Blog

I last visited Amsterdam in 1983 and 42 years later I have returned to begin our summer travels as we try to escape the Arizona heat.  It proved to be a delightful return and an excellent starting point.  The weather could not have been better, sunshine and temps in the 80s.  We booked a basement room in a 17^th century canal house on Keizersgracht Canal, our hosts Sjoerd and Elsi provided a great breakfast each morning.

Our room was clean and comfortable but lacked any seating other than the bed or a couple straight back chairs.  The central location made up for any shortcomings in comfort, everything the city had to offer was a short 15-20 minute walk from our house.  We learned from Sjoerd that we could have booked a better room in their house if we had booked directly with them as they only list their basement room with Airbnb or Booking.com.   I do like the convenience and safety of booking services like Airbnb, but this was a good reminder that it is worth the effort to contact the owner directly, especially for properties that are recommended in guidebooks as this one was.  I think it’s safe to assume scammers don’t get listed in a Rick Steves guidebook.

After a surprisingly good first night’s sleep we started our day with an early morning visit to the Anne Frank house.  A somber and thoughtful look into the past with a good reminder of how the politics of nationalism and prejudice can lead a society to horrific conduct. 

After our morning with the memories of Anne Frank we joined an afternoon food tour and canal cruise which helped lighten our mood.  Booked through Eating Europe we were joined by 8 others and lead through the Jordaan district in search of apple pie, herring, fried cod and Bitterbollen, a gooey deep-fried bight of delicious.  Amsterdam is a diverse city filled with immigrants from all corners of the world and our tour proved to be a wonderful reminder of what a diverse and accepting society can create.  After a relaxing cruise along the canals, we ended our day at the wine bar Shiraz.  Wine and small bites along an Amsterdam Canal were a great way to finish the day, we enjoyed it so much we returned on our final night in the city.

We made early morning reservations at all major tourist sights in the city, a decision that insured a visit with the smallest crowds but conflicted a bit with our BnB breakfast schedule.  Day two was our morning with Van Gogh, an entire museum devoted to the life and art of Vincent, undoubtedly a troubled soul but his story is fascinating.  I question why one artist who never sold a painting in his life has transformed into one of the most recognized painters in the world with paintings selling for tens of millions of dollars.  Why did his sister-in-law have such confidence in his abilities that she kept and promoted much his work long after his death?

Day four of our stay was spent touring the Rijksmuseum and its Dutch Masters, Rembrandt, Vermeer and a surprising number of Dutch female painters like Judith Leyster and Rachel Ruysch, the Dutch were progressive even in the 1700s.

On our last day we took a day trip to Haarlem, a suburb of Amsterdam and namesake for Harlem in New York City.  Haarlem is usually a short train ride from Amsterdam costing about $12 round trip. 

The morning we decided to visit the trains went on strike, a fact we learned shortly after purchasing our tickets.  When the trains are on strike the Dutch just close the tourist information, apparently so they can avoid the angry travelers.  After a bit of wandering we were able to find a customer service agent who could reimburse our $24 which we then applied toward $80 in uber charges to get to and from Haarlem.   In the end, we had a lovely day trip exploring the old streets of Haarlem and having a nice lunch at an Asian street café.   We ended our stay in Amsterdam with a relaxing evening at Shiraz.  A great start to our summer, I think I might return before another 40 years go by.

The other Haarlem doesn’t have a windmill