It Feels like Summer Now
Day 4 - Hamburg to Amsterdam
After an amazing start to our holiday in Hamburg, (check out the first few days if you haven't already) we were now moving on to Amsterdam. I was so excited! There was so much I was looking forward to. Like exploring the city, wandering along the canals, visiting the I Amsterdam sign and going to Anne Franks house.The drive from Hamburg was nice and easy and we got to experience the German Autobahn for the first time. It was strange to be able to drive so fast when we're used to speed limits in Australia of 110km/h. The roads were nice and smooth and the other drivers were all so sensible. So it didn't even seem like we were going really fast.Our first stop in Amsterdam was our Airbnb. It was a cute apartment just a little way out of the centre of Amsterdam. My favourite part was the amazing bookshelf and cute little reading corner. If I didn't have exploring to do I could have settled in for hours.
It was late in the afternoon by the time we were ready to start exploring. So we decided to wander the local area to find some dinner and save everything else for the following day. My first impression of Amsterdam at this point was actually a little disappointing. Maybe it was the area that we were staying in. But it didn't seem to be the cute little city I'd imagined it to be. So we headed back to the apartment to relax and get a good nights sleep before exploring more the next day.
Day 5
It was forecast to be a really hot day. So we set out exploring early. Our first stop was Anne Franks house. I was so excited! Until we got there and the line to get in was 2 hours long. I didn't feel like standing in the heat for that long so we tried to book online. The next available ticket was in September! I made a mental note to check out the rest of the attractions I'd planned on visiting to see if this was likely to happen again. We decided to grab some fresh juices and wander over to the I Amsterdam sign. As touristy as it is, I really enjoyed it. I don't know what it is about giant letters that are so exciting. I think I get swept up in the excitement of other travellers when I go to places like this.
After the I Amsterdam sign we decided to keep wandering around the beautiful streets and over some of the 1281 bridges in Amsterdam. I was starting to get a better feeling about Amsterdam, however it was still not what I had expected it to be. The streets on the canals in the city centre were gorgeous and I enjoyed walking along them. During our wandering we found a couple of good coffee places, the Banksy and Warhol exhibition (which was really worth the visit!) and the red light district (by accident!) It was right next to a church we were looking for that was supposed to be a main attraction, according to TripAdvisor! At the end of a very long, hot day, we headed back to chill out in the apartment for our last night in Amsterdam.
Day 6 - Amsterdam to somewhere in Germany with a few detours :)
It was time to leave Amsterdam and head back into Germany. On the way we made an impromptu stop at the Netherlands American Cemetery. It was an incredible experience walking through the grounds and it was a very beautiful and peaceful place to visit.
Our next stop was the Nürburgring where Daniel had a few laps booked later that afternoon. We realised that from where we were in The Netherlands we could actually drive through Belgium on our way back into Germany! So that's what we did. When we got into Belgium we all jumped out of the car and took a family selfie. We decided that it counts as visiting the country if your feet touch the ground and you are outside of an airport. So we all added a new country to our 'been there' maps. Cheating I know, but we like our rules.As we were getting closer to the Nürburgring the weather started to turn, and by the time we arrived it was pouring with rain!! Despite the weather Daniel and Giordie had a great time and spent the rest of the evening grinning! Unfortunately I couldn't get any photos, as the car we hired was only a two-seater, so I couldn't actually get to the track. I wasn't complaining though. I'm such a chicken that I was happy to sit this adventure out and let Daniel and Giordie have all the excitement. By the time they were finished it was getting dark. So we picked a town close by and found a place to spend the night. We couldn't see much as we arrived at the accommodation. But the view when we woke up the next morning was like something out of a fairytale!Stay tuned to see for yourself :)Cheers, Jess