Europe in the Spring - Amsterdam

Hello!  Spring Europe 2025 has finally begun! I was beginning to think that it would never happen! January had 56 days in it - ridiculous!

As you read this we are in Amsterdam ... I will fill you in on that later.  First I will lay out the itinerary and pre-trip "Top-5" for you.

Amsterdam 3/26 - 3/29

Bolnuevo, Spain 3/29-4/12 with excursions to Cartagena and Granada (with Falk & Svenni)

Seville, Spain 4/12-4/16 with an excursion to Cordoba

Bilboa, Spain 4/16-4/18

Logroño, Spain 4/18-4/21 this is the Spanish wine region, Rioja

Madrid, Spain 4/21-4/26 with an excursion to Toledo

Meckelfeld, Germany 4/26-5/4 visiting Ulf & Heike and friends

Home 5/5

Pre-trip Top 5!

Carsten: Alhambra (Granada), Falk's birthday celebration, Wine Tour (Logrono), Miniatur Wunderland (Hamburg), Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam)

Sheri: Anne Frank House (Amsterdam), Alcazar (Seville), Wine Tasting (Longrono), Albambra (Granada), Guggenheim Museum (Bilbao)

Now, let's get you caught up.

We arrived on Wednesday and went straight to out hotel and dropped off our bags. We had tickets to the Van Gogh Museum. It is a great museum with a lot of favorites:

Potato Eaters
A self-portrait (one of many)

There were three floors of Van Gogh to explore. It was lovely ... But a lot!

After a quick nap we headed to The Anne Frank House. This is the place where Anne Frank and her family hid from the German oppressors for almost two years before being discovered and sent away to Auschwitz and other concentration camps. Only her father Otto Frank survived the concentration camps and returned to Amsterdam where he found Anne's diaries.

A statue of Anne nearby the museum.

This is the actual bookcase/door that hid the entrance to the "Annex" where the family was hidden.
The original diary.
This is a picture of what the block and house (outlined in red) looked like just after the war.
Today.

We walked over 19,000 steps visiting the museums and exploring the city.  You really have to be aware of your surroundings in Amsterdam.  There are not many cars but the bikes are wild! They are everywhere ... and moving fast! We saw a cool Amazon delivery "van" - it was pedal powered with the big box on the back for the packages.  That dude was working hard!

We ate (Stroopwafel below) and drank and slept ok on Wednesday night.


Wednesday morning we rented bikes and went for a ride in the countryside to see some windmills.  Carsten was a great navigator - it was wild getting out of Amsterdam!  Their bike path network is extensive and Google maps worked well.

After taking a tunnel under the Central Train Station we boarded a ferry for a quick ride across the North Sea Canal. No ticket for bikes or pedestrians, just ride on!

We crossed so many bridges - most of them "trapezoidal". This one is a tiny drawbridge in a neighborhood.

Finally got to the windmill museum.  
I found a place for lunch - we had Doner! (Marieke, be jealous!)

We took a different route back and saw this authentic, 1541, not-in-a-museum windmill. Beautiful!

We had a nice Italian dinner with a glass or two of wine....


Maybe when we get to Spain we will get a good night's sleep.... Jet lag works both directions.

Oh well! For Friday, we had a canal boat tour scheduled but first we need to walk around a little.
There was a lovely fountain nearby - apparently there have been some issues! LOL

This tower is part of the New Church - notice the numbers have all fallen down.  I assume this has nothing to do with the current construction.


Next up - Red Light District


There was a scantily clad lady in a window (for your viewing pleasure at 10:00 am) her outfit was sexy but the bagel she was chewing reduced the sex appeal! LOL - Carsten didn't notice her until I pointed her out (subtly).

Finally, time for our canal tour with Those Damn Boat Guys.


The name Amsterdam comes from the fact that they built a dam on the Amstel river. Amsterdam was a major port and the canals facilitated the delivery of goods into the city. Many of the buildings had hooks or hoists on the facade to lift cargo.
Today there are some "houseboats" along some canals but these do not have a motor.  They simply sit on the water, if they have to be moved they are towed out.
There are seven bridges in a line in this picture.  You cannot see it but there are 1,000 bikers racing over them!

For fans of Ted Lasso - this is the houseboat that Rebecca ends up in with the hunky Dutchman. Gezellig!

Our captain:


We were quite tired after all this but soldiered on to Albert Cuypmarkt and bought some cheese.  Going to the local market is a great way to experience a city.  They had everything from jewelry to fruit to stockings and underwear!

Only 15,655 steps today but it is time to think about sleep.

Tomorrow we fly to Alicante, Spain to meet up with Falk & Svenni.  We are super excited!

Take care,
Sheri & Carsten




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