AMSTERDAM! THE BICYCLES

AMSTERDAM! THE BICYCLES

Amsterdam is bike capital of the world and the center of bicycle culture, with all facilities for cycling. Dutch people have created a bicycle friendly country that promotes a healthier, more active lifestyle for its residents.

All socio-economic grouos and people of all ages use bicycles. They are convenience, practical, efficient, economic and often quickest way of transportation. 

Amsterdam has 400 kilometers of bicycle paths, the flat terrain, and leading just about everywhere in the town.

In the Netherlands bikes are legally entitled to the right of way - bikes go first - the Dutch ride aggressively and will clank their bells while trying to avoid trams, cars, fellow cyclists, and buses. 

In Amsterdam there are more bikes than permanent residents - 881,000 (estimated). 

Hiring a bike is a great way to discover the city - and for some visitors can be quite the adventure! You can hire a bike from almost anywhere in the city. Bike rental companies are abound in whole city and many hotels offer bikes on the spot. 

Short-term rentals start from three hours and the average price for a full day is 8 euros. Many companies also hire different types of bicycles from touring bikes to tandems and children's bikes to kick-scooters. 

Bike theft is a problem in Amsterdam. Always lock the bike to something solid and always lock the frame. At night, always use the lights, too, or the police might hand out a fine. Respect the signs restricting the parking of a bike.

VENICE! GONDOLAS

The GONDOLA

The gondola is the symbol of Venice. Romantic and charming, it provides a very special view of the city. The gondola is a "unique" and fascinating boat. There are just over hundred gondola in active service today, all of them used for hire by tourists. Up to six people can share a gondola.  It is also one of the vessels typically used in both ceremonial and competitive regattas, rowing races held amongst gondoliers using the technique of Voga alla Veneta.

Modern gondola was developed only in the 19th century by the boat-builder Tramontin. Its unique, asymmetrical design allows just one oarsman to navigate the narrow Venetian waterways using a single oar. Today, gondola are remarkably uniform. Gondolas are hand made, they weigh 1,500lbs (700kg), have 280 components and use eight types of wood-lime, larch, oak, fir, cherry, walnut for cola, or rowlock, each carved to suit individual gondoliers and designed to allow eight distinct maneuvers.

All are exactly 10.87 m long (35ft 6ins) and 1.42m wide (4ft 6ins), and all have one side 24cm (10ins) longer than the other. The left side of the gondola is made longer than the right side.

The profession of gondolier is controlled by a guild, which issues a limited number of licenses granted after periods of training and apprenticeship, and a major comprehensive exam which tests knowledge of Venetian history and landmarks, foreign language skills, and practical skills in handling the gondola typically necessary in the tight spaces of Venetian canals.

The official rate (from 8am to 7pm) is 80 euro for 40 mins, add 40 euro for extra 20 mins. From 7pm to 8am rate is 100 euro for 40 mins, add 50 euro for extra 20 mins. 


Depending on demand, gondoliers may regard the official rates as a polite fictions. Special services, such as singing, can boost the fare even more. 


Its better to agree in advance with gondolieri about the rate, duration and additional services. There is a tale about singing gondoliers which are singing opera areas during the tour, but it is not true. When I asked gondolier to sing, he answered: "Singing is only in movies".

Here are some portraits of gondoliers:

V E N I C E! In General

V E N I C E! In General 

Venice is one of the most remarkable, visited  and lovely places in the world. It is also one of Europe’s  most romantic cities. Venice has a lot of nicknames such as "City of Water", "City of Masks", "City of Bridges", "The Floating City", and "City of Canals". Venice and its lagoon is listed in UNESCO World Heritage site. 

City is built on 117 small islands and has 150 canals connected by 409 bridges. 

Venice is only pedestrian city in the world. The city is not large and you can walk from one end to the other in a few hours throughout its traffic-free streets and alleyways.

Be prepared to get lost easily, signs all over the city indicate the direction to the mian attractions. During walking you will discover marvelous art, superb architecture and breathtaking urban landscaping. 

