In 2011, I traveled solo to Europe for the first time. My first destination was Amsterdam.
I arrived at Schiphol airport, Amsterdam, after a 10-hours flight from SFO. I had 8 hours in Amsterdam before flying to Rome. With a long layover, I had options to take a long nap or take the train to the city center to see Amsterdam. I took a triple expresso and headed to the city.
When I was a kid, I learned most country and city names by watching football. In the mid-1990, Ajax Amsterdam was one of the best football clubs in the world. I built my travel bucket list from the famous football clubs. That was how Amsterdam made it to my bucket list.
Amsterdam's name comes from Amstelredamme because of its origination around a dam in the Amstel river.
Schiphol, a central hub for international travel, is one of the busiest airports in the world. It serves more than 319 destinations. The train terminal is conveniently inside the airport. Before heading to the city center, I checked my carryon to the locker room in the main terminal. The locker rental is €7 for 24 hours.
The train from Schiphol Airport to Amsterdam Central Station takes about 15 to 20 minutes.
Amsterdam is known for its beautiful, large canal network -- Venice of the North.
Amsterdam, the bicycle capital of the world, is friendly to pedestrians, bicyclists, horse carriages -- it is probably bad to drive a car here though. Its streets are full of bicyclists, bike stands and bike locks.
Red light district alley in Amsterdam
