older ones, but everything seems to fit very nicely together. Amsterdam is definitely one of the most unique an beautiful cities I've visited so far.