Amsterdam

I took a day trip to Amsterdam whilst I was in the Netherlands. It is always an interesting city to visit, made more so by catching up with an old friend for coffee - a coffee that lasted 3 hours before she had to collect her daughter from school and I had to go to a museum or two!

I visited the Rijksmuseum - the Dutch National Museum, reopened last year after a 10-year, 375M euro programme of refurbishment.

Here's the new visitor information desk:

The famous Nightwatch by Rembrandt.....

The renovated Atrium....

In the galleries.....

I loved the Victorian greenhouse in the museum gardens - even more so than the Henry Moore sculptures!

After the museum I took a wander around the canals...looking at the architecture, the crooked houses....shopping on Haarlemmerstraat with its quirky stores, located in the Jordaan area of the city. Oh and of course I found my favourite shop, COS, on the canals of Amsterdam so I just had to have a little look!

The houses along the canals are just amazing, many built in the 17th century, still standing, although often slightly squint.

One of the best ways to see the city is on foot, but it is also fun to take a boat trip. You can find many along the canal near the station offering trips. 

Or if you prefer a little exercise you could always hire a pedalo!

The merchants warehouses with their windows and shutters are amazing. Now of course turned into upmarket apartments. I love that most of the furniture still enters the homes through the windows, using the external hoists, as the internal staircases are too narrow.

Many of the houses were built during the Dutch Golden Age and were both homes and workplaces, with goods stored in the basements and attics and the family living in between. The canals of Amsterdam and their distinctive homes were listed by UNESCO in 2010.