Day 5 - Delft and The Hague

Note: At Central Station for a 8:39 train to Delft for a tour of the Porcelain factory.  Thought the access to and timing of the train were perfect....until we found that we were on the wrong train.  The train had been delayed and left on the same track and time of our train with no notice :(. Fortunately, a nice young man told us that he was also going to Delft and we changed trains in Leiden ( followed him like puppies)!  No harm/ no foul :).

We easily found the #40 bus stop; after a short wait, we boarded and paid for out tickets.  The driver promised us that he would tell us when to get off.  As we were leaving the station, a long flatbed truck carrying a long train car completely blocked the narrow turn lane.  Our driver was very unhappy!  four buses trying to enter the station were backed up.  Just another Englebardt adventure!  It was all sorted out, as they say, in a few minutes and we were on our way to the factory.  We spent several hours touring the exhibits, listening to the history of the blue and white Delft china, viewing the artists working on the hand painted pieces and shopping.  Note: we did not buy the hand painted art work...but did get some nice souvenirs.  Had coffee and pastries in the coffee shop overlooking a lovely garden and headed back to the bus to the train station. We chatted with a couple from Conn. while waiting for the buss.  The weather was turning bad...heavy clouds and light rain, so we decided to take the train to The Hague instead of walking around the town of Delft.

When we arrived at The Hague, we headed towards the city center in a light rain, saw some exhibits in the International Justice Center, and had lunch in a wonderful Indonesian restaurant.  It was a new experience for us...first time for Indonesian food!  A nice young woman in the info. Center told us that she wasn't supposed to recommend restaurants but told us where 2 were located.  Right on the mark.   We told the waiter that we had no idea what to order but wanted to try a variety of foods.  He pointed us to a special lunch that was perfect for 'first timers'.  Lunch consisted of about 10 small portions of rice, vegetables, meats, etc.  all were delicious ( I enjoyed the tea and Art enjoyed the beer :)).

We left feeling very satisfied and planning to see more of the city.  But....the sky opened, the deluge poured down and, despite our rain jackets, we were drenched.  It rained all the way back to the train station.  Our train left just a few minutes later and we had an easy and damp trip back to Amsterdam (where we found that it had rained all afternoon as well).  

We changed into dry clothes and socialized in the club lounge with some folks who are cruising with us tomorrow then packed up most of our 'stuff'.  Very much looking forward to the cruise, but sad to be leaving Amsterdam.  So much more to see and rapidly becoming a favorite city.

Link to pictures from the whole day...grab a cup of coffee and enjoy!

Day 4 - Van Gogh Museum

Today didn't exactly work out as planned!  It was to be our day trip from Amsterdam to Delft and The Hague.  First blooper...the train station would not accept our credit card without a PIN number.  So off we went to use the ATM machine in the station.  2nd blooper, the ATM machine would not accept either of our cards.  Back to the hotel ... We were directed to the ATM machine in a supermarket near the hotel (our card is with the bank that owned the ATM).... Card rejected yet again!  Tried different ATM card...voila!  Cash.  By now, it was too late to take the train out of town.   Quick change of plans!

Off we went to take a tram to the Rikjs Museum.  Found the correct tram near Cental Staion, got tickets ( reminded to check in and out with our ticket) and had a quick ride to the museum quatier.  

Very long, non- moving line at the museum ...20 minutes til ticket could be purchased, so instead we bought tickets for the nearby Van Gogh Museum for 1 PM entry. At this point, it was definitely time for a Heineken!  

The museum area is lovely!  Several museums and the huge Concert Hall on a beautifully landscaped grassy acreage.  We enjoyed our wait for our 1 pm entry by wandering through the small market area and siting on a bench people watching and relaxing after our " busy" morning.  

       Concert Hall

The Van Gogh Museum was beautiful...nice entry movie depicting Vincent's life, Audio keyed to major works with excellent info, magnificent paintings.  The sunflowers, irises, almond trees, and boats are among my favorites.  Seeing the originals just blew me away!  The gift shop had beautiful momentous which I managed to resist!  After 2 hours, we were off to walk 'home'.  Art, the Map reader, got us back with a detour for lunch and a surprise stop at a market along the way...fabulous tastes of excellent Dutch cheeses ( especially the Baby Gouda) and amazing flowers and huge quantities of tulip and other bulbs for sale, lots of locals and tourists enjoying the markets - FUN!

             Self Portrait

         Irises - we have a print at home 

   One of a series of 15 Sunflowers ( 2 in this museum)

Flowers along the street next to museum

Pictures along the walk from Museum area to hotel

                     House for sale!

  Walking path in museum area

  Looks like Deli for ExPats

Market

Cheese Shop with yummy tastings

Statue that we use for directions

Back to our hotel and happy to relax for a few hours.  Hopefully to do our day trip to Delft early tomorrow AM!

Day 3 -Amsterdam....World War II walk, resistance Museum, Portugese Synagogue

Today iwas history day!  Met our tour guide, Ben de Jong, near the Anne Frank Haus ( do you see a pattern here ?) at 10 AM.  Finally had a good night sleep; cooler temp. today, another excellent breakfast buffet, then a  3 hour walking tour to get rid of the calories :).

 The Anne Frank Haus as it looked when Otto Frank returned from Aushwitz to find that his wife and children had not survived

                                                          

                                                                    Anne Frank statue

Ben, a father and teen son from Canada, a young woman from Austin and her visiting friend, and Art and I all arrived on time.  Ben, who is a faculty member in history  at the University of Amsterdam, came prepared with photos, anecdotes, historical facts and a keen mind.  

