We went on a minicruise just a day after we came back from Italy. 11 hours from Hull to Rotterdam Europoort, 2 nights on the ferry and a full 5 hours in Amsterdam. Our short trip to Amsterdam is amazing. We spent the last hour on a canal-cruise that just blew me away. We knew that we had to prepare ourselves with the amount of bicycles in Amsterdam, but we were still stunned to see that many bicycles in one place! Unfortunately the weather was not on our side, but Alhamdulillah it only rained minutes before we board the bus back to the ferry.

Our visit to Amsterdam cannot be complete without trying a “Hollandse Nieuwe” or “Zoute Haring” (Salty herring). It’s raw, salted, slimy herring fish either eaten on its own or with bread just like a sandwich. We had ours at Stubbe´s on a bridge to the Haarlemmerdijk. Since it’s a national snack and MSO was all for a little adventure, he ordered one and managed to get it down his throat without turning green. I chickened out and didn’t have the guts to taste the salty herring!

For those yang bakal ke Amsterdam, there is a place for you to solat. It is within the city. Very convenient especially via tram. First find your way to a stop at Ten Katestraat, walk down the street until you see Wenslauerstraat on your left. Jalan terus until you see a playground on your right. Turn right around the playground and walk straight ahead until you find a building number 114 (refer to picture). For men, boleh masuk terus ikut pintu depan. For the ladies, you will have to walk round the block sampai ke pintu belakang. That’s the only way to get in. The sisters will provide you a long blouse untuk yang rasa pakaian yang sedia ada tak appropriate untuk solat. Untuk yang mencari kedai makanan yang halal, sekitar Ten Katestraat ada banyak yang available. We were lucky sebab waktu tu ada pasar malam. I sempat bungkus seekor ayam golek untuk bawa balik ke ferry.