Five Days in Amsterdam Including Queens Day Trip Report
May 4th, 2005, 06:15 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,560
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Five Days in Amsterdam Including Queens Day Trip Report
Hi all - we just got back from 5 busy days in Amsterdam. Overall, the weather was quite good; only a few drops of rain in the city and one brief shower while in Volendam. Cool enough for long sleeves except for one day when it was quite warm (mid 70's?). Here are the highlights :
Day 1 – Travel to Amsterdam
I took the 9:45pm flight on Lufthansa and connected through Frankfurt. Lufthansa had a few technical computer glitches which meant that passengers who had assigned seats were not given them at check-in. Instead, the computer was assigning them randomly and the agent could not make a change. So, instead of a window seat, I was given a middle seat on a full flight. However, after politely asking, the gate agent’s manager kept my boarding card and I did get a window seat only one row behind my original one at the gate. There were several characters on the flight who offered a bit of humor and astonishment – one snarky old man who boarded and then loudly announced that he had been guaranteed an aisle seat and now had a middle seat. He then proceeded to take the aisle seat anyway; two asian 20-somethings who had a great deal of difficulty checking in (didn’t seem to know their final destination!) and then asked a man ahead of me to please move so they could sit together (he complied) and a young woman with a huge number of suitcases who announced she was moving to Basel for “love”. All seemed fine until at the last minute two harried grandmothers with an infant in a car seat boarded and were assigned the two seats ahead of me where the asian girls were sitting (so they had to move) and (you guessed it) the seat where the snarky old man was sitting. He looked a the infant and asked “where do you thing you are going to put THAT THING???” The grandmother looked at him and took the child out of the carseat and into the seat he had just vacated. Once the other lady had seated herself, the baby was handed over to her and everything was fine. Snarky old man humphfed and put his asbestos type air mask on for the duration of the flight. The baby slept, the grandmothers slept, the old man slept and the young lady bound for Basel regaled her seatmate with tales of her boyfriend and their plans. She also finally slept. We arrived on time and the connection to AMS was made in less than 45 minutes. Arrived AMS about 3:30, through customs, met up with DH when his flight landed from Copenhagen and to the hotel by 5pm. Our taxi driver had an unusual accent – turns out he was from the Bronx and moved to AMS at the age of 15. He agreed to pick us up from our hotel for the return flight which was great. Some of the taxis are licensed – you can tell them by the uniforms the guys wear; they also have to drive a particular model of Mercedes, the cars can be no more than 2 years old, etc The rates are regulated and will be less than an unregulated fare, cleaner, etc.
Day 2 – Checked in to our hotel, the Ramada Inn and Suites near Vondelpark. We ended up here due to the Queen’s day celebration and most hotels being booked months in advance. Our confirmation had a rate some 60e less per night than what Ramada wanted to charge us so again, we spent some time with the desk clerk clearing up the error. Our room was in the adjacent building to the actual Inn. It was on an upper floor and overlooked the park – nice, clean, good sized and non-smoking. We left the hotel at 6 and just walked to get our bearings – down to the Museumplein, Leidesplein and finally had dinner at a little Italian street café on Rembrandtplein. Back to the hotel around 10 and crashed knowing that the next days would be very busy.
