After a very busy first full day in Amsterdam yesterday, Bryan and I slept in a little later in our last day in the city. We walked through the neighboring Vondelpark, first thing in the morning. It is Amsterdam’s “Central Park” and our hostel was a 30 second walk from the park. We found several statues surrounded by tulips and also the fancy tennis club. It was a good way to start the late morning.
We walked over to the Van Gogh art museum as Bryan is some fancy art snob now. I could not have cared less to go in, but we went to check it out anyway. We walked over to the correct block and there was a 3 hour line standing in front of us, thank goodness! We decided we should spend our time elsewhere rather than in a line. We proceed over to the Amsterdam History Museum and on the way stopped for a small snack in a restaurant that was on top of a shopping center. It was about 8 stories high and people eat there because of the panoramic views of the city. Of course, the elevator was broken so we had to hike all the way up to the top, but it was definitely worth it. We grabbed some fries and tried the Danish take on lemon meringue pie. Very different consistency, but it was very good!
We continued on to the history museum, spent about two hours learning how the city and its culture has developed. We then took a 3 minute ferry ride across the Ij, which is the main body of water to the north that Amsterdam sits on. It was once a river, but now I believe it is a dammed up lake. There was not a whole lot going on in the north side of the Ij, but it gave us a cool different view of the city. It is mostly residential neighborhoods in North Amsterdam and the ferries are for bikes, mopeds and pedestrians only. It is also free. I think they are primarily used for commuters to quickly get from one side of the lake to the other. They have several boats running back and forth, so if you miss one, the next leaves within 5 minutes. Walking off of the boat sort of feels like you are “running with the bulls” in Spain, as you are standing amongst people on bikes and mopeds anxiously waiting for the ramp from the boat to drop down. Once the ramp is in place it becomes a free-for-all as people walk off the boat.
We returned to the south side of the Ij and headed to find dinner and the Anne Frank House. We walked past the house and there was another 2 hour line. We passed and went and found Thai food. We returned back to find the line had not shortened by much and we decided that we did not want to stand out in the cold. On our way back to the hostel, we stopped at the local chess square and watched 2 gentlemen play a game of life size chess. The pieces were about a foot and a half tall. After the game was finished, we made it back to the hostel for Bryan to write some postcards and to turn in early as we woke up at 4:30 am to head to the airport this morning.
I am currently writing as I sit on the plane and we are about to land in Berlin, so I need to shut things down.
To the Fatherland!!!
