Arrived in Amsterdam at 8:30am.... we saw an amazing display of the Northern Lights almost the entire time that it was dark. It was a curtain of green and red lights dancing outside the airplane window.
After we got to our hotel we all had a two hour nap and then got on the trolley car and had a drive through town. We stopped and had dinner at a nice little restaurant and watched the goings on at the 'cafe' on the other side of the walkway. Cafes here aren't exactly the same as cafes back home..... here they don't sell coffee, they only sell marijuana and sodas.
We took the tram back to our hotel and we're going to go to bed early. Tomorrow we'll go to a museum and then a canal cruise.... most of the canals are still frozen.
FEBRUARY 16, 2012
I didn't sleep hardly at all last night.... but I still feel pretty good. I'm sure I won't have any trouble falling asleep tonight.
The weather was good today (no rain).. so we decided to delay our visit to the Museum and wander around Amsterdam instead. We saw so much and probably still only scratched the surface of what one can see here. I love the old buildings lining the many canals. We stopped at the floating flower market... they've got hundreds of different varieties of tulips that look ready to plant outside.
If the weather is good again tomorrow we're going to go to Zaanse Schans outside the town of Zaandam too visit some working windmills.
we're all having a lot of fun
FEBRUARY 17, 2012
Had a very full day today... after getting lost and going all around the central train/bus/tram station several times... we finally found our bus and drove out into the countryside to Zaanse Schans... a little historical village with all sorts of shops and quaint old houses. They have also rebuilt several old windmills one of which is a working saw mill. We watched how they cut huge logs into planks and beams which they sell to people who are looking for an authentic type of wood for the renovations of their historical houses. We had lunch at a nice restaurant at Zaanse Schans.... the "Amsterdam Croquettes" sounded interesting. A mixture of meat that was breaded and deep fried... served on rye bread with mustard. STAY AWAY FROM AMSTERDAM CROQUETTES!! Yuck... I can't really say if it tasted good because I couldn't get beyond the slimy texture inside the nicely breaded shell.
We came back into Amsterdam and took a cruise through the many canals. We didn't know which way to look... there were so many beautiful old buildings.
Finally we stopped at Heineken restaurant and endured the worst service I have ever seen in my life. Oh well... the food was good... we followed my own advice and stayed away from the Amsterdam Croquettes!
Tomorrow we're going to the museum to see some Rembrant's and then late in the day we board our plane and fly to Tanzania!!
FEBRUARY 18, 2012
Went to the Rijksmuseum and saw a bunch of paintings by the masters, Rembrandt's Night Watch was probably the most impressive one there... but I enjoyed looking at many of the others as well. I feel so cultured now! We wandered around a bit... had lunch at the Corner Pancake House, kind of a Dutch Denny's/sports bar with a 'cafe' out front. Back to the Hotel Zandbergen to collect our luggage and wait for our taxi..... next stop AFRICA!!
Great post about your visit to Amsterdam. I am visting with a few friends next weekend. We are staying in a serviced apartment in Amsterdam that is right in the centre so should be ideal for exploring on foot, which by the sounds of things sounds like a great way to properly see Amsterdam. Will be sure to visit Zaanse Schans as well, it sounds beautiful.
ReplyDelete