Amsterdam Part Four - Windmills, Churches & Farewell to Amsterdam

 Our final half day in Amsterdam was a better one, the sun was shining and our first stop was to visit a windmill. First of all, how you could visit the land of windmills and not go to visit one, especially in the Netherlands! But also, ever since going to the Angla Windmill Park on Saaremaa Island in Estonia, I've been a little bit obsessed with them. Funny how even a hundred years ago, the skylines of the countryside would have been covered in them wherever you went, yet now days they are few and far between. We headed to the Nieuw Sloten Windmill, in the village of Sloten. It was easy to get to, just jump on tram number 2 to the very end, and then there was a charming walk through Sloten, with it's quaint little cheerful houses.

The windmill at Sloten is perhaps the largest I have ever seen, and definitely the largest I've ever been inside! It really interesting, you get a guided tour with one of their friendly volunteers, who explain the workings of the windmill, as well as the history and the people that lived & worked in it. For 8 euros, it was a really interesting and informative tour, including some interesting wax work figures on the top floor! Obviously with it being over a hundred and fifty years old, it's not very access friendly, with low ceilings, steep ladders and uneven floors. But I really enjoyed it.

Find out more, as well as booking tickets at the website - https://molenvansloten.nl/en/

It's also nice to have a wander around Sloten itself, there's several little buildings with mini museums in them, like the old police station here. We walked back through, and got back on the tram and headed back into Central Amsterdam. 

We didn't have long until we were due on the Eurostar coming back home, so we stayed near to the station. We did however discover this dramatic and opulent church nearby. The basilica of St Nicholas is just across from Amsterdam Centraal, and has one of the most fascinating interiors. It was both dark and bright, colorful yet monochrome. I couldn't work it out, and that really got my attention!

Can you see what I mean? It was a real juxtaposition! Built by 1887, it's a feast for the eyes with many different architectural styles and designs included, with this beautiful dome added on for good measure!

You can see here how the light really highlights the warmer tones to the building, which contrasts with the dark area's scattered throughout. it was well worth a visit, particularly if you've got some spare time before your train.

Speaking of which, it was time for us to head to Centraal. The train was a little late getting to us, but we boarded easily enough once we'd had our passports checked. And that was it, off we went back to London! The Eurostar is so easy to use, I can't understand why more people don't use it. It's not far off the same amount of time you spend in an airport and on the place, and you just step off the train and into the centre of Amsterdam. If you want to see route, tickets and timings, head to Eurostar, and see where you can go! 

This tickled me for some reason, its a multi level bike park outside Amsterdam Centraal. I've never seen so many bicycles parked up like that before, I couldn't believe it!

But of course, that meant we were on our way back home. Another break away from life was done and dusted. I returned to work the next day, and got stuck into christmas preparation. Yes, that time was coming, whether I liked it or not!