Day 1 – Travel to Amsterdam
I took the 9:45pm flight on Lufthansa and connected through Frankfurt. Lufthansa had a few technical computer glitches which meant that passengers who had assigned seats were not given them at check-in. Instead, the computer was assigning them randomly and the agent could not make a change. So, instead of a window seat, I was given a middle seat on a full flight. However, after politely asking, the gate agent’s manager kept my boarding card and I did get a window seat only one row behind my original one at the gate. There were several characters on the flight who offered a bit of humor and astonishment – one snarky old man who boarded and then loudly announced that he had been guaranteed an aisle seat and now had a middle seat. He then proceeded to take the aisle seat anyway; two asian 20-somethings who had a great deal of difficulty checking in (didn’t seem to know their final destination!) and then asked a man ahead of me to please move so they could sit together (he complied) and a young woman with a huge number of suitcases who announced she was moving to Basel for “love”. All seemed fine until at the last minute two harried grandmothers with an infant in a car seat boarded and were assigned the two seats ahead of me where the asian girls were sitting (so they had to move) and (you guessed it) the seat where the snarky old man was sitting. He looked a the infant and asked “where do you thing you are going to put THAT THING???” The grandmother looked at him and took the child out of the carseat and into the seat he had just vacated. Once the other lady had seated herself, the baby was handed over to her and everything was fine. Snarky old man humphfed and put his asbestos type air mask on for the duration of the flight. The baby slept, the grandmothers slept, the old man slept and the young lady bound for Basel regaled her seatmate with tales of her boyfriend and their plans. She also finally slept. We arrived on time and the connection to AMS was made in less than 45 minutes. Arrived AMS about 3:30, through customs, met up with DH when his flight landed from Copenhagen and to the hotel by 5pm. Our taxi driver had an unusual accent – turns out he was from the Bronx and moved to AMS at the age of 15. He agreed to pick us up from our hotel for the return flight which was great. Some of the taxis are licensed – you can tell them by the uniforms the guys wear; they also have to drive a particular model of Mercedes, the cars can be no more than 2 years old, etc The rates are regulated and will be less than an unregulated fare, cleaner, etc.
Day 2 – Checked in to our hotel, the Ramada Inn and Suites near Vondelpark. We ended up here due to the Queen’s day celebration and most hotels being booked months in advance. Our confirmation had a rate some 60e less per night than what Ramada wanted to charge us so again, we spent some time with the desk clerk clearing up the error. Our room was in the adjacent building to the actual Inn. It was on an upper floor and overlooked the park – nice, clean, good sized and non-smoking. We left the hotel at 6 and just walked to get our bearings – down to the Museumplein, Leidesplein and finally had dinner at a little Italian street café on Rembrandtplein. Back to the hotel around 10 and crashed knowing that the next days would be very busy.
May 4th, 2005, 12:49 PM
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,560
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Day 3 - Museums and Exploring
Our modis operandi is to go from sun up to sun down when touring so you’ll understand if the days and sites seen appear crazed! We left the hotel at 8am and grabbed some breakfast on the run. Walked down to the Van Gogh museum and arrived before there were huge crowds. I used the Rick Steve’s book to guide us through the museum. The descriptions are great and really convey the background and social setting of Van Gogh’s life as a painter. We spent perhaps an hour and a half there; then on to the Rijksmuseum. As you all know, the Rijks is under renovation and a great deal of the building is closed. However, all major works have been moved to the Phillips wing for viewing. This is great as it makes the tour more compact but bad since all the people are in one area! We used the audio tours for this and also the Fodor’s book and InSight Guide (DH’s favorite). Saw all the major works and left around 1pm. We decided to take a short walk through the Coster’s Diamond shop/museum around the corner. Took a photo or two of the crown jewels and some of the craftsmen at work. Then, on to the Leidesplein for lunch. We stopped at the Hard Rock – had a good lunch with real ‘midwestern’ iced tea (ice and unsweetened!!!) along the canal. Two men came out and sat next to us – turns out they were from Chicago and Alabama, in for the Queen’s Weekend celebration. From there we moseyed along – taking in the sites along the various canals. Arrived at the Ann Frank house and saw about a 30 minute wait. Since DH had a conference call to take a little while later, we continued our stroll, stopped at the Pulitzer Hotel, up the Singel Canal to a gin distillery which was fortunately (!) closed and stopped to see several churches. Grabbed one of the ubiquitous waffles from a street vendor which was wonderful!!! Back to the Pulizter to take the call and then to Ann Frank about 5pm. No line, no crowds and the entire place almost to ourselves. I would say this was one of the most touching places I’ve visited. I do have a strong interest in WW2 as my father and uncles all fought in it so the sites in Europe hold special meaning for me. Normandy, Dachau and this house all brought me to tears. We had dinner that night at the Green Lantern. Not a big hit – fondue. We chose the wine fondue without knowing that each piece of meat/chicken would take up to 4 minutes to cook. That might not seem like much except we were starving and still jet lagged! Finished up and walked back towards the Dam Square. They were already setting up for Queen’s day with huge pavilions all over the city, areas of sidewalk marked off with masking tape to reserve places for the massive ‘garage’ sale that goes on, etc. The Queen was in residence and attending an outdoor concert at the Dam which we stopped to see. Had a glass or two of wine on our way back to the hotel. We walked most of the time – took the tram maybe three times total. With good weather and so much to absorb, it seemed a shame to rush down the streets. Back to our hotel by 11pm – extremely tired but ready for the QUEEN’S DAY tomorrow!!!
