36 hours in Amsterdam

Over Easter weekend we decided to take a short trip over to Amsterdam because, 1 - I've never been there before, and 2- its only about 3 hours on a train away from us here in Cologne. I think a lot of people had the same idea about going to this lovely city that weekend, but despite the crowds, I enjoyed our short visit here.

Once you set eyes on those canal lined streets, it is hard not to understand why so many people love and want to visit this city. It is beautiful. Charming, old, character filled buildings line the canals, with boats filled with tourists, or locals enjoying breakfast, slowly floating by. I could stand for hours just watching the people go by. 

Most of the main streets were filled to the brim with people, which was quite overwhelming. And if you make a few turns off the main street, you will end up on a street like the one above, with no other people, being able to get a feel for what "real life" in this city is actually like. Even with a lack of green and garden space around the homes/apartments, I loved that nearly every building had brought in pots of plants and flowers to green up and bring live to the otherwise barren stone buildings. 

Yes, you cannot think about Amsterdam without thinking about the Red light district or smoking weed, but that was not our plan for this city. And there is so much more to discover and enjoy outside of those two things. It's a city teeming with life, things to do, diversity, beauty, and people who decided on a certain lifestyle. This lifestyle, which promotes the feeling of being a little more free than other places, can be felt throughout the city.