Some Amsterdam news flashed across the globe this week with the sad story that Anne Frank's chestnut tree has blown over in a storm. The 150 year old tree didn't actually belong to the Frank family, but it is written about in her diary as somthing that gave her hope.

When I visited the Anne Frank museum earlier this year I'd hoped to get a look at the tree, but the highest room of the house was blocked off by perspex so you could see into the room but not out of the window.

The Anne Frank tree has apparently been condemned for some time, held up only by metal supports and campaigning voices. The tree had been badly rotting and was perhaps lucky to have survived as long as it did.

So, what now for the space behind the building? Plant a new one, I say. Thankfully clones exist of the original tree, so it should be easy enough.

August is a strange month - parliament is in recess, the weather is kind of deciding whether to continue as summer or make the move into colder days, and the whole world feels slightly as if it's in a pre-Autumn limbo, where things aren't quite summer anymore but a real season is yet to take summer's place.

In short - it's the perfect time to take a short break. Much as winter holidays can be fun, there is a mildness to the weather at this time of year that is truly special, and if like me you're not a great fan of high summer, it's ideal.

I'm loving this Fall In Amsterdam photos page - and there are some great pics n Flickr - here are the results when you type in Autumn and Amsterdam to the search field. Nice! Although it's giving me strong Amsterdam pinings so maybe I need to get on with something else instead of poring over photos of golden leaves and glinting waterways.

Of course, short breaks away don't need to be in Autumn, it would be a bit different and very exciting to try out some New Years Eve breaks- but for me Autumn is a special kind of time for a trip abroad- epecially to a city as magical as Amsterdam.

Photo by David Enker

Amsterdam's Vondelpark might not be as famous as new York's Central park, but it's definitely a competitior in the world-class parks stakes, attracting a healthy 10 million visitors a year.Combining space, art and buildings in one green space in the city, it's a must for anyone visiting Amsterdam.

 


The Netherlands Film Museum, situated in Vondelpark, and below it, Pablo Picasso's iconic (or should that be Ikhthus-ic) fish sculpture - a true classic.


More at http://www.amsterdam.info/parks/vondelpark/

If you're planning a short break to Amsterdam, you'll have your own personal inventory of stuff to take, of course. Your Euros, your bicycle clips, and other essentials. What I've compiled below isn't anything in the way of a physical inventory - it's kind of like a web inventory for your netbook, smartphone or tablet.



I amsterdam -http://www.iamsterdam.com/ - a wealth of Amsterdam-related info on this one. This is a very well-designed site, with up-to-date information for your trip. A cut above most other tourist info sites I've seen, it also has its own smartcard - the I amsterdam Card. This little card is pretty useful and gives you free entry to a long list of museums, and doubles as a public transport ticket for trams, buses etc (train travel to and from Schiphol excepted). Full info here.

GVB -http://www.gvb.nl/english/Pages/default.aspx - official website of the public transport company of Amsterdam. Includes FAQ, maps, timetables, ticket info etc for tram, bus, metro and more. Pretty essential site. Amsterdam's not the biggest city in the world, but to see it properly you'll definitely be using Amsterdam's clean and easy to use public transport system.

Trip Advisor's Amsterdam Tourism page. Honest reviews by people who've been. Covers hotels, attractions and eating out. While in my experience a lot of Trip Advisor users' experiences don't exactly chime with my own, always an interesting read.


Official Holland tourism site - http://www.holland.com/uk/ - even if your stay is short, there's still time to go further afield, as Holland is a fairly compact place. This site is informational, well designed and will give you a flavour of what awaits in this, my favourite, country.


So, that's your concise virtual inventory for Amsterdam. If you're planning a short break then be sure to maximise your enjoyment potential by getting as much out of Amsterdam as you can. And drop us a comment if you think there are other essential links for the inventory and we can do another blog post on this subject sometime soon.