Amsterdam

On a mission to reinvigorate the travel spirit and break the bonds which keep us tied to the desks where we toil we upped anchor for a long weekend and set sail for Amsterdam with Jess in tow as carry on luggage.

The financial and cultural capital of the Netherlands, Amsterdam is “well” impressive. Of course we were there for the red-light district and the many cannabis coffee shops so the weekend was a smoked filled blur of excess - excess in art and culture that is mum...

In seriousness we took in Amsterdam’s main attractions including its historic canals – yay town planning.

The Rijksmuseum was good for a morning of arts, crafts and history and is most famous for its collection of Rembrandt paintings, especially The Night Watch and its collection of Johannes Vermeer pieces.

Likewise the Van Gogh Museum (pronounced Van Gock by the Dutch) was also a good few hours. Showcasing work through VG’s life and his various emotional ups and downs right up to his death, it's home to the largest collection of VG paintings and drawings in the world.

One afternoon was spent on bicycles as we took to the dangerous streets for a fast paced look around. Driving on the right hand side of the road with trams, cars and bicycle lanes is no easy feat and apart from the occasional mishap like Jess and Clint colliding on takeoff it was incident free – or close enough to it.

The Anne Frank House was also on the cards as we toured the home of the Jewish wartime diarist who hid from Nazi persecution with her family and four other people in hidden rooms. Grim is a pretty good description of the place which is devoid of furniture. The mystery of who tipped off the Nazi’s still remains but my money is on Johannes Kleiman. I'm yet to meet a good Kleiman, they all seem to be a bunch of cheese heads!

Random Fact: Van Gogh didn’t start painting seriously until the age of 26. This means thats for Dan and I it's not too late to quit the day jobs and take up a brush.

Highlights:

Lessons Learned