The land of cheese, clogs and tulips, among other things...

Ahhh the land of cheese, clogs, windmills, bicycles and... other glorious things! The Netherlands! This was our last country to visit on our first tour and what a great one to finish with.

Upon arriving to the Netherlands we hopped on some "granny bikes" and rode through the town of Edam. It was such a nice place to explore but, extremely difficult to control the bike and not end up driving into the canal. Then we went to a cheese and clog factory in a very rural area and shown how both Edam cheese and clogs are made. Then, AMSTERDAM!

We had three days and two nights in Amsterdam to partake in a very WIDE variety of activities. The red light district, the coffee shops, and the nightlife were very, lets say, unconventional, but once I was able to "do like the Romans" it felt quite liberating. That is exactly why the Dutch have allowed soft drugs and prostitution to be legal. They want visitors to feel liberated when they come here, and most certainly do.

Apart from the social life, the history in Amsterdam was very rich as well. Visiting Anne Frank's house was amazing to see. After reading the book and trying to grasp what that family actually went through, being in the Secret Annex put a lot into perspective. Her magazine cut-outs were still glued to her bedroom walls. Again, very hard to wrap my mind around the fact that this actually happened, but being there helped bring it to earth a bit more.

Until Ireland, enjoy the last few from Europe!

-Em :)

Early morning in Amsterdam on the canal.

Love the irony in the graffiti. 

Liked both the color and saturation reduction... humm

A few bike in de Dam, central square in Amsterdam.

Couldn't decide again, which one do you like?

The other side of Amsterdam, there was no coffee served in these coffee shops haha

All about their waffles, pancakes and poffertjes.

We found an amazing cafe on the canal for lunch.

Delicious dutch salad, with real Edam goat cheese!