Monday, September 29, 2014 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Day 5

We woke up at 7 this morning to get an early start.  We hope to get to the Anne Frank Museum before most of the other tourists.  On the way to breakfast, Tim announces "I don't have my credit card!"  Uh oh!  Has to be at the restaurant where we ate last night, which doesn't open until noon.

We dressed and had breakfast and coffee in the Club Lounge.  We left about 8:30 and headed out on foot for the 15 minute walk to the Ann Frank House.  Well, they beat us there.  We were in line for about 40 minutes but that apparently wasn't bad.  They are working on the Anne Frank House exterior again - they were doing the same when I was here in 1996!  But the museum has been expanded and the exhibits improved.  We enjoyed the tour which only took about 45 minutes.  We had a selfie taken in front of the Anne Frank House and I took Tim's picture by her statue.

 Tim standing with "Anne" next to Westerkerk Church

The front of the Anne Frank House was under construction so we did a selfie next to the sign!

Tim kept telling me "Don't Smile" and look what he did!!!!  Go figure!

We then walked back to the Kantjil and Tijger Restaurant which wasn't open but Tim talked to the Manager and they had his credit card.  Whew!  That could have been a disaster.

We walked to Central Station and were going to take the free ferry across the river to explore the northern side, but it looked mostly like a residential neighborhood.  So we made our way along the river to the Maritime Museum.  We bought tickets and took our time exploring the various exhibits and enjoyed that a lot.

The Maritime Museum and the "Amsterdam" ship

 

We went on the "Amsterdam" ship and enjoyed that a lot.  Lots of neat things to see - but the people back then were so much shorter than they are today - I bumped my head so many times on the beams overhead.

 The Amsterdam

 The sleeping quarters

 The dining room

The deck of the ship

 

We then walked a short distance to the new city library and went to the top floor where they have a restaurant overlooking the city.  We had a very healthy lunch and ate outside on the patio overlooking the city.  It was warm but overcast and nice outside.

View of Amsterdam from the top of the city library

 

We then walked back by Central Station and marveled at the number of bicycles in this city.  They are everywhere, especially around the station.  There is an entire "parking garage" just for bicycles - one outdoors and one indoors.  Amazing!

 

 Bikes - Bikes everywhere.  Watch out or they will run over you too!

The outdoor parking garage for bicycles - it was packed!

 

We went back to the hotel mid afternoon for a short nap and then to the concierge lounge for drinks prior to dinner.  The concierge made a reservation for me at Lucia's tonight which is supposed to specialize in fish and seafood.  We invited Kurt Meister, a friend from NYC/FLL to meet us for dinner since he's here on business but we aren't sure if he will make it yet.

 







Sunday, September 28, 2014 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Day 4

We slept late again - waking up at 9:45 am.  Coffee in the concierge lounge and then we headed out to walk to the "Sunday markets" that the concierge had recommended.

We went first to a very small market near Spuistraat.  This had mostly artists with paintings - some good and others not so good.  Small market that was interesting.  We then discovered the Indonesian restaurant that Al Stewart had recommended and decided that we'd come here for dinner tonight.  But they weren't open so we'll come back.

We headed to the art gallery street on Nieuwe Spiegelstraat - antiques, collectibles, paintings, sculptures and jewelry.  It was fun looking through many of the galleries. 

We walked through Rembrandtplein where there is a statute of Rembrandt and statues of people from his painting "The Night Watch".

The statue of Rembrandt in Rembrandtplein

We then went to the Rijksmuseum.  No line so we got tickets and went in to view the exhibits.  Rembrandt's "Night Watch" is the showcase piece here.  Lots of other interesting displays and lots of people inside.  The structure in places is as interesting as some of the art.  After our stroll through the museum, we decided to have lunch in the Rijksmuseum Café, in the atrium of the museum.  I had a great cucumber gazpacho and a ham sandwich that was tasty. 

 

The Rijksmuseum

We enjoyed the many Rembrandt paintings - "The Night Watch" being the most famous on display behind me.  Lots of people in the museum today.



Beautiful structure and stained glass in the Rijksmuseum

We then headed to the plaza outside the Rijksmuseum and walked past the Van Gogh Museum - huge line there waiting to get in.  Good for us we had been there before so we kept walking.

We headed for Vondelpark, which is the Central Park of Amsterdam.  Lots of people walking, jogging, sunning, biking and enjoying the beautiful weather.  We walked around a while and also sat and enjoyed the sights.  We stopped for an ice cream later and then headed back across town to the hotel.  We keep saying that we are going to take a tram but we have been enjoying our walks.  Good exercise too.

