Maybe Someday…

Here we are on our last full day in Amsterdam, but don’t think you’re getting off that easy, we are still only a little more than halfway through the trip! Jeff headed out early, so I got some coffee and set about organizing our suitcases. This took about forty-five minutes, so unless I wanted to watch  Sesame Street in Dutch  all day, I needed to find an activity.

My Amsterdam Card had long since expired I so was on my own. There’s a Madame Toussauds Wax Museum in Dam Square so I thought about giving that a whirl.

Who the heck are those guys on the sign?

When I arrived I reconsidered this plan. First off, one can visit Madame Toussouds in the states; second the tickets are twenty-one Euros or thirty dollars US, too steep for me; but the clincher was that the line wrapped around the building and was not moving an inch. I will only wait in a line like that to ride Space Mountain.

Right across the plaza I saw some signage exclaiming that the Royal Palace was Now Open!  I was intrigued.

The Royal Palace under wraps

Royal Palace uncovered

Apparently the Royal Palace had just finished the second stage of a three-year renovation and had opened up just in time for my arrival, plus the tickets were only six Euro. Decision made.

This turned out to be an amazing take; it was absolutely opulent and beautiful .

Central Hall

One of many Bedrooms

Meeting Room

Each room had a specific marble carving depicting what type business was done there.

Death sentences were carried out here

Outside the palace I navigated around the creepy street performers. These are of a different kind than musicians. They are sort of like the “super-heroes” at the Chinese theater in Los Angeles that lurk about in grungy costumes taking pictures with tourist for tips.

No pictures please...

Unless you're tipping

I believe that these guys must be required by law to stay on their little boxes; I’m good with that.

Even with all the people and activity flooding the streets here, it’s surprisingly clean. Every morning there are scores of cleaning crews that cover the entire city.  Small trucks with elaborate vacuum and power washing systems drive up and down the streets sucking up debris. What’s so interesting is that the workers use these Harry Potter type brooms.

They seem antiquated, but I guess that after about a thousand years or so of keeping up after partiers, they know best way to sweep.

I was looking for some food by this point. I saw a shopping center across the plaza and thought for sure that there would be food.

It was quite Grand inside.

I poked around all the floors looking for a snack. Apparently the higher up floors were not getting rented by the usual vendors, they had some avant garde “artistic” displays up there.

Kimonos, nice

Hi! Um, is this a restaurant?

I just want a sandwich!

I started to head back towards the home base by way of some side streets I hadn’t been down (I guess I was trying to see all that I could before we left) when I came across this:

Humina, Humina

The heavenly smells of smoked meats would have made a grown man cry. I stepped in and drooled over the case and asked the young lady behind the counter what she would choose for lunch and she proceeded to make me a most delectable smoked sausage sandwich.

I took my purchase and found a place to plop down near the canal.

The view

This may have been the best thing I ate on the entire trip.

Another remarkable thing is that the only beverage they sold was milk. I think it is interesting that all the things that we consider bad for us in the states (whole fat milk, sun, meats, cigarettes, beer) are staples of living here, yet these folks are all slim, attractive and seemingly healthy.  Don’t come after me CDC, this is purely anecdotal.

I was dragging my feet to go back to the room so I lingered a bit at a café with a splendid view:

This night we were meeting up with some friends and colleagues of Jeff’s for dinner. As I looked around the table, everyone was attractive, diverse and interesting. It was almost like being in an episode of “Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentis.”

We had a great evening . It was nice for me to put names with faces of the folks that Jeff talks about all the time. After dinner we took the whole lot to, SURPRISE the pub and had a round of scotch.

Time to head back to the hotel for our last night in Amsterdam, sigh.

There was one more museum to be seen and that was the Anne Frank House. I got out early because my understanding was that the line for this could go on for blocks.
I arrived twenty minutes before opening.

The house is set up differently than I had expected. There is no furniture recreating the house at it was.  This makes sense because there would simply be no room for visitors to make their way through. Instead, the curators furnished the home, and then took photos, which are hung on the walls of each empty room.

