Amsterdam'da 4 gun - 4 days in Amsterdam

Gectigimiz haftasonu ilk defa Amsterdam'a gittim ve sehre tek kelimeyle ba-yil-dim! Biletimi taa Eylul 2016'da Pegasus'un yapmis oldugu %50 indirimli kampanya sirasinda almistim. O gun yogunluktan site cokmustu ve ben biletimi alabilmek icin bir elimde pc bir elimde telefon 3 saat falan ugrasmistim ancak sonunda asagi bakmaktan agriyan boyun kaslarima ek olarak sadece 276 TL'ye gidis-donus Amsterdam bileti almis olmanin mutlulugunu yasiyordum. Sonrasinda kiz kardesimin de bu ayin basinda 4 aylik staj programi icin Hollanda'ya tasinmasiyla bu gezi benim icin cok daha keyifli bir hale gelmis oldu.

Last weekend I went to Amsterdam for the first time and I just loved the city! I booked my ticket in September 2016 when Pegasus Airlines had 50% discount but then my plans got even more exciting as my sister decided to move to the Netherlands for her 4-month-internship programme.

Amsterdam sehrinin adi 13. yuzyilda evlerini Amstel nehrinin denize dokuldugu yerdeki kucuk kuru toprak setlerin uzerine kuran balikcilardan geliyormus. O zamanlar Amstelledamme denen bu balikci kasabasi zamanla buyuk bir liman kentine donusup bugunku Hollanda'nin baskenti olmus ve Amsterdam adini almis.

It is said that the name Amsterdam comes from fishermen who placed their houses on the small dry lands where Amstel River meets the sea. Back then, this little fishermen town was called Amstelledam but throughout the time it has evolved as a well-known trade port and has become today's Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands.

Son derece kendine ozgu bir yapisi olan sehirde 1200'e yakin kopru ve 100'den fazla kanal bulunuyormus. Zaten sehirde yurudukce bu sehrin orumcek agina benzer plani ve kanallarin etrafina yerlesmis olan egri binalarindan etkilenmemek mumkun olmuyor. Ilk bakista sanki kanallara dogru batmakta oldugu icin yan yattigi dusunulen binalar aslinda Hollandalilar tarafindan ozellikle bu sekilde insa ediliyormus. Bunun nedeni ust katlara esya tasirken bunlari oldukca dar olan koridor ve merdivenlerden gecirememeleriymis. Esyalari binalarin tepesinde bulunan vinclerle disaridan yukari cekiyorlarmis ve binalari egri yaparak esyalarin alt kattaki duvarlara zarar vermesini onlemeye calisiyorlarmis.

The city has a unique structure with its 1200 bridges and over 100 canals. It is impossible not to be amazed by the city plan which is designed as a spider web and the crooked canal houses. At first you can think the reason that these houses are leaning forward is because their sinking slowly towards the canals but actually some experts say that they were constructed like this to be able to prevent damaging the lower floors while carrying big furnitures to the top floors with a lifting crane from outside.

Bu gezide uzun bir aradan sonra ilk defa Airbnb yerine otelde kalmis oldum. Amsterdam'daki otel fiyatlari Airbnbler ile asagi yukari ayni olunca bari anahtardir, ev sahibi beklemedir ugrasmayalim dedik ve Hotel Roemer'i sectik. Otelimiz Vondelpark ve neden meshur oldugunu gidip gordukten sonra bile hala anlamadigim I amsterdam yazisinin cok yakinindaydi ve oldukca memnun kaldik.

It was also the first time after a long period that I stayed at a hotel instead of Airbnb. Since Airbnb prices were almost similar with hotels, we didn't want to deal with all that procedures of finding the host, taking the key and etc. and booked Hotel Roemer. It is close to the area where you can find all the museums and Vondelpark and the I amsterdam sign which I have no idea why its so popular even after seeing it with my own eyes.

Gerci zaten kucuk bir alan uzerine kurulmus olan Amsterdam sehrini bastan sona yurumek maksimum 3 saat falan suruyor. Bu nedenle son derece kompakt olan -ayni zamanda cok buyuk bir kismi su ile kapli olan- sehirde trafik hakimiyeti tamamen bisikletlerin olmus. Zaten sehirde de yarim milyondan fazla bisiklet bulunuyormus. Yurumek ya da bisiklete binmek istemezseniz ise ulasiminizi tramvay ve motorsiklet ile saglayabilirsiniz. Sehirde bir cok noktadan scooter kiralanabiliyor, fiyatlari 3 saat icin 25, yarim gun icin 30 Euro civari.

Still, no matter where you accommodate Amsterdam is pretty small and it takes you to walk the entire city give or take 3 hours. That is why, the dominance in the traffic belongs to bicycles in this compact city which is mainly covered with water canals. They say that there are over 500.000 bicycles in Amsterdam. If you don't want to walk or bike then you can also use the trams or motorbikes. There are many places you can rent a scooter in the city and their prices vary between 25 Euros (3 hours) to 30 Euros (half day).

