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Today we were up early because we were taking the train into Amsterdam. I was excited to go back and explore more of the city with an insider's perspective. We met our two local guides at the train station. I enjoyed doing our walking tours in two smaller groups. It felt a little less touristy to me, and a little more personal.
Our guide, Donald, showed us around a chunk of the city including many historic buildings, Jewish synagogues, and the National Holocaust Names Monument. This monument has a brick with each name of Dutch Holocaust victims. It was a moving tribute to a horrible tragedy.
Once our walking tour was finished, we met back up with Paul and the other group. It was time to do our canal cruise! While it was pretty much the same route I had done the other day, the narration was different and I got to see some new things.
At the conclusion of our canal cruise, Paul outlined a few options we had for lunch on our own. Some of our group chose to find the "frites" stand, while others went off in search of kibbeling. I chose to sit outside and have lunch at the Seafood Bar. I got the cold seafood salad, which provided a variety of seafood delights.
After lunch, we met up with Paul and got our first public transportation lesson. We took the Metro to meet our guides at the Rijksmuseum. Paul had great tips for using public transportation and provided us with the confidence we needed to do it ourselves. Once at the Rijksmuseum, we were again split into two groups. This was such a blessing given how crowded the museum was! Even though it was crowded, we didn't have to wait in line. That's the magic of Rick Steves! We saw Vermeers, Rembrandts, and many other paintings.
Once our tour at the Rijksmuseum wrapped up, we were free for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Paul made the suggestion that we check out the town of Zandvoort because our train tickets were good for 24 hours. Zandvoort is a cute little seaside town 20 minutes away from Haarlem. A bunch of us from our group decided to make the trip out to the North Sea.
We put our feet in the ocean, walked the sand, and attempted to find a place to eat. We ended up taking the train back to Haarlem for dinner, finding a pizza place called Pizza Bakkers where we shared a few pies before turning in at the hotel. Tomorrow was our first travel day and we needed to be at our best!
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