From early morning stillness to late evening rain

Early morning stillness

You know that you really need a vacation when the sound of the alarm clock in the morning scares the bejeezus out of you and you have no clue where you are or if you need to go to work.  That also happens when you’ve traveled far too much in the past month.  That pretty much sums up what happened on Friday morning.

Canal footbridge

I haven't a clue what this means but it caught my eye and made me grin.

Is 8:30 AM too early?

Small market

Amsterdam parking lot

 Friday AM’s agenda involved Mr. U catching up on some much-needed R&R and me visiting the Anne Frank House.  After an early breakfast together in the hotel restaurant we parted ways and proceeded to get on with our morning activities.  Following the map and directions provided by the hotel Concierge, I set off on foot to the Anne Frank House only to walk in the entirely wrong direction.  Things looked very wrong when I reached  Centraal Station so I whipped out my map, re-oriented myself and got back on the right track.  I’m seriously directionally challenged -it is a wonder I have made it this far in life.  (I have inherited my mother’s navigational skill deficit.  Thanks, mom!)  It is a good thing that I left the hotel when I did, joining the queue at the museum at about 8:50AM.  There were already about 75 people ahead of me.  Once the doors opened at 9AM it wasn’t long before I was able to purchase my ticket and walk through the space that sheltered the Frank family from 1942-1944 before they were betrayed and deported to concentration camps.  Anne perished in Bergen-Belsen, one month before liberation.

There are no words, only the hope that the lessons of the past will continue to have an impact on the possibilities of the future.

Westerkerk

Spire of the Westerkerk

Detail of the Westerkerk facade

By the time I left the museum an hour and a half later, the queue had snaked its way around the corner, down the street and had reached the plaza in front of the cathedral on the next street.  The sun had come out and the chilly morning air was beginning to warm up.  The walk back to the hotel was quiet and peaceful.

Difficult to see but the sign above the booth reads "Gay and Lesbian Info".  Do you come to this kiosk to learn about being Gay and Lesbian?  I love that it is on the plaza in front of the Westerkerk.

Raadhuistraat

Cardboard trophies

Architecture

A lonely bicycle

Note the year on the building...

ANNO 1653

A real Amsterdam Heineken tastes a million times better here.

Art-Nouveau style caught my eye

Cafe across the street from the hotel

Building facade

Hotel

I checked to make sure that Mr. U was still ok and then headed back out for a walk along the Haarlemmerstraat.  There were a few shops I had noticed during our neighbourhood tour with MM on Thursday that I wanted to visit.  I hadn’t realized just how much I miss smaller streets, sidewalk cafes, intimate shops and window displays of “stuff” to look at, just because.  It was so lovely to walk down the street unencumbered by snow, ice and pollution.  The sunlight was, quite simply, a bonus. 

House boats along the canal

Flower shop

Papabubble candy shop http://www.papabubble.nl/

A beautiful day to walk along the Haarlemerstraat

Bicycle/taxi

Precise lines, shapes and shadows

This building caught my attention

I scooted back to the hotel, picked up Mr. U and we were off to the Rijksmuseum to visit Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch” by way of Dam Square and the Leidseplein.  With Easter traditionally being the busiest weekend of the year, we were caught up in the tide of the great unwashed masses.  Needless to say it made for a frustrating walk through the city streets. UGH...tourists...

FEBO: "culinary" offerings entirely made up of self-serve vending machines

Brave enough to photograph, not brave enough to eat..

Dam Square

Sundial Clock

Yes, sir, officer, sir!

Sometimes a monument is just a monument..(do you believe that?)

Temporary entrance as the larger portion of the building was under renovations/construction

A rather fancy rain spout, don't you think?

The Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch, known as the 'Night Watch'-Rembrandt Van Rijn, 1642

Detail of 'Night Watch'

Detail of 'Night Watch'

Detail of 'Night Watch'

Rijksmuseum exit

We had some time before meeting up with MM for dinner so we walked around the Fashion and Museum District and then popped into a local pub in the Leidseplein (just off the beaten path) for a pre-dinner drink.

As you can see, English is not an issue

Local pub in Leidseplein

Tandoori lobster tail, butter chicken, mango lassies and a few martinis later, we needed the walk back uptown.

Wonderful ambiance, great service and delicious food

We popped into the Sound Garden pub for a drink before heading back to the hotel for some much-needed rest. 

Is the band named after this place?

Oh, the things one discovers during a late-night walk... Tiny Tim would have been in heaven here.  Seriously -Ukes and tulips...does it get any better?

The famous Amsterdam weather finally showed up and we walked home in the rain.  It is a good thing we are waterproof and the umbrella I packed was safely tucked away in the hotel room. *sigh