The Netherlands
Welkom in Amsterdam
Friday September 2nd - We are now officially international travelers! It was early morning when we arrived so the plan was to stay up as long as we could to try to get adjusted to our new time zone, here it was six hours ahead of what we were used to. We also wanted a buffer before the tour started Sunday afternoon, so it was off on our own to get the lay of the land. It was still too early to check into our hotel so we had planned to tour the Royal Flora Holland flower market, a place highly recommend by Rick Steves' but not part of the tour. Our first attempt at public transportation in a foreign country was close but not perfect, getting off the bus one stop too early.
The best way to keep yourself awake, other than driving heavy machinery at the flower market, was dodging the ever-present bikes; the bike lane is no joke! We quickly learned to listen for bike bell "dings" and always watched our step - we definitely had some close calls as we got adjusted to the bike life. We learned to shout and listen for the word "fiets" (sounds like feets) when we were with the tour group to know a bike was coming up behind us.
After 29 hours of travel, we could finally check into our hotel. We took a quick shower then it was back out to explore - after all, it was still morning here. Since our tour was not going to stay in Haarlam, we decided that was where we would spend our free day. Our second experience with public transportation went much smoother on the Sprinter Tram. We tried the local cuisine (raw herring/traditional rijsttafel/frietjes), explored alleys and waterways, ventured into the Great Church (Grote Kerk) and just enjoyed the overall quaintness all around us. The town was preparing for the Formula One race, so we headed back to Amsterdam on the train after a perfect first day of exploring on our own.
Haarlem
Saturday September 3rd - Our second day started with a traditional breakfast of pancakes, one sweet and one savory, and some "monkeying" around as we explored Amsterdam. A quick lesson we learned was there are no public restrooms, not including the occasional men's urinal, so stopping at cute bars to grab a spritzer or kopstoot (a beer with a spirit chaser) was our solution to this problem when we were miles (or should I say kilometers since I am in Europe?) away from our hotel. We would just grab a seat outside, if open, and wait for someone to take our order. It's also a great time to sit, relax and people watch. We enjoyed the Rick Steves' audioguide of the Jordann Walk, toured Anne Frank's house (reservations ahead of time is a must), walked the 'Nine Little Streets' (or in Dutch 'De Negen Straatjes') and then ended our day in the Red Light District.
Sunday September 4th - We started our day with breakfast on the canal. Then it was back to Dam Square where our Rick Steves' Red Light District audioguide began. It just so happened a political rally was being set up when we got there. Then it was back to the hotel to meet our tour group and walk to a nearby pub for introductions and get to know you drinks. This was a first Rick Steves' tour for all of us. I liked that our tour group was small enough that I could work on getting to know everyone by name. After that, the tour went to the Anne Frank House (not normally part of the tour package which was why we had scheduled our own tour). We stumbled upon the frietjes booth where they add potatoes into famous works of art, sadly it was closed when we found it, but it was still a fun photo op. We ended our first tour day in Rembrandt Square at an Indonesian restaurant - delicious! On our way home from dinner we got a lesson on public transportation from our tour guide, super helpful! The biggest thing we learned was to keep your ride ticket because you have to scan in AND scan out when you leave.
Monday September 5th - Today was our first full day of the tour. We started out at the Rijksmuseum with a local guide who showed us the highlights. Then we walked to the canal for a boat tour. Next we grabbed lunch on our own and then met back up with the group for an orientation walk of historic Amsterdam with another local guide. During a break on the tour, we were able to stop at the oldest bar in Amsterdam for a beer and bathroom break in the Spui Square. The rest of the day was ours to explore. We had made reservations ahead of time to visit the Van Gogh Museum, so that was where we headed next. We then explored the garden outside the museum and grabbed a stroopwaffle at a booth, this turned out to be my favorite snack of the trip! We liked it so much we bought a stroopwaffle iron once we got home - YUM! We ended our day with the Rick Steves' audioguide of the City Walk, stopping at the flower market (Bloemenmarkt) for some souvenir tulip bulbs.
A few tips we learned in Amsterdam:
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Thursday September 6th - It was time to pack up and get on the road to our next country. We met in the lobby, did a buddy check and headed off to our bus. Matt, our bus driver, helped us get loaded and we were on the road! Our first impression of the bus was very nice. We had lots of room to spread out and the seats and ride were very comfortable. We were a little nervous how the bus situation would go, since we would spend quite a bit of time on it going from country to country, but that anxiety quickly disappeared that first day of travel. Our first stop of the day was in Arnhem at the Open Air Museum (Openluchtmuseum). This museum focuses on the culture associated with the everyday lives of people and demonstrating the old ways of life in the Netherlands.