There are other ways of transportation getting around in venice from the vaporetto to the water taxi to gondolas.

Dodge's Palace

Tourism has been a major sector of Venetian industry for centuries due to its beautiful cityscape, uniqueness and cultural heritage. There are a lot of attractions in the city, such as Piazza San Marco, St Mark’s Basilica, Dodge’s Palace, The Grand Canal, Il Campanello, Rialto Bridge. 

Venice is famous for Carnival, which is annual festival and  starts 58 days before easter and ends on shrove Wednesday. The history of the Venice Carnival tradition began after 1162 and it was renewed in 1979. During the carnival, Venetians and visitors alike dress up in the oddest of ways. Masks made the Venetian Carnival unique. City is the centre of international festivals and conferences, such as Venice Biennale and the Venice Fim Festival.

    

Museums in Amsterdam

Museums in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is rich with museums, there are over fifty museums. One of them is Hermitage Museum. The building in which Hermitage is currently housed was a home for the elderly for 324 year. In the centre of Amstel wing stands the church hall. Building  has two permanent exhibition rooms, one focuses on the connection between Holland and Russia and other on patient care history in Amsterdam. There is also exhibition programme and permanently new masterpieces.

Royal palace Amsterdam

Royal palace Amsterdam has the largest collection of Empire furniture outside France. Paintings by famous artists and sculpture refer symbolically to the power and wealth of the city in the Dutch Golden Age.

Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam

Van Gogh Museum contains the largest collection of Van Gogh paintings in the world. Also rich and varied collection of other 19th century art. Museum is situated, between the Rijksmuseum and the Stedelijk Museum. The best way to buy ticket is ordering it by online - in this manner you will avoid standing in the line.

Entrance in the Anne Frank House

The Rijksmuseum holds paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer, van Dyck and Jan Steen. The museum has exceptional collection of Asian art, antique objects of the material Dutch culture, drawing, vast collection of print and the classic photography.

Anne Frank House is named among the most popular visited places in Amsterdam; despite this I found it very boring and overpriced. More than I was standing in the queue around an hour and was totally disappointed. 

In the Madam Tussaud Museum you can discover figures of famous people like Barack Obama, Dalai Lama, Princess Diana, Lady Gaga, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Albert Einstein, David Beckham and etc.

Stedelijk Museum is one of the most innovative and interesting museums of modern art in the world. It has one of the richest collection of modern art, paintings by Casimir Malevich, works of Matisse, Picasso, Newman en Rauschenberg and very good collection of design and furniture.

Paris. Eiffel Tower

Paris. Eiffel Tower

Shadow of the Eiffel Tower. Picture is
taken from the Tower itself in May, 2010

The Eiffel Tower (French name: La Tour Eiffel) is the most recognizable structures in the world and true landmark of Paris and France in whole. The tower is named after its designer Gustav Eiffel.

It has also nickname "La dame de fer" that in French means the iron lady. This nickname is very sufficient to this construction because it is made by joining together more than 18000 pieces of puddle iron  using 2,500,000 rivets.

The tower is 324 in height and is the tallest building in Paris. The Eiffel Tower is the most-visited paid monument in the world. Millions of tourists visit it every year. Ten years ago (in 2002) the tower was visited by 200,000,000st guest. Standard prices for tickets are: 13.5 Euro for Adults, 11.5 Euro for youth (between 12-24), 9.5 Euro for children under 11 years.

Because of its location and height the Eiffel Tower is seeable almost from every part of city. 
It is better to visit the tower in sunny morning. As better is weather as better chance you have to see the city. 
Why morning? Because in the morning there are less people in the line. So, it is recommended to come to the tower 30 minutes before its opening. The tower is opened every day from 9.30 a.m. to 11 p.m., but from 17 June to 28 August it opens at 9 a.m.

At the entrance of the tower you can purchase souvenires (mostly little statues of the tower) offered by emigrants. There are the towers in various size. The most little one costs 1 Euro, but if you bargain well you can get 2 for 1 Euro.


Everywhere in the city you can also buy the little statues of the Eiffel Tower. However the best price is offered either at the entrance of the Tower or at the surrounding territory of "Trocadero Metro" station. 


