We were lucky enough to get across to Amsterdam in August and it is a city which we both loved. It is alive and busy and full of young people and has such a charm with the canals and tens of thousands of bicycles. Everyday the main train station has over 10,000 bicycles parked there.
Canal scene
They also say canals are three meters deep - 1 meter of water, 1 meter of sludge and 1 meter of bikes.
Typical street scene which we walked into town
The city is well laid out send is very walkable, but a good and inexpensive tram system too.
We took a bus tour up to The Hague and this tour included Delft.
The Delft emblem in the own square
Some examples of china. There are about three small private factories which make the genuine Delft china which is called royal delft and this is more expensive and exclusive than the common stuff we usually see.
The Delft factory we visited
Pics of the town of Delft and inside the council chambers
Delft town square.
The Hague was very impressive also with lovely building
The Royal Palace for official stuff - not everyday living
The School of science and Tehnology
International court of Justice where the war criminals are tried
The council buildings
There are embassies for every country here and lovely parks and monuments.
Floriade was another highlight. This is a horitcultural festival the is held every 10 years and covers 66 hectares. Many countries had displays and there was a fabulous gondola which gave you a wonderful view of the whole park.
I just so want one of these couches in my garden
Isn't that cool!!
A environmental friendly display to attract wildlife
Cool wood mosaic pot
An overview from the gondola
Lovely window displays
I loved this planted arbour
Nice use of space with these white trunks
Simple but good plantings.
We really noticed that the Dutch show a lot of care for each other. It is amazing to think that so much of the land is reclaimed and that was all done with the humble windmill and drains.
The central train station in Amsterdam
Local residences along the canals
Most of the country side is flat flat flat like this scene.
This pic is taken from one of the numerous bridges over canals. At night some of the bridges are lit and look spectacular as you look along the canal.