Our modis operandi is to go from sun up to sun down when touring so you’ll understand if the days and sites seen appear crazed! We left the hotel at 8am and grabbed some breakfast on the run. Walked down to the Van Gogh museum and arrived before there were huge crowds. I used the Rick Steve’s book to guide us through the museum. The descriptions are great and really convey the background and social setting of Van Gogh’s life as a painter. We spent perhaps an hour and a half there; then on to the Rijksmuseum. As you all know, the Rijks is under renovation and a great deal of the building is closed. However, all major works have been moved to the Phillips wing for viewing. This is great as it makes the tour more compact but bad since all the people are in one area! We used the audio tours for this and also the Fodor’s book and InSight Guide (DH’s favorite). Saw all the major works and left around 1pm. We decided to take a short walk through the Coster’s Diamond shop/museum around the corner. Took a photo or two of the crown jewels and some of the craftsmen at work. Then, on to the Leidesplein for lunch. We stopped at the Hard Rock – had a good lunch with real ‘midwestern’ iced tea (ice and unsweetened!!!) along the canal. Two men came out and sat next to us – turns out they were from Chicago and Alabama, in for the Queen’s Weekend celebration. From there we moseyed along – taking in the sites along the various canals. Arrived at the Ann Frank house and saw about a 30 minute wait. Since DH had a conference call to take a little while later, we continued our stroll, stopped at the Pulitzer Hotel, up the Singel Canal to a gin distillery which was fortunately (!) closed and stopped to see several churches. Grabbed one of the ubiquitous waffles from a street vendor which was wonderful!!! Back to the Pulizter to take the call and then to Ann Frank about 5pm. No line, no crowds and the entire place almost to ourselves. I would say this was one of the most touching places I’ve visited. I do have a strong interest in WW2 as my father and uncles all fought in it so the sites in Europe hold special meaning for me. Normandy, Dachau and this house all brought me to tears. We had dinner that night at the Green Lantern. Not a big hit – fondue. We chose the wine fondue without knowing that each piece of meat/chicken would take up to 4 minutes to cook. That might not seem like much except we were starving and still jet lagged! Finished up and walked back towards the Dam Square. They were already setting up for Queen’s day with huge pavilions all over the city, areas of sidewalk marked off with masking tape to reserve places for the massive ‘garage’ sale that goes on, etc. The Queen was in residence and attending an outdoor concert at the Dam which we stopped to see. Had a glass or two of wine on our way back to the hotel. We walked most of the time – took the tram maybe three times total. With good weather and so much to absorb, it seemed a shame to rush down the streets. Back to our hotel by 11pm – extremely tired but ready for the QUEEN’S DAY tomorrow!!!
May 4th, 2005, 01:06 PM
#5
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 25,876
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Question about Anne Frank House. I know it's open until 9pm in the summer. Were you able to just walk up at 5pm to buy your ticket? I looked at Anne Frank House website and they make it sound like one has to buy "advance tickets" in order to get in after 5pm.
May 4th, 2005, 01:11 PM
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,560
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
We saw nothing about advanced sales; only that you could not buy tickets less than 30 minutes before closing. Ann Frank house is not covered by the Amsterdam pass as are many other museums. We arrived at 5 and left around 6:30.
