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Nieuw Kerk and Zaanse Schans – April 19
It’s my final day in Holland! Tomorrow we will be heading out of the hotel in the early morning to catch our 10:30 AM plane ride back to the States. We wanted to make sure we got as much as we could out of our entire visit, so we stuck in another day excursion to the small village of Zaanse Schans, which is about a 15 minute train ride from Amsterdam. Before heading out, though, we also needed to get some things done here in Amsterdam!
At 10:00 this morning, the Nieuw Kerk opened its doors. The church has been closed during our entire stay, but finally reopened yesterday with a photography exhibit in which my mom showed a lot of interest. Because we took our time at the market yesterday, we weren’t able to go see the church before its closing time at 5:00, so we made sure that we would stop by this morning before heading for the train. I wasn’t too excited or eager to go see the exhibit because it was featuring the finalists and winners of the World Press Photography competition. I don’t exactly know what I was thinking, or why I wasn’t interested, as I actually really liked the photojournalism I learned about last semester in my History of Photography class. § Read the rest of this entry…
Portuguese Synagogue and Market – April 18
With two days left on our trip, we had to decide which day would be better spent in Amsterdam, and which day we would go out on another day long excursion. Because Malka was feeling a bit sick with a sore throat, we all agreed that today would be the best for a low-key touristy day. We only had two plans to accomplish, but because Mom let us sleep in until around 10:00, we only were able to accomplish one of these goals. § Read the rest of this entry…
Delft and Den Haag – April 17
Unlike yesterday, this day trip excursion wasn’t as interesting because both of these cities aren’t as touristy as the places to 
which we have previously been. Malka woke up with a sore throat in the morning, and was feeling pretty sick the entire day. The weather, though quite nice during the early hours, became cloudy and drizzly by the time we got to Den Haag, or The Hague, and the wind picked up, making it really cold. Even when the weather was nice, it was quite bipolar in that sometimes we were “toastin’ it up” and at other times the millions of bundles we were wearing were not enough!
Delft is the farthest we’ve traveled from Amsterdam, and I was able to take a long and delightful nap on the train. My sister and mom had a great time taking pictures of me at my most vulnerable state. When we arrived at Delft, the train station was almost entirely empty, which wasn’t something I was used to. All of the other places we’ve gone to visit have bustling stations with tons of personnel. We took it upon ourselves to walk into the center of town on our own since we had no map and no information because the tourist center was located nowhere near our place of origin. § Read the rest of this entry…
Leiden and Keukenhof – April 16
Today was my favorite day of my Holland adventures so far! The morning started off rough, though, as I woke up with a slight headache and was a bit groggy. Because our tram passes expired, we first had to walk from our hotel to the train station. The walk really isn’t that bad, and I shouldn’t complain, but I was tired and feeling off, so cut me some slack! When we got on the train heading towards Leiden, it turned out the particular rail we were on was faulty and wouldn’t take us to our destination. So, at the Haarlem stop, we had to turn around back to Amsterdam, just to get on another train that would finally take us to our desired city! § Read the rest of this entry…
Anne Frank and Churches – April 15
I warn you now: if you have read the Diary of Anne Frank and ever find yourself in Amsterdam, I don’t think that the 
Anne Frank House is a must see museum. We woke up at around 7:30 this morning in order to start making our way to the museum early to avoid any lines – 
remember, the other day we ended up not going because of the line at around 6:00 PM! Even though we arrived by 9:15 this morning, the line was around the block, and the estimated wait was not promising. Do you know how long it took? I waited outside in the cold for approximately THREE HOURS! Granted, unlike Malka and Mom, I didn’t always stand and wait on the line – sometimes I walked away to close by shops, other times I sat on chairs, benches, or even on the curb. The weather was brutal, and Malka had to get gloves and Mom got a hat with an enormous pom-pom attached to the top. A little further back behind us on line was a group of vocalists. They were all blonde, and a lot of them had amazing curls, but their physical description is a digression. In the last hour on line, we were all serenaded by their lovely choral repertoire, and I even got some footage of their singing! § Read the rest of this entry…
Van Gogh and Rembrandt – April 14
Today was colder than yesterday, and there were some drizzles, but nothing that deterred us from going out. As we planned yesterday, after seeing the long line at the Van Gogh Museum, we arrived promptly at 9:00 this morning to get our tickets. When we got to the ticket window, my mom asked for two adults and one child ticket – because my sister is under the age of 17. Right away, the lady in the kiosk pointed to me in order to identify the child in the family, and quickly apologized when she realized she was mistaken. No hard feelings! Even though we had arrived early this morning, the museum was still quite crowded! § Read the rest of this entry…
Museum and Cruise – April 13
Even though we are probably still a little bit jet lagged, we pushed through it and woke up around 7:00 in the morning with a positive outlook on the day. The hotel room is extremely warm, and I was sweating throughout the night – I guess tonight I will have to either avoid the blankets or wear something more conducive to the heat. As the morning approached, the sun pierced through our seventh floor curtains and brightened the room. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, and it didn’t seem all that cold when walking out onto our balcony. The plan for today was to visit the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum, as well as take a canal cruise around the city. After that, we had nothing truly planned. § Read the rest of this entry…
Getting Acquainted – April 12
Though the plane was supposedly delayed – I don’t remember actually looking for how long the trip was postponed 
because I was too tired – we arrived at the Amsterdam airport earlier than scheduled. I was quite pleased with the trip, or at least as pleased as I can possibly be when relegated to an airplane seat. I kept my eyes closed for most of the seven and a half hours and tried to sleep for as many of those hours as possible, and I think I was successful. Of course, it wasn’t the lovely beauty sleep I enjoy back at home! § Read the rest of this entry…
