Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Cafes aside, Amsterdam has a lot to offer as far as tourism is concerned. One of the most remarkable things about Amsterdam are the canals. I happened to take a walking tour through the city and was surprised to find (according to our tour guide) that Amsterdam has more canals then Venice! I would have loved to have gone on a tour of the canals, but as we visited in January, it was a bit too cold.

I was able to visit the Artis Royal Zoo. While it wasn't that much different from other zoos that I have been to, it was interesting to see an exhibit of raccoons in the North American section. My favorite part of the zoo was the aquarium.

The transportation in Amsterdam was also something new and different for me. Other than the tram, the main source of transporation appeared to be bicycles. They were everywhere! Our tour guide also told us that around 25,000 bicycles are fished out of the canals every year.

If given the opportunity to return, there are a lot of places that I would like to see that I wasn't able to the first time (mostly due to lack of time and money). Amsterdam has great places like the Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank's House, and the Heineken Brewery that I would love to visit if I was able to return.

For more information about tourism in Amsterdam, visit http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/visiting