A Day Inside

This morning we went to see the office where Anne Frank hid during WWII. I dont' know if there is a more intense way to start a day, but this is certainly rivalling the possibilities on the tourist front. It was a wonderful museum and if you ever travel here it is most worth the look. We even bought books cataloguing the things you see in the museum. I can't much describe what we experienced, just note its importance.

We then went to H&M because I spilled coffee across the front of my very light grey skirt and probably won't be able to wear it anytime soon. So I bought some linen pants and a shirt...and we went home to prepare for the Van Gogh Museum. Probably the best audio tour I've ever taken in a museum and the biggest 4 floor dedicated collection. What I found more interesting was the visiting exhibition for Millais. For me this was 3 floors of far more interesting materials to see. I think Anna enjoyed them more too. There was something in the way he captured people's eyes and posture that conveyed more than most painters are capable of.

After that we grabbed a quick sandwich and I took a nap! Four and a half hours standing in a cold art museum was certainly nice, but tuckered me out. I believe we are taking a walking tour tonight of the bridges that are lit and we are going to make sure that the Heineken factory downtown is really closed for renovation. We lately decided this would be a super cool tour to take as you get to pretend to be a beer bottle on the conveyer, but it appears by their website that we won't get to do it. : (

Tomorrow we leave Amsterdam for Brussels! and a new hostel. What I don't think I've mentioned is that the hostel we're in now has a super cool cat that I've been calling "Andalus"--I don't know why. Anyway, it could use a brushing because it sheds so much, but it is a great cat, lazy and always looking for affection, it wanders the 4 floors making friends at its slow pace. She just walked in the room. Hopefully we'll have just as good of luck with our hostel and internet access in Belgium.

Popular posts from this blog

Weeks 29 & 30, Peru and Ecuador: Buses and the Galapagos

Image
I know, I've been home for about 6 weeks. Admitting that this chapter is closed is not my favorite. I'm determined to finish the blog though. This post in particular was difficult to write because it was AMAZING and the pressure to make it good was high. So quality be damned, I am putting something likely sub-par out there to close this out. The experiences It will be obvious in a minute why I'm combining these weeks, but this one will be a bit long because I had a new type of travel experience that I quite liked. I spent a few nights in Lima, Peru where I didn't do too much but relax, read, and book a bus to Quito, Ecuador from where my Galapagos tour left. I did, as usual, walk around the hostel neighborhood. I had to see Kennedy Park where 50 plus cats live. It's a very pretty park and the cats are just happily napping or being cuddled by people on a break from work. It does smell like a litter box though. Looks like a normal park.... Until you look ...
Read more

Week 21, Germany: Home

Image
The experiences Aside from a run to the mall to get comfort food (read: McDonald's), nasal spray, cough drops and a new kleenex supply I didn't see much of Leipzig. I did try to go see Woman in Gold but it was in German so I didn't. My German isn't that good and my mind was foggy enough that I wouldn't want to pay money to see it and get nothing out of it. My hostel in Leipzig was a fantastic place to be sick. The beds even had adjustable inclines so my head was comfortably propped up. I made cup upon cup of tea (my hostel in Prague was more of a hotel and I had to ask the bar for hot water every time I needed it). I had a very delicious breakfast and another long sit in the hot shower. I did enjoy the city even though I only walked around a couple times. I would definitely go back. It was a quiet, relaxed, university town recommended to me by Amin who I met in Vrindavan India. Also according to later conversations, though I didn't get to see it much i...
Read more

Week 22, Germany: Koeln, Heidelberg, and Muenchen: The castles begin...

Image
So, it's been a while and I've not been able to sit down, but I do remember what happened a month ago and it was entertaining, I think. The experiences I spent my first full day in Koeln on a walking tour, good move since this city like many others take Sunday off. The only things you can find open are cafes and restaurants--and churches (duh). And at some point I'll invest the time in learning the way to put umlauts on my vowels using my Surface . Koeln has some unique public artwork that's really fun and interesting history too, what was a little tough to figure out coming from a city like Berlin is what I needed to see. It wasn't a typical tourist destination. It does have an enormous Dom (Cathedral) but that seemed to be the main attraction. This is the city that reminded me I could relax in Europe too. Much of the last two months were about running non stop to see all I could or hop on to the next destination. Koeln was a great college city, fourth larges...
Read more