Europe: Day 2 (Netherlands)

Dear loyal readers,

Let's continue from Day 1 shall we? Just for a recap, Day 1 is all about my journey with Etihad Airways and technically it's a 2 day journey coz it took like 24 hours including layovers. Now I'm gonna share with you the beginning of our trip from Schiphol Airport to Zaanse Schans to Dam Square and red light district.

All the windmills at Zaanse Schans are still working.

We touchdown at 2pm Amsterdam time. Should be 8pm in Malaysia so check in Facebook again. First thing I saw at Schiphol was Segafredo. I was quite shocked coz all along I thought it was a Malaysian outlet. I know its very silly of me to think so just like the thought of Milo, Colgate etc come from Malaysia.

Albert Heijn is everywhere in Amsterdam just like 7Eleven in Taiwan.

The light bulbs looked so posh but I hope they are energy saving and doesn't produce much heat.

 Damn I look so excited!

We rushed to collect our luggage. Christmas tree at every corner. Was feeling festive already!

 Walking towards the arrival hall to wait for our chartered coach.

Schiphol is ranked as the 14th busiest airport in the world and one of the biggest airport in Europe...seriously? I don't think so. It was pretty ugly when we walked around. Even KLIA2 and Changi looks better.

 Where will be our next destination?

 Exterior looked nice but not the interior. Bye airport...see you in two weeks.

First stop is Zaanse Schans hope I spelled correctly. The entrance doesn't look inviting due to construction. We entered selamba saja coz its FOC. Lots of attractions we visited in Europe are free.

 This is a diamond factory that looks more like a gallery. This place is really touristy.

Isn't the view breathtaking?

 This place is also full of ducks, swans, cows and goats.

 Can you please come here, duckie!

Clog making factory.

Miniature windmill.

It was damn cold about 5°C.

 A bit out of focus picture but I'm loving it.

 See the pretty houses across the river. Tourists could visit there as well coz there are many shops.

Wefie again with our SJCam. You can click on the link to see my review.

Very picturesque place for photo shooting.

 Loving this deck. If only the temperature is not so cold.

 We walked back to the bridge.

 Very pretty bakery.

We went to the wooden clog factory last minute before our bus leaves. Oh one more thing to remember is to change enough coins for toilet. We did not have coins upon arrival so I just hopped over the steel bar outside the toilet without anyone around.

It looks like 8pm but trust me it's barely 6pm when we arrived city center. We were so excited to finally see the canals. If you have time, cycling like a local is a must when you come to Amsterdam. You can ride to the park or museums but since its winter we avoided doing so. Coming from a tropical country we are not used to slippery roads and cold weather.

We walked and walked to find red light district. Be warned that photos are not allowed in that area or say goodbye to your camera.

Omg! Christmas feeling all over. Damn syiok!

Here's a landmark for you. You will see this iconic clog when turning towards red light district but still need about 10 minutes of walk.

You will see lots of international food outlet. It looks so happening.

Aha! Finally a sign that we are almost there. Can you spot something erotic? Let me remind you again no photos from now on. You might need to cross some canals but it was too dark to take some pictures. Anyway we did not see any tities or pussies (forgive my language) at all but we did see some girls in lingerie with huge juggs dancing and modeling behind glass windows. Don't mean to stereotype but from our observation, Dutch girls are quite on the heavy side while German girls are skinny and supermodel-ish. Swiss girls no comments coz we saw mostly senior citizens and Parisians are slim and damn chio.

After we got out of the zone you can see some "toy" shops, "bakery", weed, shisha, vape etc. If we stayed more days we might try a space cake but couldn't take the risk as we were heading to Germany the next day.

Those two guys behind in black and brown coat looked so charming. Sorry, hubs!

We had no idea where we were but this place is gorgeous. There's a Christmas market behind me.

We walked to Dam Square for dinner. It wasn't raining but idk the floors looked so slippery.

Wow the pizza looked huge and appetizing.

Finally settled down in a posh restaurant just beside Dam Square. How strategic was that! The hot cuppa really helped to keep me warm.

 Our simple dinner.

Walked across to Dam Square.

So this is Dam Square. Obviously a nice place to lepak only.

I remember there's a loud musical chime perhaps coming from the bell on the white building? It doesn't look like a cathedral to me. Correct me if I'm wrong coz I don't know where the sound originated but it was surely loud.

 If you can't cycle, the best alternative is taking the tram.

 So cold! Need to get to our hotel now.

Park Plaza was where we overnight. We came back for another night on our 2nd last day. I brightened the sky like 10 times lol. By the way the white Kuoni bus was our ride throughout our Europe trip. Really appreciate the awesome Italian driver. He endured at least 8 hours of driving per day (of course with some rest stop), drove in super thick fog, obeyed all the rules and stayed with the speed limit.  If you or your company read this we couldn't thank you enough for the excellent service.

 Contemporary and minimal lobby.

They messed up our surnames lmao. It should be "Lee, Keong/Reen, Mr & Mrs" but no worries we don't mind such petty matter at all.

Love the room though its not spacious. The superior room was only €89.00 per night. I don't recommend this hotel to backpackers coz it is far from the city but near to the airport. However, if you are looking for a comfortable hotel with hostel pricing Park Plaza might be just for you. They do have hotels in city center too like Park Plaza Victoria but twice the price la. Check out their official website.

The bathroom is clean. Excellent!

Good night and see you tomorrow in Germany. this was our couple wedding pajamas MIL bought for us.

Like previous post, I will end this entry with our video. Enjoy!

11th April is our 11th Anniversary
11th April is our 11th Anniversary.. A special dedication to my wife.. Love Love..
Posted by Keong Da'Great on Friday, 10 April 2015