Sophie's travels 2011-2012: 1/9/2011 Amsterdam and Edam, The Netherlands

Friday, 11 November 2011

1/9/2011 Amsterdam and Edam, The Netherlands - Contiki tour day 45

We started the day with a tour of a clog and cheese farm in Edam where a local explained how the cheeses are made and then gave a demonstration of how a clog is carved which was brilliant. We tasted the cheese and made some purchases before heading off to our bike tour of Edam. We were all given ‘granny’ bikes as Amsterdam is flat this is all that is required and they are much more comfortable than mountain bikes to ride! The sun came out and we rode along pretty canals and through lush green countryside, it was very peaceful and great fun! From here we made our way back into Amsterdam city where we had free time to explore. We started with Anne Frank’s house which was very interesting and sad, definitely need to read the book. We then wandered back into the city to the Bloemen markets – floating flower markets which were brilliant, soo many tulip bulbs!! We went for a wander, taking in the sights and smells of the city before meeting the rest of the group for our final dinner. Amsterdam is an awesome city, in the centre is the red light district and all that fun stuff then around that is an amazing canal system like Venice surrounded by beautiful buildings and bikes EVERYWHERE – there are more bikes than people in Amsterdam which adds to the great atmosphere. Not far from the city centre are endless green paddocks with cows grazing and windmills here and there – definitely one of my favourite places for so many reasons!