PapaMarshall

Day 9 – 7/9/2019 – Amsterdam Day 1

We were up with the alarm (6:30) showered, packed and ready to leave the state-closet by 7:30. So we headed off to breakfast.

We had a final breakfast with the friends from Arizona that we met the first night, said our good by’s and retrieved our luggage in time to leave our room (and the boat) by 8:00.

Did anybody mention that Amsterdam is a Bike City!?
You an see the back of our boat on the right and the Centraal Station on the left – really close. You can also see the cyclist on one side of the grey bricks and the pedestrians on the other. Believe me, you want to check both ways, twice, before crossing that gray line.

We walked the short distance to the centraal railway station where we checked in with the Tourist information office to find out where to stash our luggage and where to get our tram passes. While there we ran into our friends from Arizona.

The friendly lady at the TI directed us across the street to the GVB building to get our tram passes – where we ran into our friends from Arizona. They are on their way to The Hague today so I’m guessing we won’t run into them again (at least until tomorrow).

Centraal Station (don’t know why the Dutch insist on throwing in extra “A’s”)

A little more scouting revealed that you need a tram pass or a train ticket to get to the locker area where you can stash your luggage. Our original plan was to stash the luggage, do a Rick Steves guided walking tour thru the town center, take the tram back to the station, pick up our luggage, and head to our hotel to check in. The magic here being that the tram passes are good for 96 hours from the first use. But since we were stuck using the passes anyway, we decided to take the tram straight to our hotel, drop our bags and head out on the walking tour from there.

We got to the hotel and the very nice guy at the desk had a better idea. He grabbed a map and drew all over it – highlighting the great areas and sites that aren’t in the “tourist center.” So we took his map, left our bags and headed out.

We started by walking around the corner and into the “museumplein” (park). It’s bordered by the Rijksmuseum on the north (We have tickets there on Friday.)…
…and the Concert Gebouw on the south. (We have tickets for a jazz performance there Friday evening.)
Leaving the park on the east we passed the US Consolate (good to know they’re close).
…and made our way to the Albert Cuypstreet Marketplace – an oudoor market several blocks long. It was still early and many vendors were just setting up for the day, but the flower merchants were ready to sell.
They had an amazing variety of fresh flowers.
Along with some local classics.

Leaving the market street we headed uptown toward Rembrandt Square. Along the way we crossed (or walked along) several canals.

Many of the canals are lined with houseboats. With housing prices what they are, it’s almost as expensive to live in a houseboat as it is to live in a canal-side building.
Some houseboats are quite nice.
Some are unique.
Some are gardens.
Along the way we saw this cute drawbridge where a canal meets the Amstel River.
Eventually we arrived at Rembrandt Square with it’s statue park. Those familiar with his painting “The Night Watch” will recognize the statues.
Then it was time for lunch. We stopped at a little cafe where we could sit outdoors and soak up the local color. Here’s a bit of local color. Budweiser has their Clydesdales. Apparently Heineken has their Percherons.
Most of the older houses have beams extending from the gable with a hook at the end. Originally this was to facilitate hauling goods up to the attic for storage. Now they are useful for thinks like hauling a piano up to the third floor.
The Dutch, ever a practical people, brought the concept forward to modern times.

7.5 miles later we wound up at 1:00 in Vondelpark (Amsterdam’s version of Central Park). We found a bench in the shade and napped/read/people watched until 2:00 when we made our way the short distance to our hotel to check in.

Once in our room we took advantage of the spacious bed and took an extended nap.

Waking up at ~4:00 we read for a bit, then headed down to the hotel bar for Gin and Tonics before toddling off to dinner. Che had a salmon panini and I had Penne pasta with homemade pesto cream sauce. Heaven! We accompanied the meal with a carafe of their excellent white wine.

Following dinner I supported my date back to the hotel where I poured her into bed and sat to write up the day. As I write this she’s sitting in bed reading so I’m not thinking she’s too far gone.

Tomorrow we start the day with a walk thru the Jordaan neighborhood followed by a boat tour and 4:30 tickets at the Van Gogh Museum. I should note that one of the reasons we chose this hotel is it’s proximity to the Van Gogh, the Rijskmuseum, and the Concert Gebouw. Also, it’s on a quiet street in a quiet neighborhood (except for the road construction just down the block).

The fun continues.

Nite all, R