Carly's Ramblings Blog - Style

Amsterdam - Day 22 Virtual Europe

30 Day Blogging Challenge

August 22nd Amsterdam
Last night was indeed a late night. I was happy Lyn's a sly fox was kind enough to book us onto a later train (9 am) to Amsterdam. She also said the day was ours to explore as we saw fit, so I have a feeling I am going to take things slow and easy today.
The train ride is 2 hours and instead of gluing myself to the window to absorb all the views, I sleep. A lot of us are dozing and moving pretty slowly this morning. I swear I drank my first coffee with my eyes closed.

We're booked at the Hotel Sebastian's. A Boutique hotel in the Canal District. It is like a townhouse - a very chic one. It is well situated... the concierge tells us it is a 9-minute walk from a tram stop, 1 km from the Red Light District and 3.5 km from the Van Gogh Museum. The place is homey and warm - colorful and dramatic decor, the plush rooms range from cozy to airy, and offer free Wi-Fi, flat-screen TVs, minibars, and tea and coffee making facilities. There are upgraded rooms with soaking tubs, patios and/or courtyard, canal or garden views. I am perfectly happy with my room. The bed looks so inviting, but I resist.
Since I had not eaten much in Hamburg before we left, I was happy to see the buffet-style breakfast, complimentary I might add, still available. I snagged another coffee and some pastries. So good. I felt more alive after that.
Having an (ex) mother-in-law who is from Holland, I know this is a place of bikes so I am not surprised there are bike rentals available at the hotel.
http://www.hotelsebastians.nl/nl/

This is also a city of canals.... though it has a cooler feel than Venice. Maybe it reflects my (ex) mother-in-law, because I see an aloof kind of beauty here, not the warm, welcoming kind of Venice. Still it is lovely in its own way.... and I am glad to be out of Germany. A few of our group are Dutch and they have made me see that maybe the coolness is just my (ex) mother-in-law and not the sweetness of these ladies. I appreciate the chance to get to know them and learn from them.

The next thing to do was decide what to do. Lyn's a sly fox left the day up to us. She made some suggestions, but told us to go off and explore... bring back tales of adventure she said. Well, I am sure I can do that....

Since I really don't know where to start I follow many of the group to the Van Gogh Museum. I am curious and some of our group are really quite knowledgeable.
https://www.viator.com/tours/Amsterdam/Skip-the-Line-Van-Gogh-Museum-and-Amsterd...

I went from there to the Anne Frank House. I made sure I took a lot of Kleenex. The exhibit was as moving as I anticipated.
http://www.annefrank.org/en/

Afterward, I needed to get myself together and write about what I had seen and experienced. I headed to a coffee shop for some sustenance. I went to Werkplaats. The atmosphere picked me up and lifted me back into the here and now. I tucked Anne Frank back into my heart and smiled my sad thank you for the girl's courage and her sharing of what she went through - all in the hopes it would never happen again.
http://www.volkshotel.nl/en/werkplaats/

Wanting to explore further, I found myself at Rijksmuseum. I found the opulence impressive and that library!!! Oh, my.
http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/visiting/what-to-do/museums-and-galleries/top-10-ri...

Setting in for the evening canal tour was good. It was nice to see everyone again and touch base with our day. The canal truly is beautiful at night.
http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/visiting/about-amsterdam/unesco-sites/canal-ring

Since it was just the boat tour and not yet dinner, I convinced a few lovely souls to go check out some brown cafes with me. "The name 'brown café' comes from the dark but cosy wooden interiors and the nicotine-stained walls and ceilings. Even though most cafés nowadays shouldn’t really be getting any browner, some of the newer hangouts are carefully decorated to achieve this lived-in look and for many people, their local brown café is an extension of their living room."
The cafe we chose was laid-back and the food was pretty simple, but very good. "In addition to local and regional beers, you can also sip jenever – a Dutch spirit similar to gin. Light meals and snacks (hapjes) are also usually on offer. A typical Dutch pub snack is bitterballen (breaded and deep-fried balls with a ragout filling), served with mustard." We all had a try from many of the selections.

Last night was beginning to catch up with me. It was already after 11 pm. I had hoped to take in some nightlife.... instead I wandered the dark streets then returned to my bed.... snuggling in after a long, warm shower.

http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/visiting/what-to-do