VIII. Gay Games Cologne 2010

When it´s getting spring: Tulips from Amsterdam

Actually, Cologne as starting point for many tours is cleverly placed, only a few hundred kilometers separate Cologne from the metropolis like Paris, Brussels and also Amsterdam in middle Europe. The capital of the Netherlands, Amsterdam is one of the most attractive and most loved cities of Europe. This is natural due to the cosmopolitan and hospitable nature of the people from the Netherlands, but also due to the beauty of the city. Amsterdam is built in and at the water, as the land where the houses stand was created through drainage, the houses secured through poles rammed in the ground. Water cannels (Grachten) and numerous bridges mark the picture of the city, the most loved means of locomotion besides boats are bicycles, umpteen thousand of them at every end and corner. For good reason, Amsterdam carries the name “Venice of the north”. By plane, by car (which should be left far outside of the city) or by train, Amsterdam can be reached easily (via ICE within 2 ½ hours) from Cologne.