Netherlands

From Prague to Amsterdam is probably the longest single journey we had to travel in our whole Europe trip, that is, if we traveled by train. Thus we booked a “domestic” flight instead. It was just an over an hour flight. From Amsterdam airport, we took train to Hotel Rembrandt in Leiden. By the time we reach Leiden, it was 6+ PM and the sun has already set! And by the time we checked in and went out to look for dinner, some restaurants were closed. In the end, we chose a Brazilian restaurant and had their grilled menu. We didn't manage to take photos as the restaurant was dark and the it was difficult to capture good shots But that didn't spoil our mood at all as the restaurant serves very good dishes.

It is worth mentioning that everyone in The Netherlands is is environmentally conscious. Instead driving, the Dutch prefers to cycle so much so that there are lanes created for them on the road to cycle on.

Bicycles everywhere!!

The trains are modern, orderly and clean

Our first encounter with a double-deck train and passengers can bring their bicycle on board too

We had quite a number of attractions to visit considering we had only 1 full day in The Netherlands – Leiden market, Amsterdam’s Red Light District, Albert Cuyp  Market and Keukenhof flower exhibition. Keukenhof was the main reason why we decided to visit this country. We had planned to visit Keukenhof when Spring began and so here we are!

After a good night rest, we were all ready to make full use of our precious 1 day in Netherlands. Our first stop was to find a good breakfast in the Leiden market. This market does not open everyday and we were fortunate that it fit nicely into our itinerary. The market was small but it sells almost everything that the locals need. Soon, we found our breakfast...

This was the first stall we bought some delicious chicken. Yes, that was our breakfast! We also bought other food like pastry from other stalls but didn't take photos as our hands were full!!

From Leiden, we took the same train back to Amsterdam...to visit the all-famous Red Light District. It was early in the morning and the street was quiet but we did see what this street is famous for... There is an unspoken rule about this Red Light District - No Photography, but....

Red Light District in the morning, located on both side of the river, stretches about 200m long

During daylight, of course no red light

If you are expecting to see some "exciting" photos, I am sorry that you might be disappointed. I believe my readers can understand there may be minors visiting my humble blog so I feel socially responsible not to disclose too much...

From RLD to Albert Cuyp Market,it was about a 30 min walk. On the way, we got to see more interesting things about Amsterdam.

This "Coffeeshop" is not the quite the one we are familiar with....

Arrived at Albert Cuyp Market!

This market is a much bigger market and sell more things cater to tourists

Know what is this? This is "Satay" and it is written and pronounced as such in Netherlands. The sauce is the same peanut sauce we have in Singapore. A few stalls sell this and I wonder how it this became a common dish in Netherlands?

After ACM, we caught a bus to Keukenhof flower exhibition, feeling excited about Spring!

The bus with electronic display indicating the upcoming names of bus stops

Map of Keukenhof

Giant chess set, care for a game?

Spring is here!

More flowers!

Even more flowers!

And there is even an indoor exhibition of flowers. Keukenhof is a great place to have wedding photoshoot!

We ended the day pretty much exhausted and had dinner at our hotel’s restaurant. Thinking that we would return to Paris the next day which mean we will be ending our trip soon, we reluctantly retired to our room…