Shelter City Amsterdam

Well finally in Amsterdam but not without hitch! Ask me if anything else could have gone wrong multiple nightmares for myself and Murray it is not a good start or so it seems. When booking our flight to Mainland Europe we saw a fantastic offer 20 pound tickets to Amsterdam without tax from Liverpool John Lennon although check in opened at 3:15, i thought bargain. As my Dad works in Liverpool we will be able to get a lift down with him and then stay in Liverpool overnight in his flat then get ...

On this day, I was back at the Shelter City Youth hostel, where I went to a bible study the staff led and met a new friend, Laura. We instantly connected and spoke in English and Spanish together. We went out that night to a party that was going on at the local YWAM base and talked for hours. AMsterdam was breathtaking that night, especially in comparison to my time there before. Before, it was blizzarding and the city was under a blanket of snow. That night, it was warm and alive with people...

Amsterdam.... The City of Extremes.... I don't have much time to blog since, apparently I've been partying too much... lol....Too much to do, so little time! Some of you have been emailing me, asking for another blog...but seriously....come'on, did you really think that I would sit back and relax on my trip?!! ah NO! (i.e. so no time to blog!!! haha) So I will make this short and sweet and hopefully you will get the jist of what it's like here... 1) Got lost walking to the hostel so of course...

Can't Stop Thinking About Amsterdam.... Well folks, sorry for the delay in blogs, I've been a tad busy with all the traveling, sightseeing and of course partying the last few days!! As the title of this blog suggests...I cannot stop thinking about Amsterdam!!! Apparently, I am not the only one... since many of you have emailed me with questions and comments about this wonderful city. Now, to ensure that I salvage a bit of my reputation from my last few Amsterdam blogs (not sure if this is eve...

We only have about 8 minutes left and then we have to go. Amsterdam is pretty cool. A bit edgy to say the least. We visited the Van Gogh Museum. Very cool. Better than the Louvre in my estimation, Jacquie would disagree but really liked the Museum. We are staying at a pretty fun little hostel called "the shelter" It is run by a Christian Organization and is right on the edge of the Red Light District. Makes for easy access to the city, which is pretty small and easy to get around, and a quick...

Well, it's the last stop on the trip, Amsterdam! We arrived at about 9:00 last night at the train station. The hostel was easy to find, along the way we saw mostly restaurants and only a few "coffee shops." We got to the hostel and the sign said "Shelter City: Christian Hostel." I thought that was funny; right next door is a Thai massage place, and the door down from that has the prostitute showcase. I was starving, so we set out to find some food after checking-in. Food was not what we found...

The InterCityExpress departed Karlsruhe main station at 10 in the morning. I found my cabin onboard, it was packed with a German family which included the grandparents, the mum, another woman (sister of the mum?) and three kids under the age of 6. I didnīt end up getting my reserved seat next to the window, as moving kids around would have been too disrupting, not to mention the pram blocking most of the way, so I just took the seat nearest the door. I greeted the family in a friendly manner,...

I was out in probably less than 5 minutes last night. Couldn't even remeber trying to get to sleep. Ashlee House in London turned out to be one of those hostels I can highly recommend for other budget travellers to London. Many times better than the sterile YHA I stayed in on Oxford St. It was made better by rooming with Jim... a young wheat farmer from Moora, WA. He's surfing himself around the world and was great to talk to for the short time I was in London. He's on his way to Bordeaux in ...

I've booked my train ticket for Amsterdam to Munich for Saturday night... should take about 10 hours. I'm kind of glad I'm only staying in Amsterdam for 4 nights now - I think I've done it justice. The city itself is kind of boring me now - after a few more sights here in Amsterdam, I'll be looking to get out of the city to nearby sights such as Haarlem (Corrie Ten Boom House - similar to Anne Frank); the windmills out at Zaanse Schans and the beach out at Zandroort. The weather is perfect fo...

My perspective towards Amsterdam was starting to become negatively stifled by the area I was staying. I can't believe how much my perspective has changed by venturing out to the Oud-West and Museumkwartier areas - about a 30 minute walk south of the Red Light District. For those of you who may come this way, stay clear of the Red Light District except for a short but must-do visit and try to get a hotel/hostel somewhere around the Leidseplen area - if I ever come to this city again, this is e...