2 Days in Amsterdam

We left the barge “Holland” on Saturday morning, after saying our farewells to all our new cycling companions and headed off to Posthoorn Guestroom to meet Jasper, drop off our luggage and spend the rest of the day in Amsterdam. First thing did was headed off to the Saturday Market nearby. This is not your average Saturday Market; in fact it’s about 5 blocks long and the vendors set up bakery ovens for fresh buns, breads, etc, refrigerated coolers for everything from meat, to fish, to produce and of course the usual tables and stalls with any assortment of goods to sell. We left Brenda and Barb to stroll the market and Fred and I found a small cafe where we could sit on the sidewalk, have a great cafe au lait and soak in the sights and sounds of Amsterdam. The sun was finally shining in Holland…. YAAAAA! Late in the afternoon we headed off to the Anne Frank House and left Fred and Barb at the Posthoorn Guestroom. The lineup was about 45 minutes to get in the door and after that we spent another hour touring the house and trying to imagine what the Frank family and their friends went through while trying to stay in hiding for 2+ years. As you wait in line and go on the tour it’s hard to imagine Nazi Storm Troopers marching up and down the street where we were standing rounding up prisoners headed for the concentration camps. This is a definite must see in Amsterdam. After that we met Fred & Barb for a pre-dinner appetizer of wine and cheese (Thanks Fred& Barb) in our room and then we headed off to a great little Italian Restaurant we found. Our Sunday morning walk was by the Old Church from 1250AD and New Church from 1410AD and guess what, right across from Old Church was a “Coffee Shop and Sex Shop”, only in Amsterdam. After that we walked with Fred and Barb to Central Station to see them off to Schipool airport as they were flying of to Scotland for the remainder of their holiday. This gave us the chance to check out where we would catch the train on Monday for Paris. We then headed off to Vondelpark for a walk and picnic lunch. Vondelpark is in the middle of the city and is quite large but it is certainly different than our parks; everything is left to grow naturally as it pleases so lots of wild grass and weeds. A few flower displays but not what you expect when you think of Holland and Tulips. From the park we headed to the Rijksmuseum which houses famous paintings from artists like Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Vermeer, Jan Steen, etc. Definitely worth a visit when in Amsterdam. No visit to Amsterdam would be complete without a visit in the evening to the “Red Light District”….. sorry no pictures as cameras are not allowed. One final stop at a “Coffee Shop” a few big inhales and we were off to bed! Ha! Ha! Tomorrow we are off to Paris.