Biz genelde her yere yuruyerek gittik ama otelimizin oldugu yerden Centraal Station'a 2 ve 5 numarali tramvaylar ile de ulasabiliyorduk. Ancak her seferinde tek yone 2.90 Euro verecegimize o paraya ese dosta magnet aliriz diyip tramvaya sadece 2 kere bindik. Yine de kullanmak isterseniz, bir duraga gidip elinizi kolunuzu sallaya sallaya tramvayin herhangi bir kapisindan biniyorsunuz, Sonra on tarafa surucunun yanina gecip biletinizi aliyorsunuz. Aldiginiz biletleri kapilarin yaninda bulunan cihazlara hem o anda hem de inerken okutmanizi istiyorlar, aklinizda olsun!

We could take the trams number 2 and 5 to reach Centraal Station from where our hotel was located. However, as one-way tickets were 2.90 Euros we decided that it's more logical to buy magnets for this price to our mothers and preferred walking around the city. But, if you want to take a tram all you have to do is to find a tram stop, get in the vehicle from any door, go to the front to purchase the tickets from the conductor and swipe your ticket both when you buy it and leave the tram.

Gezinize bizim gibi Centraal Station'dan baslamak isterseniz rotanizi bu alana yakin olan De Waag binasi, Schreierstoren ve Montelbaanstoren Kuleleri uzerinden cizebilirsiniz. Ayrica bu alanda unlu ressam Rembrandt'in evi, Muntorren (Darphane) kulesi bulunuyor. Buralari gezdikten sonra adi Siska Kopru diye gecen Magere Brug'u gecerek sehrin icine dogru ilerleyebilirsiniz.

If you want to start your tour from Centraal Station like we did, you can continue to your route by seeing De Waag Building, Schreierstoren ve Montelbaanstoren Towers. You can also see Rembrandt's House, Muntorren Tower and pass through Magere Bridge while you are in the area.

Centraal Station'in etrafinda ayni zamanda bir suru hediyelik esya dukkani bulunuyor, buralardan alisveris yapa yapa Dam Meydanina dogru ilerleyebilirsiniz. Yolunuzun uzerinde size Torture Museum (Iskence Muzesi) ve Madame Tussauds ve Red Light Disctrict eslik ediyor. Kendinize Hollanda'nin simgelerinden biri olan lalelerden almak isterseniz ise Bloemenmarkt'da (Cicek Pazari) bir suru cesit bulabilirsiniz. Soylenene gore dunyadaki ilk lale bitkisi 1596 yilinda Leiden Universitesinin botanik bahcesinde uretilmis ve 40 yillik bir zaman dilimi icerisinde dunyanin en pahali bitkisi haline gelmis. Oyle ki, 1637'de 3 adet lale sogani karsiliginda kanal kenarindaki o gosterisli evlerden bir tane alinabiliyormus. Osmanli'nin unlu Lale Devri'nin 1718 yillarinda basladigi ve tum dunyaya hala cok zengin ve gorkemli olduklarini gosterebilmek icin her yere lale ektiklerini dusunursek, bu bitki sonraki 70-80 yil boyunca da degerini korumus gibi gorunuyor. Insan maksimum 30 gun cicek acan 3 bitkiye bir kanal yalisi alabildigini dusununce bir garipsemeden edemiyor dogrusu, bu sene lale zamani Emirgan Parkina gidince bu bitkilere ayri bir saygi duyacagim sanirim.

There are also many souvenir shops around Centraal Station, you can reach to Dam Square by stopping by these shops. Along your way, you will also see the Torture Museum, Madame Tussauds and Red Light Disctrict. If you want to buy some tulips for yourself as it's also a symbol of the Netherlands, you should go straight to Bloementmarkt where you can mind tons of different types. It is said that the first tulip plant was created in the botanic gardens of Leiden University in 1596 and in 40 years it had become a big fat fad. In 1637 it was so popular that you could buy a canal house in return of 3 tulip bulbs. If we think the fact that the famous Tulip Period of Ottoman Empire starts in 1718 and the main goal during this period was to plant tulips all over Istanbul just to prove the world that they are still strong and rich as before; we can say that tulips preserved its popularity within the next 70-80 years.

Neyse... sehrin guney kismina ilerlediginizde unlu Vondelpark ve Museumplein'a ulasiyorsunuz. Bu alanda az once bahsettigim anlamsiz ama super kalabalik I amsterdam yazisi, Rijkmuseum, Van Gogh Museum ve Heineken Experience var. Son olarak Jordaan bolgesine gecerek Anne Frank'in evini gorebilirsiniz.