We stopped at the Indonesian Restaurant and made reservations for 8 pm tonight.  A short stroll back to the hotel, check up on email, a very short nap, and then to the concierge lounge for wine and snacks.  It was here that I finally got my blog caught up.  I just need to add pictures.

We had several wines in the hotel concierge lounge and then headed out early for the restaurant, Kantjil & de Tigeres.  It was good and lots to eat, but it takes forever to eat in Europe.  Tim gets very impatient and I keep having to remind him that we aren't at home.  Stop, smell the roses, and enjoy.  We had a great dinner.

A short walk back to the hotel and to rest my feet - the "dogs are barking", so to speak.  Another fun day in Ansterdam.  We plan to get up early and go to the Ann Frank House to see if we can get there with a very short line.  We'll see.  If not, Plan B is to take the train from Central Station to Haarlem for the day.  We're going to be flexible.

Saturday, September 27, 2014 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Day 3

Well I guess we were tired.  We slept until 11 am!!!!  We got ready and went to the concierge lounge for coffee only  Then we walked to Lindenmarket on Lindengrachtstraat to experience the local market.  Lots of food, cheese, flowers, clothes and housewares.  Lots of people.  It was fun.  We walked the entire market and then roamed through some of the neighborhoods by the canals on the west of Amsterdam. 

 Beautiful flowers of all types at the Saturday Market

 Westerkerk Church as seen from one of the side streets



Westerkerk Church, next door to the Anne Frank House

We ended up back at the Anne Frank House and the line was double what it was yesterday.  We got to do inside the Westerkerk Church - a very plain structure compared to many of the elaborate cathedrals in Europe.  A chamber group was practicing with a singer and we listened for a while.

We went back to the Homomonument to read the inscription.  The monument is actually in 3 parts.  A triangle on the water representing "the past", a triangle at ground level by the street representing "the present", and a triangle raised into the air representing "the future".  Each of the triangles is connected to the others by marble in the roadway and sidewalk. 

 The Past

 The Present

and The Future!

We stopped at a small café by a canal for lunch.  It took quite a while to get served which makes Tim very anxious, but it was relaxing and enjoyable.  I had a great bowl of tomato soup and a salad.  The people watching was fun.  We walked back by the Royal Palace and then to the hotel where we are to meet our friend Hans at 2:30.  There is a small "red light district" just down the street from our hotel and some of the girls are already working.

There is also a very unusual restaurant across from our hotel, the Renaissance.  The building is leaving both forward and to the side - WAY forward.  The picture doesn't really show the perspective, but I can't believe that the building is still standing.  Not sure I want to go into that building!

The crooked building across from our hotel - leaning forward and to the side!

We freshened up and met Hans and his husband Adri in the hotel lobby.  It was good to see Hans again after 15 years.  He and Adri married 2 years ago and they explained that the first gay marriage in the world was on April 1, 2000 in Amsterdam and they were there.  They took us on a walking tour of a lot of the city - such a great walking city.  We made a semi-circular counterclockwise loop of the city - ending up at the Amsterdam Opera, near the Hermitage Amsterdam Museum.  There was another flea market just ending outside the Opera.  We stopped at Rembrandtplein for a drink and enjoy the scenery and conversation.  Hans and Adri gave us lots of pointers of things to see and do.

 Larry, Tim, and Adri roaming the streets of Amsterdam

 Enjoying wine and 'bitter balls' at a café near Rembrantplein with Hans and Adri

 A selfie taken of Larry and Hans

Another "selfie" with Larry, Adri, Hans, and Tim - Amsterdam September 2014

About 6 Hans and Adri headed back to Central Station to go home to Zoetermeer (The Sweet Lake) which is a suburb of The Haig.  We hope they will come to visit us in FLL.

It got a reservation for dinner at Savini, an Italian restaurant just down the street from our hotel.  We have noticed that dinner reservations are mandatory as the restaurants fill up.  We tried to eat at Zaza tonight but they were fully booked so I made a reservation for Tuesday online.

Savini was good, nothing spectacular, but good Italian.  After a large meal, we decided to walk off dinner so we headed for the red-light district.  My, oh my!  It was MOBBED and the red light windows were busy.  There were live sex shows too, so this is an "anything goes" area.  We walked around a while and then headed back to the hotel about 11 for more sleep.  We didn't get a nap today but hey, we slept so late!  No trouble getting to sleep.  Another fun day in Amsterdam.

