Day 10, 22 June 2014 - Amsterdam & Travel Day (and night). When travelling on Amsterdam's trams and buses, the biggest thing to focus on is checken/check uit (which actually sounds identical to check-in and check-out). Basically tapping your travel card against a reader when you board and alight the vehicle. Very important. Hugely. Constant announcements. Which brings me in a round-a-bout way to my point. Had to check-out of my tiny wee hotel today. At t...

Day 9, 21 June 2014 - Amsterdam's Albert Cuypmarkt. Even I, culture-hound extraordinaire, was suffering museum/walking/movement overload today. It was all I could do to haul out of bed by 9.30 am (even though I'd woken up a few times due to the brilliant sunshine since 4.30am). Finally out of the hotel for no other reason than to get my room made up, I just jumped on a tram. Then onto another tram. Had a look at the world famous (in Amsterdam) Vondel Park. G...

Day 8, 20 June 2014 - Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum / Art is Therapy. Five solid hours of hiking around a pretty stunning museum. Then my feet fell off. The Rijks only reopened recently after major renovations, so it was all round a pretty awesome experience. Slowly but surely, with the aid of lots of treasures in this veritable Cathedral of Art, I am getting my head around Dutch history. (If it's all too much, this is a great read and covers 700 odd years in a down...

Day 7, 19 June 2014, Amsterdam - Bus excursion to Zaanse Schans, Verkade Chocolate Museum, speedy return to Centraal Station, change bus and out to historic little harbour Volendam (look, look, walk, walk) back on a bus, back to Centraal, tram to lunch and PHEW! 24 hour Regional Transport ticket expires (if it could have self-combusted and gone up in a puff of smoke, it would have). Stroll through De Negen Straatjes. Didn't really know what to expect at Zaanse ...

Day 6, 18 June 2014, Amsterdam - Bags & Purses Museum, Van Loon Museum (in a canal house), Amsterdam Museum, excursion to the country to Haarlem for Frans Hals Museum, Teylers Museum and general strollings. It dawned overcast at about 4.30 am and the morning was a lovely cool, grey time to spend indoors. I'm not sure what I imagined the Bag Museum to be like - but based in a luxurious canal side home with some stunning period rooms was probably not it. See...