I would say Day 2 was a win just based on the fact that I’m still awake tonight! After crashing early yesterday (to be fair, I hadn’t really slept for over 30 hours), I’m happy to be awake and writing this post around 1030p. To hell with you, jetlag!
The weather was a bit cooler today (breezy and not too sunny) and we were excited to get out and experience more of Amsterdam. After a late-morning start, we had lunch at a place near our apartment and then took a stroll through Vondelpark, which was very nice. On the way I found a amazing piece of graffiti (and another one by the same guy later in the day)! The Van Gogh Museum awaited us, so we spent some time there looking through the current exhibition, Van Gogh at Work. If you’re in Amsterdam, I recommend it! We continued the museum madness after that by paying a visit to the Rijksmuseum, which is just around the corner. We enjoyed that one, but didn’t see any hugely-standout pieces. Definitely worth a visit if you’re more into art than we are. 🙂 We polished off the afternoon with a canal cruise, which is really a must-do when visiting Amsterdam. When you realize the important role the canals play (Amsterdam wouldn’t be habitable without them!) and how iconic they are, it’s totally worth the time. After a trip back to the apartment and some time talking about tomorrow’s plans, we wandered over to another local restaurant to share a pizza. All told, another great day! Check out the quick photo recap:
Vondelpark
Walking up to the Van Gogh Museum from Vondelpark.
The gorgeous exterior of the Rijksmuseum.
Scott is happy about the canal cruise!
I enjoyed the cruise, too!
Since we’re moving on to Bruges on Tuesday, tomorrow is our last day to really do anything in Amsterdam. We’ve got another fun day planned, including:
*Albert Cuyp Market – wanted to go today, but it was closed
*Museum Willet-Holthuysen – we learned about it on the cruise and it sounded fun!
*Anne Frank House – I know it’s touristy, but we have to see it
*Our Lord in the Attic – I love visiting churches when I travel and the history of this one sounds pretty amazing
We’ve been using the I Amsterdam card to get around while we’ve been here and it’s actually been a good deal! I know cards like this aren’t always worth it and they sometimes only direct you to the super-touristy places, but we’re getting into several attractions for free and getting discounts and short lines for others. The travel benefit (free use of bus, tram, and metro) has been huge in helping us get around, too (though we’ve also loved just walking around). Looking forward to more freebies tomorrow!
That One Guy Who Travels 
If you’re going to go to Anne Frank House I’d get there early or late in the day. The queues are very long! But it’s worth it.
Yes, we’ve definitely heard that! We’ve pre-booked tickets for a specific time though, which I’ve heard will make the process easier. Did you do that?
Some “touristy” things simply must be done. I definitely put the Anne Frank House in that category.
Agreed! And, after having visited the Anne Frank House today, I can confirm it is definitely worth it! You should definitely pre-book your tickets though – no line once you get there! Whereas the normal line had to have had at least 100 people in it.
I wonder how much time it would take to move through a line of 100 people? (I.e., is that an hour-long wait? Or just 15 min?)
I’m not sure, to be honest. It seemed like it was moving at a decent pace, but if you were at the back of that line, I would bet it would take at least 30 minutes to get through it.