Saturday, 04-12-08 - Today we left Vianden for Duisburg, Germany at 6:15 am. Made it to Duisburg to turn in our Roomster and taxi to the train station without a hitch. Weather today is sunny but cool - the drive was 2 hrs. 45 minutes - no autobahn which we drove on the first day - boy you had better stay out of the left lane - that lane is for passing only! Cars were just whizzing by us and we were not driving slow!
Nice train station - we headed to Starbucks for coffee and relaxation, bought lunch, and boarded the train for Amsterdam - about 2 hrs. and 20 minutes. Caught the tram, upon arrival at Centraal Station, Amsterdam and headed to The Canal House, on the Keizergracht Canal (one canal and 3-4 blocks from the Anne Frank House).
After we checked in, we checked out the line to the Anne Frank House - too long, so we took Rick Steves' Jordaan walk and found a great restaurant (suggested by Rick), Cafe de Reiger to eat at later. We had a DeKoninck beer at a cafe, outside along a canal and just enjoyed the ambience. The line was tolerable at the AFH, so we visited and were moved by the smallness and darkness of the hiding place. Do not miss the AFH if you are ever in Amsterdam. Hearing the bells of the Westerkerk and the police sirens even made you more caught up in the trying times of those eight people.
The Canal House is two old old canal houses joined together with antique furniture - the setting along the Keizergracht brought you back to life as a wealthy homeowner hundreds of years ago. And also put you in the same neighborhood as Anne Frank as it is just 3 blocks away from their hiding place.
Sunday, 04-13-08 - After breakfast this am, we walked from our hotel to the Rijksmuseum. All the "most viewed" paintings were all in the West Wing as they are remodeling the museum and that sure made the tour short, sweet, and direct. Saw Rembrandt's "Nightwatch" and many other paintings. We enjoyed the setup as it made museum going enjoyable! We then walked from the museum to Dam Square where we followed Rick Steves' City Walk. Following his walk we were led to a "secret" Catholic church from the late 1500's when Catholics were driven underground to worship. It was legal to be Catholic but the churches had to be somewhat hidden. Another interesting stop on the walk was at the Begijnhof - a quiet courtyard from the mid-1300's. Inside the courtyard are houses, then and still, lived in by single and widowed women who lived in an unpretentious and Christ-like manner.
We split a lunch and enjoyed a Dommelsch beer at Cafe Luxembourg and then were off to get back to the hotel to pick up our bags and take a taxi to the docks to board our riverboat, The Amadagio.
The Amadagio is a fairly new (2006) riverboat operated by Amadeus Waterways. There are three different decks and we are on the second deck and have a room with french balcony windows. Tonight we had dinner with a guy and his wife from Hawaii. I had actually "met" the guy, Pete, online through TripAdvisor checking on the riverboat. When we walked into the lounge before dinner, we sat down at a conversation area with them and began talking and when I found out they were from Hawaii, I knew it had to be the guy I met online! Small world! The other couple who joined our table are from Michigan, and believe it or not, they lived in Naperville for 9 yrs (my hometown where I graduated from high school)! It was like old home week! We had a ball at our table and, of course, with all the laughter (and the wine) our table was the loudest! (Unlimited wine with dinner! - Hmm!)
Tomorrow we depart for Volendam and Edam (home of the cheese).