He toured us, from 10 til 1, from the Anne Frank Haus, through Dam Square to the University of Amsterdam, then the old Jewish area, and on to the many sites and memorials relevant to the German occupation of Holland, the Holocaust, and the experiences of the citizens of Amsterdam as they either adjusted, cooperated or resisted the Nazi occupation during WW II or, if Jewish, were constrained, harried, deported or murdered.  There were 107,00 Jews deported (most to Sobibor or Auschwitz)  with just 5200 surviving. 

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 Building on Dam Square which housed the Gestopo recruiting office on 2nd floor.

Royal Palace. Plaza in front where Nazi soldiers shot on civilians protesting occupation

                       Memorial to Dutch losses in all wars -Dam Square

    

We stopped for coffee once during our walk and enjoyed exchanging ideas with and getting to know the members of our group.  The weather cooperated .... The group was compatible....the walk was all that we had hoped it would be.  After it ended at the Auschwitz Memorial, we stayed on in the area to have lunch in a local cafe and to visit the Resistance Museum.  The museum  is a well structured, small museum with multi-  media exhibits, short films, audio boxes in English and helpful staff.  We were physically and emotionally tired and learned a lot.

 Auschwitz Memorial

Never Forget Auschwitz

We then took the long walk back to our hotel.  Art has honed his mapping skills and managed to get us back in a shorter route without retracing our steps!  

Relaxing evening with drinks and snacks at the club lounge, a local walk with dessert and early to bed. We are quite comfortable with finding our way around Amsterdam even with weekend crowds and loving the quiet neighborhoods around the canals.  Not so much the very crowded, noisy, littered center city :)

Day 2 in Amsterdam - Anne Frank Haus, Canal Cruise

Up very early after a bad night's sleep...went to bed too early so both of us were up for awhile during the night :(.   The Club lounge is not open on weekends, so we had an amazing complementary breakfast at the hotel restaurant! Then off to our 9 AM appt to see the Ann Frank Haus.  So thankful for Trip Advisor suggestion to buy advance tickets.  The line was very long when we arrived about 8:30 and we were able to walk right in without any wait!  Definitely recommended for anyone wanting to go. It was a very moving experience...so worth every penny and reminded me that I want to reread Anne's Diaries yet again.  We walked along one of the beautiful canals, then bought tickets for a Canal Cruise. Waited in line a long time due to problems with the boat and finally got a refund and bought tickets on a different line ( there are many choices, all do about the same itinerary).  No sooner did we begin the cruise then the sky opened up...rain made picture taking more difficult, but it was still a lovely look at the city from a different vantage point and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  

After visiting the Anne Frank Haus

 

Gentlemen's row....large, imposing wide houses

 

   Along a canal lined with house boats

 

    Holland International canal cruise boat

  

Parking 

 garage For 2500 bikes

 We had our rain jackets with us and we were only a 5 minute walk from the hotel, so not a problem...just an excuse for a mid- day nap for Art and blogging time for me.

Then we took a long walk to explore the Jordaan area....loved the beautiful canals, lovely narrow streets, flowers in bloom and many cafes and shops.  The whole community seemed to be outdoors socializing on this warm summer Saturday evening.

    

 

After having a drink at a canal- side cafe, we headed back for supper at the Coffee Shop at the end of our street....on to plans for tomorrow ! 

Addendum - from yesterday

Last night we walked to the Central Station area and on the main tourist drag.  this was our first real disappointment in Amsterdam.  The streets reminded us of NYC and Times Square before they were cleaned up.  Lots of fast food, cheap souvenirs, loud music, smells of illegal substances ( at least at home).  The amount of litter and bad smells in alleyways and underpasses were awful.  Decided to simply avoid those areas from here on....the canal neighborhoods are charming even when crowded with bikes and the sidewalk cafes tempt you to stop and stay awhile.  So that will be our hang out for the next few days :)

Arriving in Amsterdam

We had a good flight...although Economy Comfort is a bit overhyped...more leg room, seats not as wide as expected.  Excellent service, food actually pretty good, wine so- so, old entertainment unit.  Seems like a bit much that the technology was dated 2003-2008 in 2013!

                    Arrived at sunrise

Amsterdam airport was the easiest Passport control and non- existent customs area ever seen.  Luggage arrived quickly in a clean, well- lit uncrowned luggage hall.  Our taxi service was a bit late and hard to find, but a rep from a competing company helped us out with his phone and directions...very warm and friendly people.  Taxi driver was friendly, quickly got us to our hotel and insisted on helping us move luggage into the hotel.  Service at the Renaissance has been excellent ( this is our third stay at a European Renaissance and all have been wonderful).  We had to change rooms 3 times due to the deep, narrow tub/ showers that are hard for me to use with my back issues, but finally found one with a stand- up shower ( and a promise of a bottle of good wine for our troubles).  We had  breakfast in the club lounge ( as they call it here) and were in our room, showered and napping by 9:30!  Then off to explore the area around the hotel !

Amsterdam is definitely the bike capital of Europe....must look both ways before crossing/ walking/ or stepping off of a curb....or else?

   

            

                              

                                                                        

Since we have 9 AM tickets to he Anne Frank Haus tomorrow, we decided to find our way there today...definitely took the scenic route :)  but at least we will get there on time in the morning.  As we wandered, the rain began, so we were a bit 'moist' when we got back to the hotel enthrall end with the canals, the architecture and the friendly people.