Despite our best efforts to not get to Amsterdam, we eventually puttered into town weary and wanting to get to our B&B. We arrived at the B&B and were greeted by the friendly owner, Vlad, who quickly took a liking to Rob. Within the first two minutes of the conversation, he felt the urge to comment on Rob's winter wear. His exact words, "Your hat is very CUTE, it looks like something on a Disney character." We overlooked the comment for the time being because he held the keys to our apartment and some serious relaxation. After we were settled in, Vlad directed us to Thai Fusion, a yummy Thai joint in the nine streets district.
The next day we woke up ready to conquer yet another city in our quest to travel the world using hockey as a disguise. We started by taking the tram out to the museum district so we could visit the Van Gogh museum. Both of us, funny enough, choose Van Gogh as our favorite artist, and we would highly suggest you get on our program and like him too. The museum was a great experience with some exceptions. 1. Don't go to a museum when there are high school field trips...self explanatory. 2. Stay away from people who feel the need to taste the painting to get the full experience. Seriously, this one lady was blocking others viewing pleasure so she could lick the paintings. 3. Learn the language of the country you are in so you can tell the museum helpers to stop breathing smoky breathe all down the back of your neck. If I need help, I will ask for it. Besides these exceptions, we saw some great paintings and learned a great deal. Van Gogh was self-taught and did all of his works in a ten year span and dying at 37 years of age. We now admire his work even more in light of this.
After the museum we had the chance to explore the city on foot. This was a good experience because it is such a nice city with all the canal streets and architecture surrounding these canals. We went through the flower market, but unfortunately, there were only vendors selling bulbs for the coming spring and no tulips. The streets were filled with many cool shops and vendors that made the atmosphere that much better. One thing we were wondering while there...if people worked during the day because there seems to be so many people out and about even during the week. Odd. Anyway, after wandering around for awhile, we wound up at the Anne Frank House, which was only a few blocks from our B&B.
If you are planning a trip to Amsterdam, this is one place you have to visit. The building is the original place where Otto Frank ran his business and converted the top level into a hiding place for eight people during WWII. The experience was so many feelings it's hard to describe with such little space. It had something for everybody including history buffs, survivors, and anyone interested in stories of the human heart. Even though the rooms were unfurnished (per wishes of Otto, the only survivor), we were able to learn so much about the life of those during that time through this one family. Unfortunately, we were unable to photograph, so we can not share some of the memories from inside the house. We were sad to go but we left enriched and with a great experience.
That night we had the opportunity to eat at an authentic Dutch cafe called De Reiger in the heart of the Jordaan district. This cafe was pretty cool because it was a hole in the wall place with excellent, large portioned, food. This is key when Elizabeth can be choosy when it comes to food and Rob eats like he's never eaten before. Lastly, we had to get some dessert because the Dutch are famous for their pannenkoek. This is basically a giant crepe in which they top with anything you can think of, both savory and sweet. We thoroughly enjoyed eating this Dutch treasure and went to bed ready for the next day.
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