Wednesday, June 25, 2008, Amsterdam, Holland. Jennifer and I were up at around 9:30 this morning and enjoyed breakfast at the hotel before venturing out. We had decided yesterday to visit the Rijksmuseum (this is the National Museum of Holland). The museum houses the "Dutch Masters", including Rembrandt and Vermeer. It is located in the same "Museum Plein", or square, as the Van Gogh Museum and was an easy walk from the hotel. We purchased the "audio tour" and spent around 2 hours walking through the collection. Obviously, the artwork, silver work and other parts of the collection were very beautiful. The museum was built in 1885.

We then wandered into the city center, exploring the streets as they wound through delightful shops, across the canals and finally had a delightful Thai dinner in a small family-owned restaurant. At one point during the day we found ourselves outside the Heineken Brewery and expected to enjoy a tour. We were told that the tour included a beer-sampling session at the bar. Our luck ran out when we found that the brewery was closed for renovation and is expected to open later this sumer. Another good reason to return to Amsterdam.

We walked back to the hotel at around 9:30 p.m. It was still daylight, of course, and we stopped at another small coffee shop to enjoy a last cup of coffee before calling it a day.

Tomorrow we are on a day trip to Brugge in Belgium. It is around 3 hours by train, and from what we've heard Brugge is a most beautiful city. So, stayed tuned, and I'll report on that outing tomorrow evening.

'Til Later...