May 4th, 2005, 05:21 PM
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,560
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Saturday April 30th QUEENS DAY!!!!
The day started out gloomy with occasional drops of rain. We left the hotel early as usual and walked through Vondelpark. The entire park was filled with small children running their own flea market and mini-carnival. Each child had a blanket or small area marked out and selling their cast off toy, clothes, books, etc. Many also had little games of chance or pie throwing for the kids to do. There was also music playing all over the park. From there we made our way into the citycenter. This was incredible!! Everyone was wearing something orange – shirts, pants, shoes, socks, crazy hats, feather boas, etc. It had a mardi gras atmosphere but on a scale much much larger! The population of Amsterdam grows from less than one million to three million just for that day. There were beer stands, bands, blaring music, food stands, public urinals for the men everywhere. The canals were jammed with party boats so that nobody could really move. Flea markets were also on every sidewalk. Many restaurants were open, a few souvenir stores but for the most part, shops were closed. We just walked and gawked. Took a lot of pictures of the street action. There was one group of guys who were pedaling a bicycle type of vehicle with three on a side, one in the rear steering and a keg on the front….quite exceptional…especially when you consider that they had all been drinking all day. We just grabbed street vendor’s food and watched people from the plaza cafes during the day. Everyone was just walking around but they seemed to have a purpose or a place to be going, nothing seemed random. By 5pm, we decided to head back to the hotel. To give an idea..it took close to 30 minutes to cross one canal bridge; vendors were on both sides and people were in gridlock all the way across. Back at the hotel, we took a short nap finally and then headed back to the Museum park for their concert and a few snacks. We’ve never heard of the band playing but the atmosphere was Woodstock (am I showing my age??). On to the city center again where one bartender told us that “the dutch consider partying an art form; we do a decent job in the UK but here, its ART!!” True True. By 8pm, they were carrying people off on stretchers and if anyone was going to pass out, there was no where to fall. By 11, I’d had it and we walked back to the hotel. Quite an amazing scene all around. Ankle deep paper, garbage, overflowing portajohns and public urinals. We wondered how in the heck the street cleaners were going to cope!
We did learn the next day that most older folk and those who live in the outer areas of Amsterdam just stay home or have block party types of deals near their homes because they don’t want the hassle downtown.
The day started out gloomy with occasional drops of rain. We left the hotel early as usual and walked through Vondelpark. The entire park was filled with small children running their own flea market and mini-carnival. Each child had a blanket or small area marked out and selling their cast off toy, clothes, books, etc. Many also had little games of chance or pie throwing for the kids to do. There was also music playing all over the park. From there we made our way into the citycenter. This was incredible!! Everyone was wearing something orange – shirts, pants, shoes, socks, crazy hats, feather boas, etc. It had a mardi gras atmosphere but on a scale much much larger! The population of Amsterdam grows from less than one million to three million just for that day. There were beer stands, bands, blaring music, food stands, public urinals for the men everywhere. The canals were jammed with party boats so that nobody could really move. Flea markets were also on every sidewalk. Many restaurants were open, a few souvenir stores but for the most part, shops were closed. We just walked and gawked. Took a lot of pictures of the street action. There was one group of guys who were pedaling a bicycle type of vehicle with three on a side, one in the rear steering and a keg on the front….quite exceptional…especially when you consider that they had all been drinking all day. We just grabbed street vendor’s food and watched people from the plaza cafes during the day. Everyone was just walking around but they seemed to have a purpose or a place to be going, nothing seemed random. By 5pm, we decided to head back to the hotel. To give an idea..it took close to 30 minutes to cross one canal bridge; vendors were on both sides and people were in gridlock all the way across. Back at the hotel, we took a short nap finally and then headed back to the Museum park for their concert and a few snacks. We’ve never heard of the band playing but the atmosphere was Woodstock (am I showing my age??). On to the city center again where one bartender told us that “the dutch consider partying an art form; we do a decent job in the UK but here, its ART!!” True True. By 8pm, they were carrying people off on stretchers and if anyone was going to pass out, there was no where to fall. By 11, I’d had it and we walked back to the hotel. Quite an amazing scene all around. Ankle deep paper, garbage, overflowing portajohns and public urinals. We wondered how in the heck the street cleaners were going to cope!
