Amsterdam, Netherlands was our first real point of entry into Europe. Iceland is an EU country, and so is Ireland, but Netherlands was the first country that we visited in mainland Europe.

Between Dublin and Amsterdam we took a pit stop in London. We were there for a week and mostly just took in time to catch up with family (honourary mlungu Brad Stein lives there) and friends that are living in London. Mlungu Brett even took a shot at a last outstanding actuarial exam for two days. With all the catching up, and exam work going on, there wasn't much time for touring. We'll hopefully have some more info for you on the tourist side of London after our next trip there at the end of September.

A big thanks, though, needs to go out to Brad Stein and Warren and Lianne Hetz for letting us set up camp with them for the time that we were there and we look forward to doing it again when we're back in September.

Now, back to Amsterdam. Three nights and a weekend in Amsterdam is enough for any brave soul. With all the walking, canalling (this word actually exists…interesting), museuming (not as lucky with this one, so we'll claim its birth), eating and drinking you'll be lucky if you're still on your feet at the end of a weekend. Highlights were definitely the Anne Frank House, the Heineken Experience and the new Op Art Museum. The Heine Experience is probably the best drinks based tour that we've come across. Its interactive, interesting and takes a new approach to teaching you about their famous brew. The Op Art Museum is one of the newer museums on the Amsterdam scene. It's all about optical illusion art in its many and various forms. Walking the streets and canals or just chilling in Vondelpark or Muesumplein are great ways to let the time quickly pass you by. Buy some fresh bread and awesome Dutch gouda cheese then grab a coffee and a canal side bench and just sit and watch the people, traffic and cyclists fly by. It's all very European. We also got to catch up with an old camp mate, Ruben Koekoek. It was great to have a good meal with him, meet his friends and get a glimpse into the real life of Amsterdam.

We lodged in the museum district of Amsterdam which is a bit further out from the Dam Square area where most tourists tend to stay. This area is a bit quieter but it's only a 10 - 15 minute pleasant walk from the local hangouts at Leidseplein or a few minutes more from Dam Square - so it almost provides the best of both worlds. Once again, Amsterdam is easily covered by foot and has a tram network available for the less energetic.

As for the nightlife in Amsterdam. Well…when the sun goes down, it gets dark.

Since we were only in Amsterdam for three days, we thought it would be a good idea to head to another Dutch city for a couple of days. Rotterdam is the second biggest city in the country and given that it was the only other city name that we knew relatively well it became the destination of choice. Plus it was only an one hour train ride from Amsterdam.

If we thought Amsterdam was small then Rotterdam was tiny. We were able to see all the recommended attractions in this city in around two thirds of a day. So two days here was more than enough to cover the expanse of the city and get a good feel for what it had to offer. It's an interesting little town and much more modernly developed than Amsterdam (it was nearly entirely leveled during WW2 and has since been rebuilt). It's worth a visit if you only want to stay inside the Dutch borders, but if you can head further out there's probably more to experience in another country.

From what we can make out, the different sides of Amsterdam pretty much cover all aspects of Dutch city life and if anything, rather than going out to Rotterdam, we'd recommend that you base yourself in Amsterdam and do day tours to other parts of the country.

Trek on…Brett and Darren.