Exploring Amsterdam

NOTE:  New pictures in Amsterdam album on left

We walked Andrew over to his hostel. The cabin on the barge is going to seem absolutely palatial compared to this room. The only saving grace is that he has his own bathroom.  Needless to say, we didn't hang around there too long.  The good news is that the hostel is in a very nice district - Rembrandtsplein. Lots of action, restaurants and people milling about. We wondered through and decided it was definitely time for some cafe. Found a sunny table and had relaxed for a bit with coffee and some goodies. Since we were right by all the trams we jumped on the 14 to Anne Frank's

House. Andrew wanted to go there. It was about 5pm and we thought the lines would be quieted down by then - no luck. The line was around the block. So instead we did some alternate museums - the tulip and the cheese. The cheese museum was quite tasty.

Having our fill of cheese we explored the Jordaan section of Amsterdam. We have never been to this part of town and it is quite beautiful. Much calmer atmosphere than the hustle and bustle of the inner city. Karin, our b&b hostess, told us of a restaurant in the district which we decided to hunt down for dinner. On the way, we came across a bike shop. Great folks inside - very buddha. Andrew picked up a pair of gloves and G&I bought some shoe rain booties in case of showers. This will probably guarantee that there will be no rain! Had a great time chatting with the guys and comparing bike treks - they beat us bad! 

It was getting hungry so we continued our search for the Patio. Found it and were quite pleased with our meal. Fabulous veggie lasagne and they made a special pasta dish for A. Walked out fully sated and ready for another go at the city.

By this point, we couldn't believe that we all were still upright. We still hadn't slept. Andrew wanted to make another run at the Anne Frank House since it doesn't close till 9pm and it was only 7:45. Lo and behold, he walked right in. G & I told him we would hang around and wait for him to come out. Time for another cup of joe. With the museum business done, we boarded a tram to Dam Sq. More walking and walked into the Red Light district, More people and chaos. Got back to Rembrandtsplein said out goodnights to Andrew and walked back to the b&b. Geoff got some nice night shots of our canal. 

All in all, it was an extremely long and fun day. Next we want to hunt down some of the spots that we have been reading about in the book "Amsterdam" by Russell Shorto.

Next time... Off the beaten path