Begijnhof Amsterdam

Walked out of Amsterdam Central station towards the tourist office to find a tram timetable. The hotel directions said to get the no 4 tram heading to Station RAI. We didn't need to go into the tourist office because there was the correct tram waiting at the stop by the tourist office. The no 4 tram has a stop on a bridge over Prinsengracht canal, …

The first problem was that the motorway on AA Autoroute had not actually been built. This caused twenty minutes of confusion before we found an alternative route. Arriving in Amsterdam was a bit of a trauma for me. I had driven on the continent numerous times, but never in a town with trams. Working out which bits of tarmac were for cars, which …

... walking tour of the city naturally unfolded.  We walked from the Central Station to Dam Square, then to the Begijnhof and through the Amsterdam Historical Museum before arriving at the best French fry stand in the city.  Fries were followed by ...

... we went saw the painted squatter houses, the Nieuwkerk, the Rijksmuseum (National Museum) and "The Nightwatch," the Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam (public library) for a nice view over the waterfront, and then we walked a little through the city. We got ...

... , thousands we reckon to the point it was hard to move down the streets at times! We then headed further south and viewed Begijnhof which is a courtyard where a cloister of ladies - like nuns but not nuns lived.  They did a lot of good in community ...

... around to catch a bit more of the city that I hadn't seen yet: the flower market and the quiet little Begijnhof area that has the oldest house in Amsterdam. Then it was time to bring it back, which was fine with me because I was starting to get a really ...

... places that the three of us visited whilst in Amsterdam, the Begijnhof and the Amsterdam Library. The Begijnhof is near the centre of Amsterdam and consists of a group of still privately owned residences. This group of buildings is essentially separate ...

... them made me more happy than you could imagine. We spent the first few days touring around Amsterdam - seeing the carnival on Dam Square, the Begijnhof, Museumplein, the Heineken Brewery and eating Dutch pancakes among other things. We were pretty lucky ...

... all the queens were crowned. Down the Kalverstraat a busy narrow street with tons of people. Suddenly we were there in the begijnhof - an old nunnery. Quiet and so old; a central lawn with beautiful old gabled house encircling it.As we walked around we ...

... down to Leidsplein and bought a Museumkaart. It was another good deal - only $45 Euros to get into most of the museums in Amsterdam and the Netherlands. One museum costs about $15 Euros for admittance, so if I go to three it will pay off. After that I ...

... Leidseplein Shops Red light district Biking Heavy duty bike locks! Wine on Amstel River Cheese sampling Futbol Fries with Viennesse (Dutch mayo) Oosterpark,  Street market Vondelpark Leidseplein Nieuw market Begijnhof  Rene's ...

... sanctified atmosphere. That done, we go to the phone booths to call home, and walk towards Leidseplein. Unassuming entrance to Begijnhof Leidseplein has lots of café's and bars and is great for people watching. In the center are these street ...