Budapest to Amsterdam

This morning we departed the Emerald Sky and bid farewell to our fellow travellers. Amsterdam is best enjoyed on foot walking along countless canals. We visited the Rijksmuseum which has one of the worlds largest art collections, strolled through the beautiful tree lined streets with unusual specialty shops. We wandered through the markets of the Museum Quarter near our hotel savouring the exquisite Dutch pastries and waffles, sampled the typical Dutch Herrings served on a roll with onion. The city has countless bars, ranging from chic to decrepit. Our hotel is in an up market pretty area, and our room over looks over of the picturesque canals. Another great day in the Netherlands we have certainly been blessed with fabulous weather. To save time we decided to book 2 x 1/2 day tours of 11-1/2 hours, when here you have to see everything. Our first stop on the morning tour was a visit to Zaanse Schans famous for its historical atmosphere and authentic windmills. We then visited the town of Volendam where you can still feel the traditional fisherman’s atmosphere on the “Dijk”. The tour finished with a cheese tasting and memorable boat tour to the quaint village of Marken. Although all the places visited are touristy, on your first trip to the Netherlands one just has to experience the flavour of the Dutch culture. Our afternoon tour took us to the the lovely village of Delft, the business city of The Hague and the miniature town of Madurodam. With out a doubt The Hague would have to be our favourite city with its impressive Houses of Parliament and the Peace Palace. We certainly experienced Netherlands in a nutshell, whilst most locals were friendly, some grumpy, the only disappointing feature was how much rubbish and cigarette butts that littered the city of Amsterdam, along with 22 million bikes. Mmhr! Tomorrow Denmark and we are certainly looking forward to milder days

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