Anyway, if you move towards to the south part of the city you can see the famous Vondelpark and Museumplein. In this area, you can find the pointless and super crowded I amsterdam sign as I just mentioned above along with Rijkmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and The Heineken Experience. Lastly, if you want to see the house of Anne Frank you can go to the Jordaan area.

Amsterdam diyince benim aklimda kalan sehrin muhtesem kanallari ve kopruleri disinda inanilmaz lezzetli tatlilari. Bu sehirde her yer tatli dolu! Yolunuz boyunca onlarca suslu cafe ve patisserie goreceksiniz ama benim favorilerim arkadasim Sezen'in israrla onerdigi Rene's Croissants'taki churroslar, Stach'teki kurabiye ve bezeler ve hemen her yerde bulabileceginiz taze Stroopwafel'lar oldu. Seker ve jelibon seviyorsaniz ise sehrin hemen hemen her noktasinda bir subesi bulunan Jamin magazalarina girmesinizi kesinlikle oneririm.

I have to confess that while I'm writing these words I can only think of the incredible desserts that I tried in Amsterdam, in addition to the beautiful canals and bridges obviously(!) The city is full of amazing desserts! While you are wandering around you will see countless cafes and patisseries but my favourite ones are the churros from Rene's Croissants which my friend Sezen stronly recommended to us, the cookies in Stach and of course the Stroopwafels. If you also like candies and gummies you should definitely give a short break at one of the Jamin shops.

Kahvalti icin Coffeecompany'nin taptaze kruvasanlari esliginde guzel bir latte, Bagels & Beans'te iyi bir bagel ya da Omelegg'de lezzetli bir omlet yiyebilirsiniz. Gun icersinde iki kanal arasi atistirmak icin ise bir suru alternatif mevcut... Chipsy King'den cheddar soslu patat, New York Pizza'dan 3 Euro'ya dilim pizza, Wok to Go'dan 7-8 Euro'ya noodle yiyebilirsiniz. Ben burada Tornado Shrimp noodle'i denemis baya da sevmistim. Aksam yemegi icin bu kadar atistirdiktan sonra hala yeriniz var ise Lombardo's veya Bar-b Burgers N Beer'da bir burger yiyebilirsiniz.

If you are a breakfast person I'd suggest you to try a fresh croissant accompanied with a latte at Coffeecompany, a good bagel at Bagels & Beans or a delicisios omelett at Omelegg. There are also tons of snacks that you can grab while walking from one canal to the other... Such as patat with Cheddar Sauce from Chipsy King, a slice of pizza for 3 Euros from New York Pizza or Tornado Shrimp noodle from Wok to Go for 7-8 Euros. If you are still not feeling stuffed after all these food, you can try the amazing burgers at Lombardo's or Bar-b Burgers N Beer.

Amsterdam'in bunlar disinda en populer iki olayi peynirleri ve tabiki coffeeshoplari. Hollanda'nin unlu Gouda ve Edam peynirlerinden almak isterseniz bir suru farkli marka mevcut. Ben Amsterdam Cheese Company'den 14 Euro'ya bir paket Gouda peyniri aldim, dukkanlarda peynirleri deneyebildiginizden sevdiginiz bir aromayi mutlaka bulabilirsiniz diye dusunuyorum. Kek, mantar, ot isleri icin ise biz bana daha once onerilen Greenhouse Coffeeshop'u denedik, zaten oldukca populer bir mekan oldugu icin coffeeshopun icinde bulundugunuz sure boyunca pasif icici olarak bile takilabiliyorsunuz.

The other must tries of Amsterdam are of course their cheese and coffeeshops. There are plenty of cheese brands that you can purchase the famous Dutch cheese, Gouda and Edam. I bought a package of aged Gouda for 14 Euros from Amsterdam Cheese Company, but I'm sure you can find something else that fits to your taste as you can try them all in the shops. In terms of other necessities such as muffins, mushrooms and pot, we tried Greenhouse Coffeeshop which was recommended to us in advance. It's quite a popular and crowded place where you can get high even by sitting inside as a passive smoker.

Biz Amsterdam'da tum gunu elimizde yiyecekler sokaklarda bir asagi bir yukari yuruyerek gecirdik. Subat ortasinda 8-9 derecelik gunesli havada son derece keyifli bir gezi oldu ama burayi hep kisin kar manzaralari ve Christmas marketleri ve baharda Vondelparkta butun gun yatarken hayal ettik. Bir dahaki Amsterdam gezilerimi bu mevsimlere denk getirecegim sanirim...

Our Amsterdam days were spent by wandering on the streets for hours with snacks and desserts in our hands. It was such a nice long weekend with 8-9 degrees sunny weather but we also thought Amsterdam would be more magical on a snowy day with Christmas markets around or on a lazy day that you can sleep in Vondelpark the entire day...

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