Trocadero is one of the best places in Paris from which you can enjoy view of the Eiffel Tower especially in the night. However if you dislike the tower like famous writer Guy de Maupassant you have to stay on the tower as long as it is possible. As it is known Gut de Maupassant claimed that we hated the tower; at the same time almost every day he ate a lunch in the tower's restaurant. When he was asked why, he answered that it was the only place in Paris where he could not see the tower.

Sacre-Coeur from the Eiffel Tower.

From the tower you can enjoy with amassing views of Paris. You can see almost all sights of the city. That is why it is recommended to visit the tower after seeing some other places of Paris. Parisians say that there is 360o panoramic view.  
There are some shops, cafes and restaurant inside the tower, but I found all of them overpriced. On the other hand, as it was mentioned above, it is the most-visited paid monument in the world, so do not be surprised about prices - if you are not going to spent money, you can just enjoy perfect views and take photos.

These are some photos I took from the Eiffel Tower:

The Arc de Triomphe from the Eiffel Tower

Louvre from the Eiffel Tower

Amsterdam. City Transport

Transport in Amsterdam

There are lots of ways of transportation from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

1) A Direct Rail Link-It is very comfortable and fastest way to get to the city center.

2) Airport Shuttles - The easy way to get to more than 100 Amsterdam hotels.

3) Taxis and Limousines which offer door-to-door service.

4) Ferry - Transporting passengers to various locations of Amsterdam.

5) Floating Dutchman - Best for passengers who have a transfer in airport. They can expirence Amsterdam in a very original way.

Transportation in the city

1) The Metro (tube) is fast but useful if you need to travel far outside the city center to the Amsterdam Arena.

2) Trams are the best and convenient  way to get around Amsterdam. They run regularly until 12:15am. There are 255 trams in Amsterdam.

3) The Canal Bus runs every 40 minutes from 9:50 until 7:25 with 14 stops along three different routes throughout the city.  

4) Bicycle - the best way to get around city. There are more bikes (estimated 881,000) in Amsterdam than permanent residents. 
About Bicycles see our future posts.

5) Taxis, bicycle taxis-such kind of taxis can carry up to two people and are actually cheaper than conventional taxi.

6) Rent a car - you have opportunity to rent a car. However because of trafics, narrow streets and huge amount of bicycles it is not recommended for tourists to drive a car in Amsterdam. 

You can also find many alternative ways of transportation in the city:

BRUSSELS. THINGS TO DO

Top things to do in Brussels 

Taste Belgian food - fries called "frites" in Belgium actually originated in Brussels, are always  served fresh and hot with a large variety of sauces.

Mussels

"Moules frites" is a traditional dish in Brussels, consisting of mussels cooked in white wine and butter and served with and French fries. In menu you can also find mussels cooked in different ways, one of them is mussels in Belgium sauce.

Brussels waffle

Brussels waffle or Belgian waffle - prepared from a yeast-leavened batter, these waffles are lighter, thicker, crispier and has large pockets compared to other waffles varieties. They might be topped with  whipped cream, soft fruit or chocolate spread.

Chocolate Museum

Sample world-famous chocolate-Belgium is considered as Capital of Chocolate. Visiting  cocoa and chocolate Museum provides an opportunity  to discover the world of chocolate, from its origins to the finished product. 

There are 300 different Belgium  chocolate companies, which produces 172,000 tons of chocolate per year. Chocolate  prices vary, truffles and cups cost slightly more and sold separately. Expect to pay about €5-€18 for a 250g box depending on the brand.

Shopping arcade

Shopping in Brussels - you can discover the highest quality boutique shops. There are a shopping arcades, which are one of the oldest in the world. They are normally set inside old buildings and offer high quality brands.

if you want something different, Luxury brands and boutique shops you have to go Boulevard de waterloo and Rue Antoine Dansaert shopping streets.

Most Brussels people will shop on Saturdays because shops are closed on Sundays and opening hours are limited, city centre  shops and boutique close at 18:00.