The Rijksmuseum is a Netherlands national museum dedicated to arts and history in Amsterdam.
The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum which is our first stop for the day tour. :)
Before heading towards Van Gogh museum we had a few minutes to enjoy this square across the Rijksmuseum.
It was once of those moments where once again I wore my favorite shorts despite the chilly weather. Haha. I needed a lot of space in my luggage so bringing a coat wasn't an option.
Say hello to our guide Alexandar Markov with Amsterdammer guide Richard Van Buhren.
Our first stop is Van Gogh Museum which has the world's largest collection of Van Gogh paintings. Photos weren't allowed but it was awesome finally seeing some of his famous paintings in real life.
For lunch we went to Dam square which is pretty much the central of Amsterdam where there were lots of restaurants and shops.
Our tour also included a visit to the Madame Tussauds museum which was a little boring for me since I've been to other museums way back.
Amsterdam has got to be one of the most beautiful places I've visited during our European tour. And our tour mates agree! :) Here we are waiting for our boat to go on a canal cruise with Rederij Kooij boat tours.
Round trip boat tours costs €10.50 per adult and €6.50 for children aged 4-12 years of age.
Unlike Venice, boat tours in Amsterdam are much more pleasing in terms of smell. Wait, there weren't any smell at all! It goes to show how clean their canals are. The one in this photo is a private tour if I'm not mistaken. May champagne pa o! Hehe. #clazz
Amsterdam's canals were a soothing sight to my eyes. Everywhere I look parating may view!
The architecture of houses were so chic and simple. Some homes were once for the wealthy but nowadays many canal houses are now open as museums, offices and hotels. In 2010, Amsterdam’s picturesque canal district was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
We even spotted houseboats as we go along the canals. There were a way to deal with the Amsterdam housing shortage, however, nowadays these houseboats in high demand. Some houseboats are available entirely as an apartment, other offer B&B.
Architecture along the canal is mixed with a little bit of old and new.
Amsterdam is a bicycle city so it wasn't a surprise to see this structure which happens to be a parking building for bicycles. According to our guide, there are more bicycles than residents in The Netherlands and in cities like Amsterdam. I'm not sure how many bikes are in Amsterdam alone but I do know there're a lot out there. This building alone stores around 5,000 bicycles. I mean how on earth will you ever find yours if you parked it here?! Haha.
If given a chance to come back to Europe then it would definitely be Amsterdam. I love it here! ♥♥♥