We did learn the next day that most older folk and those who live in the outer areas of Amsterdam just stay home or have block party types of deals near their homes because they don’t want the hassle downtown.
>-
May 6th, 2005, 07:51 AM
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,560
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Sunday - Day Four - Keukenhof Gardens and more...
We did the usual up and out routine grabbing breakfast on the run. Took the #2 Tram to Central Station and caught the 8am train to Leidsen. That was about a 30 minute ride. Arrived Leidsen and followed the signs to the bus area where the #54 Keukenof Express buses were located. Very easy - the #54 had a separate area with two windows to purchase tickets for the time the gardens are open. You can buy the roundtrip bus ticket as well as admission to the gardens in one stop and save a few euros as well as time along the way. Arrived at the gardens by 9am and walked right in. They are amazing. Imagine 7 million bulbs against a brilliant blue sky and mid-70's temperature...heaven!! True, the gardens are manicured, colors and flower types are 'staged' and in various designs but honestly, that didn't faze me. I just loved the displays, the pavillions, water features, windmill, outdoor seating areas for coffee, etc. We stopped at one place near the back of the gardens to order bulbs to ship to us in late September. The staff was very helpful and not at all pushy. As we meandered our way out, the tour bus crowds had arrived (this was about 11:30). Again, I can only stress how important we found it to arrive at the museums and places like this early!! Lunch was near the main gate and close to an old player type of organ. It was fed by punched sheets of paper like a player piano. Fun to listen to and hearing "home on the range" was pretty funny. We left Leidsen by 1 and arrived back in Amsterdam Central by 2. The trains were having a difficulty of some kind in the central station so the number and types (direct/indirect) were reduced and we just took potluck. Back in Amsterdam, we began to walk...again. We made our way back to some of the sights that had been closed for Queen's Day on saturday - Bejiunof, St NicholasKerk, etc. Had dinner at Der Blonde Hollander. The place is quite nice - dark wood tables, candles, but reasonably priced. The menu is pure dutch cuisine. We both had mashed potatoes with either saurkraut or endive mixed in and an enormous meatball or sausage. The mound of potatoes/vegetables easily covered 3/4 of the dinner plate. Rolled out of there and walked over to our wine and cheese cruise on the canals. It was fun, relaxing and informative. Each table had two bottles of wine and a plate of cheese. We took ours out on the back deck and hung out there. Couldn't hear the commentary but our purpose was more for relaxation than education at that point. It lasted two full hours into the night. Disembarked at the central station docks and were able to hop on Tram #2 right back to the hotel. Busy day, quiet day (crowds were minimal), one more day until we leave!
