Getting Around Amsterdam Part I

Rita and I left for Amsterdam from Malpensa on 6 May 2010 with Easyjet (115 euros round trip for 2 people); we had prepared the trip by consulting many diaries on the web, for finding the hotel and the restaurants (all with websites). On arrival we take the train to Centraal Station using the ticket machine, which accepts some cards and coins. (7.6 for 2 people). We arrive in Amsterdam in 20 minutes; at the station we buy the strippenkaart (7.65 euros), a multi-ride ticket to use public transport even by several people, then we go to the tourist office in front of the station and buy the "I Amsterdam card" to travel for 72 hours, from validation, on all means of transport, enter museums and churches, do the canal boat tour, get various discounts etc.

We were very unsure about buying it, but it turned out to be a good choice, above all because public transport is comfortable, fast and frequent, and you pay for entry everywhere, and also, given the rainy weather, being able to hop freely onto a tram could be handy. We arrive at the Hotel Nadia, located in the centre, practically in front of the Wester Kerk; the staircase is very steep, our room, with a view of the Kaisergracht, is a little small but equipped with everything: TV (no Italian channels), safe, free wifi, a rich breakfast in a room with a canal view, an electric coffee maker, an ordinary bathroom (100 euros a night).

We settle in and start the visit; we notice the cyclists whizzing along the reserved lanes; we're surprised that the pavements along the canals are used for parking cars and bikes, forcing us to walk beside the buildings; moreover the streets and pavements are often cluttered with piles of rubbish bags, often torn, paper everywhere, even in the central areas; I would never have thought it. We start with a walk along the Prinsengracht, the most popular canal, then go to see the Dam, then to dinner at the Argentins restaurant near the Damrak (found by chance); we weren't very satisfied, we spent about 32 euros for two.

Friday - May 7: we start wandering around the city, stopping at the Wester Kerk, one of the symbols of the city, but it is closed (it will always be so), so we only see it from the outside; we head to Dam Square, the main square of the city, it's very large, dominated by the Royal Palace, currently under renovation, and in the centre of the square the obelisk commemorating the liberation from Nazism. To the side is the Nieuwe Kerk, in 15th-century Gothic style, used as an exhibition hall; the interior is rather sober, with wooden vaults; the 75 stained-glass windows with religious scenes are large and make it very bright; noteworthy are the wooden pulpit with precious inlays and the gilded railing. We see the Magna Plaza, a large shopping centre in fake Renaissance style, with designer shops inside and the Madame Tussauds museum.

Then with a comfortable tram we go to the Van Gogh Museum; there is also a temporary exhibition with works by Gauguin and other Impressionists, which we visit, then we move on to Van Gogh; among the roughly 300 masterpieces on display I'll mention the disturbing yet famous Wheatfield with Crows; the works are displayed in large rooms, arranged practically in chronological order so you can follow his life through the works (not to be missed). Inside there is a good self-service restaurant with a rich menu of desserts, sandwiches, soups and a few other hot dishes; we spent about 14 euros each.

We then head towards the centre, covering a stretch of the Herengracht, to visit the Begijnhof, the famous residence of lay nuns; we enter and find ourselves in a pleasant garden with religious statues; the buildings in classic Dutch style are adorned with tulips and flowers; at the side two chapels, one Protestant and one Catholic (both working); in the Catholic church the coloured windows and the paintings with scenes of the Miracle of Amsterdam are interesting; ordinary homes also overlook the courtyard.

In the evening, dinner at the Van Puffelen restaurant on the Prinsengracht, a friendly and elegant place halfway between a pub and a restaurant, a young and bourgeois atmosphere, good cooking; we had a mushroom risotto with buffalo mozzarella and pancetta, soup of the day, duck breast with sauerkraut, leeks, cheese sauce and pancetta, pineapple with chocolate and vanilla cream, coffee and beer, spending around 40 euros in total. Ferny Forner Rita Risoli