Amsterdam: Venice of the North

Amsterdam: Venice of the North

• Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands.
• The official language is Dutch, but most people also speak a bit of English.
• There are approximately 847,000 bicycles in the city. That represents 1.91 bicycles per household.
• Each year approx. 15,000 bikes are fished up from the city's canals.
• Amsterdam has 165 canals with a combined length of 60 miles.
• People do swim in the canals — illegally.
• There are 1,753 bridges.
• Don't confuse Coffeehouse with Coffeeshop.
• A coffee shop is a place where you can legally buy soft drugs (marijuana or hashish), space cakes, coffee, tea, and sometimes freshly-squeezed juices and sandwiches. A koffie huis (coffee house) is the same thing, minus the soft drugs and space cake.
  

        

Getting there & accommodations

• Before you buy a train/bus pass, make sure you know what company you are choosing and the routes that it covers. We didn't know there was more than one company in the area or at least we thought that the public one would take us to the hotel but it didn't go there so we ended up paying double for commuting costs. (11.50 euros for a daily pass plus 16 euros for another one).

Food

Attractions

• Heineken Brewery - You pay 30 euros which includes a tour of the facilities and interactive games, a canal cruise, and...
• A'dam Tower Lookout - Elevator to a 20-story rooftop. They have an over-the-edge swing which was closed that day but would love to do it if I go back.

• Xtracold Icebar Amsterdam- You pay 17 euros to enter the bar and have a drink. Then enter the ice bar and have two additional drinks while you freeze to death.

• Candela Club - 5 euro admission, some songs were in Spanish but most of them in English. It was okay, I expected more but too tired to look for another place anyway.