Destinations: Delft & Amsterdam
Having never been to Amsterdam before, I was really excited for Day 4 of my trip. It was the 20th April, and that is quite a special day in the Amsterdam calendar. I won’t go into too much detail on 4/20, but if you know you know!
On the advice of my UK campsite neighbours, James and Rebecca, I was also making a detour via Delft. They has assured me it was definitely worth the trip, and how right they were!
Stop 1: Delft
Having said my goodbyes to my fellow campers at the beautiful Jachthaven Waterkant, I was on my way. The journey to Delft took around an hour, and was just under 40 miles. I’d pre-programmed Waze to find me some parking, but as it was, I noticed some great (free) on road parking on Coenderstraat near the station and pulled in there.
I quite like heading to stations, as they generally have some decent tourist info, and this one was no exception. The helpful guy I spoke to in the Information Centre gave me a map of the historic centre and some advice about the best route to follow to maximise time. He also had some good information about visiting the famous Delft pottery, but that is going to wait for a future trip.
One thing he did mention was that the Vermeer Centre was open, and I was very pleased about that. I might not see the original ‘Girl with a Pearl’ this trip, but I’d get to see a very good copy. And I’d also find out a bit more about the artist who originated from Delft and painted some very famous works based on the town.
I thoroughly enjoyed my stroll around the historic centre. Delft is another town built on canals and these are very pretty. The buildings are architecturally very quaint and the whole place just has a very friendly feel. I’d been really lucky with the timing of my visit as well as there was a Spring Fair in the Markt and the centre of town was very lively. There were bands playing and food and produce stalls everywhere. The whole square was bustling with people, sitting astride long trestle tables eating, drinking and being generally merry!
It was really great fun, and I was totally fascinated by some of the foods. Especially the super long potato swirls, which I later learned are called ‘tornados’.
Fun fact, the tower of the Oude Kerk (shown above) leans approx 2 metres from vertical, which is more than the tower at Pisa! And the windmill is free to explore, although was unfortunately not open on the day I was there.
Having had a lovely wander, I made for the Vermeer museum and learned loads of interesting facts about the artist. While none of his original paintings are housed there, the copies do give a flavour and the audio tour is great. As I was hoping to see several Vermeers in Amsterdam the following day, this was enough for now.
Visiting Delft had been a really good shout. Many, many thanks to James and Rebecca on that score. With a very happy spring in my step, I made for the car and headed towards Amsterdam.
Stop 2: Amstelveen
For my Amsterdam camping, I’d booked EuroParcs Het Amsterdamse Bos just outside the town of Amstelveen to the south of Amsterdam. There is a bus stop immediately outside of the site that runs to Schipol airport several times an hour and from there trains run into Amsterdam every 20 minutes. And although this is what had initially drawn me to the site, I have to say it is also really beautiful.
The facilities are great, and I had a lakeside pitch which was just so tranquil. Much like the pitch at Jachthaven Waterkant, it was really tempting to just sit and watch the ducks skim across the water.
And upon closer inspection, it seemed that one of them had made their home in the reeds beside my pitch!
Having put up the TentBox, I made friends with my lovely Danish neighbours Kidde and Ulrich. We shared a beer and they told me all about their fabulous holidays on the site, as they’d been visiting for some years. They also advised that I absolutely must visit the Tulip gardens at Keukenhof. To be fair I wasn’t totally convinced until Kidde showed me some of their pictures, and then it was firmly on the itinerary!
Before too long it was time to head into Amserdam, as I was due to be meeting my daugher Emily there. Catching the bus to Schipol North terminal, I discovered I needed to do a quick change to get to the main terminal but it was super easy. Then once there, I just headed downstairs to platform 3 for the sprinter train into the city. As with the buses and metro, it was a simple tap in/tap out and no ticket required.
Stop 3: Amsterdam
Arriving at the Amsterdam Centraal station it took me a few minutes to get my bearings. The station is huge, and it wasn’t immediately clear how best to reach the city. I made for what appeared to be the exit and found I was looking out over the river. I could see the ‘Look Out’ attraction across the water. I’d been thinking of trying it out, as it looked really good fun. But as the weather was now less than optimal for an outdoor activity, this would be for my next visit.
Luckily, having already checked this attraction on the map, I knew it was to the north of the city, so this wasn’t the exit I wanted. So I went back into the station.
Noting that the river was behind the station and this was due North, I made my way to the front of the station and headed south. The city was exceptionally busy and this was a marked contrast to my very laid back experience so far.
The plan for today was to spend a bit of time chilling in the coffee shops before heading to an organised tour of the Red Light district. Possibly not for everyone, but I figured if I was with an organised tour it might be fun, and it was!
Coffee Shops
I was meeting Em at a coffee shop called the Prix d’Ami. It was absolutely heaving due to 4/20 so it took a while to find Em and her friend Ferris. When I did find them we could barely hear ourselves above the music so they suggested we go somewhere quieter.
Ferris suggested the ‘Wonder Lounge‘ which was definitely more chilled as it’s primarily a shisha bar. I really liked it here, the decor was lovely, very middle eastern, and the atmosphere a lot more relaxed.
We visited a couple more coffee shops, which I found really interesting. It being 4/20 it was super busy, and I suspect most of the people in them were tourists like myself. But I quite liked the laid back atmosphere of many of the smaller ones, and think i’d like to visit again at a less hectic time.
Before I left for my tour, I was treated to a visit to FEBO. This chain of stores gives a whole new meaning to the term ‘fast food’. I can see how well suited they are to a place where people suddenly find themselves very hungry!
Red Light Tour
I had booked my Red Light Tour via Get Your Guide. I have used this company loads and 100% recommend them. I’d wanted to find out more about the district, and this tour proved to be a great choice.
It was a small party tour, so there were just 3 of us taking part, myself and 2 guys from Seattle. We met our guide Roman at Dam Square, in the centre of the city. None of us had been to Amsterdam before, so Roman kindly spent some time telling us about the history of the square before starting our tour.
There are actually several red light areas in Amsterdam, but the oldest and most well known is ‘De Wallen‘. Roman took us to some really interesting places and gave lots of insight about the area. I felt incredibly sorry for the women working in the district when Roman shared the findings of recent surveys. Many of the women are forced into the work through exploitation and trafficking, and are deeply unhappy.
Part of the tour was to go to a ‘peep show’ which I had wanted to do as a ‘first’. It wasn’t at all what I had imagined and will definitely be a ‘last’.
I was glad to have done the tour though, Roman and the guys from Seattle were fun and entertaining. And it had been very educational.
After we’d said our goodbyes I made a quick trip to the last coffee shop of the day, The Family First, to say goodnight to Em and Ferris. The 4/20 party was still in full swing and there were some absolutely hilarious antics playing out. Very welcome light relief after the darkness of the evening’s sobering tour.
It had been an interesting day indeed. But now it was time to head back to the TentBox. On the advice of Roman, I decided to get the Metro to Amsterdam Zuid and from there, a bus to the campsite. Seemed pretty straightforward until I realised that I had an hours walk from the bus stop.
Thankfully most of the cycle paths are very well lit, and were still very busy.
Overnight: Amsterdamse Bos
I avoided the less populated paths, which made the walk slightly longer, but not knowing the area I wasn’t taking any chances.
When I reached the campsite, I had a real treat. The wooded entrance was lit by a magical green light, and was visually stunning. Icing on the cake of my day!
Happy with my visits to Delft and Amsterdam, and weary after all the walking, I headed for the TentBox and a very sound sleep.
