Monday, June 30, 2008

Monday, June 30, 2008 Amsterdam Holland. Jennifer and I were up and out early today, around 9 a.m. After a continental breakfast at the hotel, we made our way over to the market area. I needed to have some laundry done, and there was a vendor there who would do the work for me. For a couple of extra Euros, my clothes were washed, dried and folded. We walked along the street-market for a bit, bought a gift or two and then decided to make our way to the Jewish Museum in downtown Amsterdam.

It was a beautiful day, so we decided to walk. I was surprised to find that, when walking straight along the street and not following the tram tracks, it only took us around 20 minutes to get to the museum. We paid our entry fee and each of us got an audio tour. The museum was originally a synagogue dating back to 1671. After the Second World War, the synagogue lay unattended and in disrepair, but in 1989 the building was renovated and the museum opened its doors. Although it is not the first Jewish museum that has been in Amsterdam, it is now the only one in the city. The collection is about Jewish life in Amsterdam from the late 17th century to present. Jennifer and I spent around 2 1/2 hours going through the collection thoroughly.

As we left the museum, we noticed the Amstel Diamond building across the canal. Jennifer recalled that there were tours given, so we took our chances and went to the front door. We gained entrance and, yes indeed, we were given an introduction to the cutting, polishing and setting of diamonds. We stayed around 45 minutes. On the way back into the center of town, we stopped at a coffee shop on Rembrandtplein for some coffee and conversation.

We thought it would be a good idea to get the train ticket for the journey to the airport tomorrow morning. We both need to be there early. I went ahead to the train station while Jennifer checked out one of the many beautiful stores along the canal. We met 45 minutes later and decided we'd take a tour of Amsterdam by canal. So, we found a canal boat to our liking and spent the next hour going around the city from that perspective. It was a warm and delightful day, and being on the water was just the perfect end a day of sightseeing.

By 6 p.m. we were back at the laundry, I picked up my clothes and we decided to go to our favorite tapas restaurant for dinner and drinks. The restaurant is called Pilsvogel, and we liked it so much that we've gone back 3 times now. This was our last evening in Amsterdam and we wanted to enjoy a good meal, talk about our experiences together and pursue one of our favorite passtimes -- people watching!!

So, tomorrow it's to the airport and back to reality. What a wonderful 9 days in Amsterdam. What an absolute wonderful 2 months in Europe. It's hard to believe it is coming to an end, but while these kind of trips always do -- there's always next year.


Bye for now....

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