We did the usual up and out routine grabbing breakfast on the run. Took the #2 Tram to Central Station and caught the 8am train to Leidsen. That was about a 30 minute ride. Arrived Leidsen and followed the signs to the bus area where the #54 Keukenof Express buses were located. Very easy - the #54 had a separate area with two windows to purchase tickets for the time the gardens are open. You can buy the roundtrip bus ticket as well as admission to the gardens in one stop and save a few euros as well as time along the way. Arrived at the gardens by 9am and walked right in. They are amazing. Imagine 7 million bulbs against a brilliant blue sky and mid-70's temperature...heaven!! True, the gardens are manicured, colors and flower types are 'staged' and in various designs but honestly, that didn't faze me. I just loved the displays, the pavillions, water features, windmill, outdoor seating areas for coffee, etc. We stopped at one place near the back of the gardens to order bulbs to ship to us in late September. The staff was very helpful and not at all pushy. As we meandered our way out, the tour bus crowds had arrived (this was about 11:30). Again, I can only stress how important we found it to arrive at the museums and places like this early!! Lunch was near the main gate and close to an old player type of organ. It was fed by punched sheets of paper like a player piano. Fun to listen to and hearing "home on the range" was pretty funny. We left Leidsen by 1 and arrived back in Amsterdam Central by 2. The trains were having a difficulty of some kind in the central station so the number and types (direct/indirect) were reduced and we just took potluck. Back in Amsterdam, we began to walk...again. We made our way back to some of the sights that had been closed for Queen's Day on saturday - Bejiunof, St NicholasKerk, etc. Had dinner at Der Blonde Hollander. The place is quite nice - dark wood tables, candles, but reasonably priced. The menu is pure dutch cuisine. We both had mashed potatoes with either saurkraut or endive mixed in and an enormous meatball or sausage. The mound of potatoes/vegetables easily covered 3/4 of the dinner plate. Rolled out of there and walked over to our wine and cheese cruise on the canals. It was fun, relaxing and informative. Each table had two bottles of wine and a plate of cheese. We took ours out on the back deck and hung out there. Couldn't hear the commentary but our purpose was more for relaxation than education at that point. It lasted two full hours into the night. Disembarked at the central station docks and were able to hop on Tram #2 right back to the hotel. Busy day, quiet day (crowds were minimal), one more day until we leave!
May 6th, 2005, 08:44 AM
#12
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,339
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Having just come back from Amsterdam, I have really enjoyed reading your report!! I have also been to Amsterdam a few times on Queen's Day, it really is something, isn't it? Glad you had a great time. It is amazing how they manage to clear all of that garbage off the streets!!
May 6th, 2005, 09:46 AM
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,560
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Day 5 Monday - Our last day in Amsterdam
We booked a guided tour to volendam and markham - somewhat out of character for us. The bus was supposed to pick up at our hotel at 8:55am - by 9:20, we gave up (had called them at 9 to verify, etc) and just took the tram to Dam Square. The bus was full (more on that later...) and took off on time. Our major issue was that little time was allowed in either spot and we felt like cattle. Arrived at Volendam and had time to catch a glimpse of the wooden shoemaker, traipse by the area selling junk and out the door into a downpour. By then, we had less than 15 minutes before the bus left again and certainly not enough time to see the rest of the village which looked great. Off to Markham...but apparently, a few people were unhappy with their orginal bus seats and when they boarded again, they took other seats, regardless of any personal items left on or above them. This caused some heartburn for aa few folks who wanted 'their' seats back...arghhh. Arrived at Markham; took a short walk towards the harbor and were told to find lunch on our own, gather at the boat at 12:55 and we'd be off. DH and I found a little out of the way fish place and had lunch, browsed the shops and then went to the boat. The harborside area might have been cute but we had little time to do any real exploring on the side streets or alley ways. the boat ride took 30 minutes and was pleasant. Back on the bus and returned to Amsterdam by 2pm. Not our style at all but a lesson to learn. After arriving back, we headed for the university to buy some tee shirts for the kids back home. The shop was in spui square and easy to find. From there, we strolled towards Nes and had some pancakes in a tiny restaurant (supposedly the smallest in all of AMS) upstairs. It had 4 tables might have seated 16 if every chair was full. Great little out of the way place with 'charm' - and zillions of teapots hanging from the ceiling. Next stop - hidden church or "our lord in the attic' in the red light district. Fantastic site and well worth the time spent.From there, we just started walking again towards the Amstel Canal and along it to the Amstel Hotel. The idea was to have afternoon tea and enjoy the ambiance. Ended up with a bottle of wine and REALLY enjoyed the ambiance!! Off to see the Willet-Holthuysen house and museum. We buzzed through in less than 45 minutes as they were closing. Continued on along the canal and decided to stop at a couple of pubs on the way....our destination was dinner at Le Zinc. Saw the flower market, stopped in at "when nature calls' head shop. Le Zinc had excellent food, slow but friendly service (we weren't in a hurry) and great ambiance. Its an old canalside warehouse that has been converted into a mid-priced gourmet restaurant. Nice wine list, good choices and like I said, reasonable. We walked back to the hotel from the restaurant and arrived at 9. Packed, confirmed the cab for the next morning and fell asleep. Many good memories were made in the past days, believe me!
