Amsterdam is awesome!! It may be chilly outside, but its
small scale, charm and warm, inviting cafes have Caroline sold.
We've spent the past 2 days wandering the quaint canal-lined
streets and taking in some tourist attractions, some more
interesting and worthwhile than others. On Wednesday, we got off to a slow
start, taking a boat cruise through the canals and then touring
the Anne Frank House in the evening, which is definitely a
must-see. Yesterday, we had an active, yet relaxed touring
day, strolling through the cute canal streets with their tall,
narrow steep-gabled houses that Caroline just
can't get enough of, and visiting several museums along the way.
The Amsterdam History Museum could have been missed, although
the 20th century exhibits seemed more interesting than the
earlier years, but we had had enough by the time we got to them
so we quickly walked through that section. We also visited
two house museums: the Herengracht Canal Mansion and the
Amstelkring Museum, also known as Our Lord in the Attic, due to
the fact that the upper level of this 17th century merchant's
house housed a secret, yet good-sized Catholic church (complete
with organ), which was used as a place of worship after
Amsterdam officially became Protestant in the late 1500s.
After a canal-side coffee for Caroline and a beer for Scott,
we wound down our day with a visit to the Oude Kerk or Old
Church, which is now used as an exhibition space. Although
sparsely furnished, the church was truly impressive with its
marble columns and soaring, wooden, painted ceilings. The
world photo exhibition that happened to be going on was pretty
spectacular too. The Old Church is located in the
charming old section of Amsterdam, which now contains its famous
Red Light District. We strolled by the windows of the
scary prostitutes - not sure where all those pretty Dutch
blondes were - on our way back to our apartment, only a couple
of blocks away from the ladies of the (day and) night, but a
world away in feel and atmosphere, located on its charming canal.
Our great sightseeing day came to an even better close with a
meal at the casual, yet charming and intimate Restaurant de
Reiger in the enchanting Jordaan neighborhood. Caroline
had the lamb tenderloins, done to a perfect medium-rare with
crunchy sweet peas, green beans and broccoli and tasty seasoned
potatoes. Even though we had some tasty food in Paris, this was by far the best meal she's had in
Europe yet! |
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