Amsterdam In A Day

Over the weekend, Daniel and I had the opportunity to go to Amsterdam. What a day. We tried something new this trip. Instead of driving down ourselves, flying or taking the train we opted to book a tour with an agency on base. This meant meeting up with the tour bus at 1 AM Friday night/Saturday morning and driving through the night. About a 5 hour drive.

We stopped just outside of Amsterdam at the Clara Maria Farm. The farm is run by the van Wees family. After enjoying a simple breakfast of eggs, ham, homemade bread, hot coffee and cheese... so. much. cheese. Each table had four different wheels of cheese to sample. Again, so much cheese.

After breakfast we made our way to another part of the farm to watch a clog making demonstration. Pretty impressive.

After the clog demonstration, we moved to an adjoining section of the farm for a cheese making demonstration and yes, more cheese sampling opportunities.

Before we climbed back on the tour bus we had the opportunity to purchase clogs and/or cheese as well as an assortment of other trinkets and gadgets from the farm.

 

Ya'll, I wasn't kidding about the amount of cheese. Unreal.

 

 

Something we learned during the demonstration is that the label you see on cheese you buy in the Netherlands tells a lot about the cheese. For example a round label tells you that the cheese was made in a factory, while the shape you see on the cheese pictured above, shows that it was made by hand. 

  

From the Clara Maria Farm, we headed to the city. It was mid-morning by now and although the sun was out, still quite windy and cold. Sooo it makes complete since then that we decided to begin our visit to the city with a boat tour of the canals, right?! Naturally. Thankfully, the boat was partially covered AND heated.

If I had to describe Amsterdam in four words - canals, houseboats, bridges and bicycles.

Squint and you can see seven bridges (maybe?) ...I think I can make out three before it gets fuzzy.

 

It was also fun to look up at all the different gables along the rooftops of the houses throughout the city. My neck was feeling it at a few different points throughout the day.

 

  

After our tour of the canals, we split off from the rest of the group and enjoyed the rest of the day on our own. First on our list - the Anne Frank House. To get there, we used our handy dandy Rick Steeves Amsterdam book to navigate to Dam Square. After taking in the sights of Dam Square, we followed one of Rick's self-guided walking tours that took us right past the Anne Frank House.

Central Station

Dam Square

As you can see in one of the pictures below, the line for this historical attraction was intense. Our tour guide had told us when we passed the house on the canal earlier in the morning, that the line looked to be about a 3 hour wait. THANKFULLY we had purchased our tickets online weeks ago. Not only did this mean we had guaranteed entrance, but it also meant that we did not have to join the masses in line. Instead, we got to walk through a small side entrance, present our tickets and go right in.

As a young girl, I remember reading Anne Frank's diaries and feeling such a mix of emotions. Some of these resurfacing as I walked from room to room, though spaces secretly occupied by eight people for almost two years. Reading the quotes on the walls and seeing the photos and newspaper clippings were powerful. Entering the secret annex, through the original bookcase (now protected through glass), I was surprised to learn the house was empty and had not been "staged" to represent the living situation of Anne and the others. This was a conscious decision my Anne's Father, Otto. Otto was the only survivor of the eight people who hide in the secret annex. If you are not familiar with Anne's story, I highly, highly encourage you to read her novel or at the very least, watch one of the movie.

Understandably, photography is not aloud inside the house. The house took about an hour to thoughtfully walk through, finishing with a multi-media presentation documenting the impact Anne's diaries have had on those she knew and those who have come to know her through her diaries. It was powerful to walk away thinking how much of an impact Anne Frank has had on the world and yet, her story is only one. One of so many like her.

Next, the Van Gogh Museum. Another 20 minutes walk meant more fun sights to take in.

Again, we were able to plan ahead and purchase tickets online to avoid wasting time with lines. Never in my life have I been in a museum with so much work by just one man. My favorite is still Sunflower. As a little girl, I remember doing a paint by number of Van Gogh's Sunflower. We were both winding down by this point in the day, and with the announcement (in five different languages) that the museum would be closing in 30 minutes, we decided to head out.

Walking back towards the main part of the city, Daniel spotted a Stroopwafel stand. A snack high on my list of foods to try in Amsterdam. We made a bee-line for the warm, caramel goodness.

Heading back towards Dam Square and Central Station, we found a spot to grab some dinner. After dinner we camped out at a coffee shop and enjoyed our third cup of coffee for the day. We even split a warm, cinnamon roll (no match for the stroopwafel). I was amped from the day and the coffee so I was unable to fall asleep on the ride back. Daniel didn't seem to have that problem. He was out without five minutes of hitting the highway.