Day 6 Travel Day home - cab arrived on time, no problems checking in at Schipol but the entire place was fogged in so my flight was delayed by 90 minutes and DH was delayed by over 2 hours. I connected via copenhagen with no difficulty; he connected via Frankfurt and missed the flight. Ended up on a late flight but we both were safe and sound, tired. Over all, I like Amsterdam. People were friendly, helpful. Place was clean (except on Queen's Day), lovely atmosphere. I never really felt like I got my bearings but stumbled along anyway with the guide books. Will we go back? possibly - but would spend more time outside the city on the next trip!
We booked a guided tour to volendam and markham - somewhat out of character for us. The bus was supposed to pick up at our hotel at 8:55am - by 9:20, we gave up (had called them at 9 to verify, etc) and just took the tram to Dam Square. The bus was full (more on that later...) and took off on time. Our major issue was that little time was allowed in either spot and we felt like cattle. Arrived at Volendam and had time to catch a glimpse of the wooden shoemaker, traipse by the area selling junk and out the door into a downpour. By then, we had less than 15 minutes before the bus left again and certainly not enough time to see the rest of the village which looked great. Off to Markham...but apparently, a few people were unhappy with their orginal bus seats and when they boarded again, they took other seats, regardless of any personal items left on or above them. This caused some heartburn for aa few folks who wanted 'their' seats back...arghhh. Arrived at Markham; took a short walk towards the harbor and were told to find lunch on our own, gather at the boat at 12:55 and we'd be off. DH and I found a little out of the way fish place and had lunch, browsed the shops and then went to the boat. The harborside area might have been cute but we had little time to do any real exploring on the side streets or alley ways. the boat ride took 30 minutes and was pleasant. Back on the bus and returned to Amsterdam by 2pm. Not our style at all but a lesson to learn. After arriving back, we headed for the university to buy some tee shirts for the kids back home. The shop was in spui square and easy to find. From there, we strolled towards Nes and had some pancakes in a tiny restaurant (supposedly the smallest in all of AMS) upstairs. It had 4 tables might have seated 16 if every chair was full. Great little out of the way place with 'charm' - and zillions of teapots hanging from the ceiling. Next stop - hidden church or "our lord in the attic' in the red light district. Fantastic site and well worth the time spent.From there, we just started walking again towards the Amstel Canal and along it to the Amstel Hotel. The idea was to have afternoon tea and enjoy the ambiance. Ended up with a bottle of wine and REALLY enjoyed the ambiance!! Off to see the Willet-Holthuysen house and museum. We buzzed through in less than 45 minutes as they were closing. Continued on along the canal and decided to stop at a couple of pubs on the way....our destination was dinner at Le Zinc. Saw the flower market, stopped in at "when nature calls' head shop. Le Zinc had excellent food, slow but friendly service (we weren't in a hurry) and great ambiance. Its an old canalside warehouse that has been converted into a mid-priced gourmet restaurant. Nice wine list, good choices and like I said, reasonable. We walked back to the hotel from the restaurant and arrived at 9. Packed, confirmed the cab for the next morning and fell asleep. Many good memories were made in the past days, believe me!
Day 6 Travel Day home - cab arrived on time, no problems checking in at Schipol but the entire place was fogged in so my flight was delayed by 90 minutes and DH was delayed by over 2 hours. I connected via copenhagen with no difficulty; he connected via Frankfurt and missed the flight. Ended up on a late flight but we both were safe and sound, tired. Over all, I like Amsterdam. People were friendly, helpful. Place was clean (except on Queen's Day), lovely atmosphere. I never really felt like I got my bearings but stumbled along anyway with the guide books. Will we go back? possibly - but would spend more time outside the city on the next trip!
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
progol
Europe
77
Dec 4th, 2017 12:56 PM
