Rick Steves' Best of Europe in 21 Days - Spring 2024
Postcards from Mike & Jen
Day 2 - Amsterdam
Goedemorgen from the Netherlands!
Today's adventures began with taking the train from Haarlem to Amsterdam. Matti distributed our tickets and gave us a tutorial on how to read the signs and schedules so we could find our way back later in the day.
Guided Walk
We split into two groups and had local guides share some highlights of Amsterdam's architecture and history. We very much appreciated Ronald's storyteller teaching style, complete with visual aids. We did suffer one casualty on this day as Gordy dropped his water bottle in the canal. A gallant effort was made to save it; however it was to no avail.
Canal Boat Cruise & a Break for Lunch
The whole group came back together and boarded a canal boat for a narrated tour, after which we split up to scavenge lunch on our own. We opted for Dutch fries followed by herring. Mike and Gordy were pleasantly surprised to find the herring did not taste fishy at all and were very enjoyable.
The Reiksmuseum
Next we split back into 2 groups for a guided tour of the Rijksmuseum. Our guide, Carine, was obviously an art educator and in addition to introducing us to the Dutch masters, gave an in-depth course on the evolution of still life techniques.
On Our Own
After the museum tour, we were on our own for the rest of the day. We happened upon a little sandwich shop called Sunny Side across the canal from the Anne Frank House. We sat on park benches and ate our traditional Lithuanian mini pies and waited for our reserved time for entry. We opted for the tickets that included the educational presentation beforehand. It was well worth it. The walk through the annex with an audio guide device was a deeply moving and somber experience. (Buy your tickets before you leave home!)
It was getting dark by the time we finished our tour, which added an extra level of anticipation for finding our way back to the train station. We were pleasantly surprised by how many landmarks we recognized along the way. We boarded the correct train, and got off at the right stop... just like Matti taught us!
We were too tired to decide on a restaurant for dinner so we gladly had nachos and some locally brewed beer at the hotel. The bartender was a lot of fun! Then, as per our usual, it was off to bed before another early start.