Friday September 26, 2014 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Day 2

Our Delta flight arrived in Schipol Airport early - about 5:30 am.  We must have taxied for about 20 minutes to get to the terminal.  We got through immigration quickly.  And more amazingly, our bags were the first ones off of the plane.

We went through customs (no one there) and bought train tickets from the airport to Central Station in Amsterdam - about 10 euros.  I had thought the train trip was over 30 minutes but we arrived in about 15 minutes.  Still dark outside.

The Renaissance Hotel is only about 3 blocks from the Central Station so we walked there.  We checked in but the hotel was full so our room wasn't ready.  They allowed us to use the concierge lounge while we waited so we went for coffee, juice and breakfast.  We checked email and then decided to take a walk around the city instead of just sitting.  It was very cloudy but comfortable.  We left our bags with the concierge and headed out to explore Amsterdam a bit. 

We walked toward the Royal Palace where the Royal family stays when they are in Amsterdam.  They spend most of their time in The Haig.  We saw lots of canals, and walked close to the "red light district" but we'll come back here as "the girls" are most likely finished for the night. 

 The Royal Palace where the King stays when he is in Amsterdam

The National Monument in the large plaza outside of the Royal Palace

 



We walked about 2 hours and then headed back to the Renaissance about 10:30.  I checked with the "Elite Check-In" desk and showed them my platinum card and we got our room.

We went up and unpacked and took a short nap - well, mine was a 2 hour nap!  I was so tired with little sleep last night.  About 1 we took showers, dressed and then headed out again to walk through Amsterdam.  We went by the Anne Frank house where there was a huge line.  Then to Westerkirk, the Calvinist Protestant Church next to the Anne Frank house.

 The many canals of Amsterdam - so beautiful!

 

Tim had some "fries" from a street vendor.  We stopped at the Homomonument which was erected for the remembrance of all of the discrimination against gay and lesbians.  Tim had to take my picture and post it to FaceBook - he wanted to put the caption "Big, old homo by the Homomonument" but I told him that was NOT appropriate!!!!  We laughed.

The Homomonument - dedicated to the suppression in the past of gay and lesbians

We headed back to the hotel and changed for dinner.  Reservations tonight are early since we want to get to bed early.  We went to Long Pura, an Indonesian restaurant that the concierge recommended.  We had the rijstaffel or rice table that had rice and lots of small dishes with many different kinds of meats and sauces.  It was great. 

We walked home about 9:30 and were in bed by 10:15 - and then right to sleep. We were tired.  We closed the black out shades and are expecting to sleep late tomorrow.  A fun first day in Amsterdam.

Thursday September 25, 2014 - Ft Lauderdale to Amsterdam - Day 1

The day of departure has arrived.  Today we leave Ft Lauderdale for Detroit and then fly non-stop overnight to Amsterdam, The Netherlands.  We are planning a relaxing week in Amsterdam and the surrounding area before flying to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania for the beginning of our "Migration Safari".

It was an early morning with last minute things to do.  Packing was completed last night and the bags are at the front door.  I called a taxi a little after 9 and they came quickly.  He dropped us at Delta, we checked in our bags and got through security quickly.  We went to the SkyLounge and relaxed until time to board.

Everything was on time.  We left FLL and had a good flight north to Detroit.  A little over 2 hours.  We arrived early and went to the lounge in the Detroit airport to await the international flight.  We were surprised to see that Delta has 3 flights each day from Detroit to Amsterdam.  We boarded about 45 minutes prior to departure time and settled in.  The configuration of the 737 was "diagonal" for business class.  So Tim and I had seats each facing a different way - Tim facing 10 o'clock and I was facing 2 o'clock.  But the seats converted to beds that were completely horizontal and long enough for me so that was great.  Dinner service was good, a few glasses of wine, a not so good movie and then I attempted to sleep. 

The flight was only 7 1/2 hours so after dinner, I slept for only about 3 hours during the night.  We'll wake up somewhere over the North Atlantic Ocean prior to landing.  During the night, Tim went to the bathroom and a man from row 1 asked to go first as he couldn't wait.  Tim (surprisingly) let me go first.  When Tim looked through the curtain a while later to see if he was finished, the man was peeing in a glass in the galley!  He shut the curtain and told the attendant to check.  She handled it.  Yuck!

Our adventure begins.