Trip to Amsterdam, Netherlands - 20th to 22nd February 2007

As well as the trip to the uninteresting town of Eindhoven for the football, it would of course be rude not to at least spend some time in Amsterdam, which is somewhat more interesting, and has more to offer the casual visitor. So, arriving on the morning of the PSV game, it was straight to a bar to indulge in the local brew - which luckily is a good choice between Heineken or Grolsch!

Getting the train down to Eindhoven at about 5:30pm was the cue for the worst 6 hours of the whole trip, with an annoying Arsenal performance in a boring town. After the game, all away fans are herded onto a train platform, from which runs a direct train back to Amsterdam - very handy. On arrival back in Amsterdam, the police are on hand to lead the English fans directly towards the red light district, which of course is exactly where everybody wants to go. The only question was around who would stop off at McDonalds first.

The thing I like about Amsterdam is that big groups of friends with different "tastes" can all find fun there. You have culture, restaurants, drinking, smoking weed, and ladies - and everybody can pretty much just go off and do as they please. So, drinking for me.

The following day was raining and grey, so what better excuse to spend the day in the pub. By evening, and the Barcelona vs Liverpool game, everybody was suitably drunk, and we had filled up with a massive steak each from one of the many Argentinian steakhouses around the city. After the football, it all turned into a very late night of drinking.

Annoyingly, on the final day of the trip, the weather was absolutely lovely - very surprisingly so for late February. A shame then that we only got to enjoy it on the short walk to Amsterdam Central station, on the way to the airport, and on the way back to rainy London. But, a great trip, amusing city, which given the number of times Arsenal have played nearby, is getting very familiar now!