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Canals, Canals and More Canals!  

04/27/06 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Amsterdam photo album)

Seeing the sights of Amsterdam...and Caroline's best meal in Europe

 
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!