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Travel : Amsterdam

For the first May Bank Holiday in 2000, Matt and I left for the land of clogs, canals, cheese, windmills and tulips. Yes, you guessed it - Amsterdam! It is the capital of the Netherlands and stands on precariously low-lying ground at the confluence of the Amstel and IJ rivers near Ijsselmeer and, like much of the Netherlands, would flood frequently, but for land reclamation and sea defences.

We had organised the trip through Cresta Travel and flew British Airways from Gatwick airport to Schiphol. Experienced a bit of an incident at Gatwick where Matt's leatherman was confiscated by the custom officials. Apparently you are prohibited from carrying an open blade on a plane, so he had to leave it with the custom officials and collect it upon our return. As soon as we arrived we were completely amazed by the various modes of transport. Firstly the train from the airport was a spotlessly clean double decker, unlike the trains in the UK. The fact that the majority of Dutch people own and make use of a bicycle and/or travel by boat through the canals were completely novel to us too. The city's traffic system is certainly biased in favour of bicycles, with an excellent network of integrated cycle lanes, dedicated traffic lights and road signs, and special routes linking different parts of the city.

We dropped our luggage off at the Canal Crown hotel and decided to do a bit of cultural sightseeing and a later on a bit of seedy sightseeing. Anne Frank's house was incredibly interesting and thought provoking. In July 1942, Anne Frank, her family and the Van Daans went into hiding in a small upstairs apartment that was hidden by a revolving bookcase. For two years these two Jewish families hid here until their betrayal to the Nazis. Anne was 13 when she began her now famous diary. It gives a unique account of growing up under persecution, and of life in confinement. She made her last entry in August 1944, three days before her family was arrested. She died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in March 1945.

For lunch we relaxed at one of the many canalside cafes and watched the boats go by. The city's canals and waterways embody the very spirit of Amsterdam and they are spanned by many beautiful bridges, including the famous Magere Brug, a traditionally styled lift bridge. We then wandered towards the Koninklijk Paleis and Nationaal Monument in Dam square. The Koninklijk Paleis is still used occasionally by the Dutch royal family for official functions and was built as the town hall.

In the afternoon we plucked up the courage to visit the notorious Red Light District. What an eye opener - this was something completely foreign to the conservative Natalians from a little dorp (town) called Howick. I could not believe how open the whole sexual industry is there. The scantily clad prostitutes in their windows were a mind-boggling sight. It was fascinating to see them flaunt their wares and tout potential customers. There was also an abundance of garish sex shops and shops and cafes selling magic mushrooms and marijuana as well as seedy clubs. It was definitely time for a beer (the Dutch national drink) and the main brands being Heineken, Grolsch and Amstel, so we ended up going for a drink at the well known "Grasshopper" pub. Matt and I must have drunk far too much as we ended up paying to watch a sleazy sex show - absolutely nothing to rave about (believe me!) and I shall stop there.

A little hung over the next day we decided to go on a sightseeing tour to Zaanse Schans and Edam which left from Dam square. Our coach took us past Nico the one and only male prostitute in Amsterdam who flashed at us as we drove past! Unfortunately he was a bit too far away for me to get a good look. Zaanse Schans is part of the town of Zaandam and was created in 1960 as a monument to village life in the 17th century. Shops, cottages, windmills, houses and historic buildings from all over the Zaan region have been relocated here to create a museum village in which people can live and work. We enjoyed watching clog craftsmen at work here and admiring the beautiful clogs on sale as well as viewing the inside of a windmill. Windmills have been a familiar feature of the Dutch landscape since the 13th century. They had many uses, including grinding corn, crushing seed to make oil and driving sawmills. However, as much of the Netherlands lies below sea level, their most vital function was to drain the land of lakes and marshes, and extend the shoreline to create fertile farmland called polder. Subsequently, the windmills have had to cope with the constant threat of flooding. To help prevent this, canals were dug to drain water from the soil; the mills then pumped excess water via a series of stepped canals until it drained into the main river system. Today, most land drainage is carried out by electric pumps driven by wind turbines. Of the thousands of windmills that once dotted the Dutch countryside, about 950 survive, many preserved in working order.

Our tour then took us to the town of Edam which is known throughout the world for its ball-shaped cheeses which are wrapped in wax - red for export, and yellow for local consumption. In the summer the cheese market (kaasmarkt) is held in the main square, called Damplein. Edam itself is exceptionally pretty, full of narrow canals bordered by elegant, gabled Golden Age canal houses and crossed by wooden lift bridges. That evening we enjoyed a romantic candle-lit cheese-and-wine boat cruise through the canals.

The following day was Koninginnedag (30 April). Amsterdam becomes the world's biggest flea market-cum-street party as the Dutch celebrate Queen Beatrix's official birthday. Transport grinds to a halt as more than 2 million people throng the streets during the day and dance the night away. We went to see the flowers at the Bloemenmarkt which is a fragrant, floating flower market, situated beside the Munttaren on the Singel in the Eastern Canal Ring. The Singel was the first concentric canal to be cut in Amsterdam. Later on we enjoyed watching the festivities and soaking up the atmosphere at Leidseplein which is Amsterdam's liveliest square. During the day the square is buzzing with fire-eaters, buskers and other street performers playing to cafe audiences. At night it is the focal point for the city's youth, who hang out in the many bars, cafes, restaurants, nightclubs and cinemas in and around the square.

Our last day was spent visiting the bulbfields and Keukenhof. Dazzling colours carpet the fields, and the exquisite gardens at Keukenhof are the show-case of the bulb industry. Occupying a 30km (19 mile) strip between Haarlem and Leiden, the Bloembollenstreek is the most important bulb-growing area in the Netherlands. The most cultivated bulbs in the Netherlands include gladioli, lilies, daffodils, hyacinths, ireses, crocuses and dahlias. Tulips, however, are the country's most cultivated flower. Originally from Turkey, the tulip was first grown in Dutch soil by Carolus Clusius in 1593. Keukenhof is set in 70 acres of wooded park on the outskirts of Lisse, and is one of the most spectacular gardens in the world. It was set up in 1949 as a showcase for Dutch bulb growers and is now planted with some 7 million bulbs. The park is at its most spectacular from late March to late May. The array of flowers is complemented by the snowy blossom of Japanese cherry trees early in the season, and by showy splashes of azaleas and rhododendrons later on during the year.

In the afternoon we visited the Musuem Quarter and entered the Van Gogh Museum. Van Gogh's Self-portrait with Straw Hat (1870) hangs in this large, stark museum, built in 1973 to house the bulk of his work. Besides a large collection of Van Gogh's painting and drawings, which traces his entire career, there are hundreds of his orginal letters to his brother Theo and the artist's private collection of Japanese prints.

We would have liked to have seen the inside of the Rijksmuseum as it houses the magnificent Dutch national art collection of some 5,000 paintings including works by Rembrandt and Vermeer, but we ran out of time. But did admire the impressive Gothic facade. We would have also liked to have visited the Museum Het Rembrandhuis which provides an insight into the artist's life and contains an important collection of his etchings and drawings, including a fascinating series of self-portraits. So these will definitely be part of the itinerary for a next time.

We bought so much cheese that a cheese and wine party was called for back home!