I’ve been researching the various parks here in Amsterdam looking for a park that is close by and is dog friendly. So far I have found that nearly all of Amsterdam is dog friendly as Harriet goes into stores and restaurants all the time (she is not allowed in the grocery store though). The closest park of any size is Vondelpark. It takes Harry and I about 30 minutes to walk to the park, another 15 to get through the park to the area where all the dogs are playing and then another 45 minutes to walk home after playing. Needless to say, there is a lot of walking involved! We will need to start using the bike to go to the park soon I think.

There are several open areas where the dogs are allowed to play. The park is actually 100% off leash but so far Harriet has been kept on her leash as there are too many tempting children and she thinks that she needs to greet each and every one of them with a big wet kiss on the face. Needless to say, not every Amsterdam child is happy about this!

The park has a lot of really nice features….water for the dogs to swim in, lot’s of pretty bridges, fountains, sculpture (no one jumping off a building thank goodness), restaurants, playgrounds, lot’s of trees and most interesting – Ring Neck Parakeets!

The parakeets are escapees that found other escapees and have manage to adapt to the weather of Amsterdam. You see them in the city from time to time but there seems to be a rather large flock at Vondelpark. So now Harriet and I look for them as they are fun to watch and are a gorgeous green color.