The 17th century old Leiden

The fond memories of The Netherlands are always associated with the Amsterdam city, the cheese market, the "candies" and the alluring night life of the Red Light District.

Truth is, the Dutch land has more to offer.

About 40 km from Amsterdam, lies a quaint town of Leiden. It is probably the second largest 17th-century town centre in The Netherlands after Amsterdam. 

As we walked into the Dutch province of South Holland in an early morning of November 2011, our sights were only limited to 40 metres ahead due to the heavy fog enveloping the quiet town. We took the opportunity to explore the historical and cultural place before the town was fully awake.

Enriched in historical fortifications, Leiden is also a university city since 1575. It is a home to Leiden University and Leiden University Medical Centre and has twinned with the England oldest university location, Oxford since 1946.

 

Despite having a mere 22 square kilometres of land, Leiden has numerous small canals and that made it excellent for offering canal tour packages as well as setting up cafes or bistros along the waters.

One thing that you will most probably not missed, albeit the mist and fog is the windmill! It certainly is the landmark of the country and it is massive. If you are absolutely fond of windmills, do visit De Valk, the windmill museum.

A 16th-century building, the Town Hall (Stadhuis Leiden)

I imagine the town will be much more charming during summer or perhaps even spring, when flowers are blooming and butterflies are round and about.

It seemed we had missed one important building during our exploration amidst the fog (we had to be careful not to walk into waters as the visibility was pretty bad in some parts of the town, especially near the canals) - the castle De Burcht. You may check out more information here, if you are interested.

You will probably not enjoy Leiden as much if you like hippie and vibrant city life. However, you might consider celebrating the annual 3 Oktober Festival (not to be confused with Oktoberfest) with the locals. The festival commemorates the anniversary of the 1573–1574 Siege of Leiden, during the Eighty Years' War, when the Spanish Army attempted to capture the city.

There will be parades, traditional food hutspot and Dutch herring, partying and of course, drinking all day.

The Netherlands : A Day trip in Amsterdam July 2010

This is one of the few trips that I travelled alone. Amsterdam was a transit leg for me to get back to Copenhagen from a business trip to Ghana during summer of 2010.

Without wanting to spend on accommodation but curious of the city that is famed for its right light district and cheese, I requested to have a later flight back to Copenhagen from Amsterdam.

Similar to most West or Central European countries, you will need to buy a separate train ticket should you want to board a train from the airport to the city central station.

As soon as I walked out from the train station, I bumped into a friendly tourist, who like me, travelled alone. He asked for my assistance to take a photo of him and in return, he took mine.

 Amsterdam Central Station

After thanking my photographer, my one day trip in Amsterdam begins. A blind to directions, I just walked towards places that looked interesting and occasionally stopping to look at direction guides available on the streets.

The air was crisp and misty. Perfect with the presence of Mr. Sun. 

 Yeah, it was just a motorbike. I find it cool though. So, I took a picture of it.

 De Nieuwe Kerk. Unfortunately the palace which was next to it was under construction.

 Madame Tussaud in the heart of Amsterdam.  

 

 Somehow, managed to find my way towards the canal.

 All the boats were beautifully decorated, awaiting for their guests. 

 Lovely combination of hues. The magical moment of summer.

 Yes,...another motorbike picture. This time, for  its cuteness :p

I kept walking without any directions till I reached this quiet place. There were windmills and all but knowing my eccentricity, you would have guessed I took a picture of something totally irrelevant (to the beauty of Amsterdam). It seemed to be a play area for kids...or at least that was my guess.

Now, in an attempt to be cultural, I marched on and queued like the rest of the tourists to enter into Rijksmuseum. It is a museum not to be missed if you are a culture and a painting lover.

Lastly, I shall end the post with a picture of a typical Dutch architecture. I love it, don't you? No, I didn't take any pictures of the Red Light District. Nothing interesting. Not during the day.