Hidden Staircase to the Secret Annex

Steep Staircase

In each room on different surfaces, are quotes from Anne’s diary. It was incredible how her words breathed such life into these empty spaces.

Black out windows with quotes from Anne Franke

“I long to ride a bike, dance, whistle, look at the world, feel young and know that I’m free”

In her bedroom they were able to preserve the magazine cut outs and post cards that she pasted on the walls.

Pictures and postcards on the bedroom wall

And the pencil marks her father made of her and her sister Margot’s growth during those two years.

Lines marking the growth of the Frank sisters

It was overwhelming to be in the place where Anne Frank spent those years in hiding. You experience the physicality of the how small and cramped it was, how stifling it felt in the barely lit the rooms. Her story was remarkable but sadly not unique, so many families lived in that same circumstance.  We are blessed to have this precious record of that horrible time.

Pages from the diary

After the museum I went back to the room for a bit.   I rested and set out to do some souvenir shopping. Earlier I had spotted a cool Van Gogh shirt for my son Matt so I headed over to the gift shop at Museumplein to pick it up. I was getting hungry so I looked around for something for lunch when I saw this in the park…

Now, I’m not opposed to the good old American hot dog, but there is something about this that is just wrong.  Is this the best that the USA can offer?

Sheesh, I’m sorry! Don’t beat yourself up over it.

I wanted to try something I wouldn’t get at home so I stepped up to a “Haring Kart.”  A traditional snack in the Netherlands is pickled herring.

Herring trying to disguise itself under chopped onions

I’m pretty sure you have to be indoctrinated from the time you are a wee child to enjoy this.

A picture of not me eating a whole herring

I decided to be only sort of brave and try a sandwich instead.  I pointed to a couple of these fishy salads hoped for the best.

"You don't know what it is, but you're eating it?" -Remy

Turns out they weren’t so crazy. One side was salmon and the other tuna with capers. I’m definitely going to put capers in my tuna fish from now on. Thanks, Haring Kart!

Even the Haring Kart has glorious fresh squeezed OJ.

I finished my tasty sandwich just before a tour bus of boisterous senior citizens converged on the place.

Who's in charge here?

I had picked up my Dutch tchotchke but it was still early in the day.  My ”I Amsterdam” guidebook mentioned that the P.C. Hoofstraat area was prime for shopping. Who am I to argue? I found said street and soon discovered that this is the Rodeo Drive of Amsterdam.

Here are some of the hoity toity stores found there:

Chanel

Gucci

Louis Vuitton

Tiffany

Even the pastries seemed above me

While I was looking around I had a brush with a semi-celebrity.  You know that guy who won season three of Project Runway with the neck tattoo? You know Jeffrey something or other? I totally saw him!

I know this could be anyone, but swear it was THAT Guy!

Back on the street where our hotel was the hustle bustle had already begun. I’m sure the warm weather skewed things, but it didn’t cease to amaze me how the pubs would just spill over with people as early a 3:00pm.

Guess it's quittin' time

Here’s a video I took so you can get the feel of the hustle and the bustle: amsterdamstreets

With all these people out and about it seems that it is prime opportunity for street performers to make a buck (or a Euro).

At first glance it seems charming, but you quickly glean that the business owners do not appreciate this. I witnessed a grumpy waiter shooing away a juggler with disdain while I was at a café.  I didn’t have my camera at the ready, so these pics will have to do:

Sustitute picture: the juggler I saw looked like he just rolled out of the youth hostel

Sustitute snooty waiter

The musicians seem harmless, but these performers were rather disruptive. They would stop traffic and do some weird ninja dance routine while others played drums and chanted.

The approach

The Ninja dance

The drumming and chanting

Time to meet up with Jeff. I’m getting a bit self-conscious about our evenings in Amsterdam because we seem to be in a bit of a rut.  Let me sum up: walk, tasty dinner, walk, scotch at the pub, goodnight!