Impressions of Amsterdam & top 5 things To Do on your Visit

Amsterdam is known for several things -  windmills, gable houses, Van Gogh, Anne Frank, clogs, bicycles, diamonds, tulips, canals, prostitution and drugs (where both prostitution and drugs are actually legal).   I tried to capture some of these in the photos - well, except prostitution.  Haha... 

I got some Van Gogh reproductions - they're the only Van Gogh pieces I could afford. Haha....

So nice to see fresh flowers on every window. :)

Anyway, just in case you're planning to visit Amsterdam, here are the top 5 things you could do:  

1.  Go on a canal cruise.  It's the best way to see the city.

2.  Visit the Van Gogh Museum (the queue is usually long so be early).

3.   Visit the Anne Frank Museum.  Too bad,  we didn't have time since we had a flight to catch plus the queue is just outrageous. I think you need to block off one full day just for this.

4.  Visit a diamond factory.  The factory that we visited, Coster Diamonds, holds the record for the world's smallest diamond rings - they're so small - tinier than the width of a matchstick -  that you have to look through a magnifying lens to see them.  Check out the photo below how its size is compared to the width of a matchstick - 

While our tour mates were busy shopping for diamonds and jewelry, we just explored the nearby grounds.  Haha...

5.   Go biking.  It's a city of bikes - there are over 500,000 bikes in Amsterdam!

Guess where some of them park their bikes? Check out the photo below.  Haha... 

While there, we were also able to visit a chapel but I forgot what the name of the chapel is. Sorry...

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This trip is part of a 20-day, 7-country Best of Europe adventure. Budget requirement is approximately USD3,500 (including airfare, accommodation, land arrangement and travel taxes).