Day 8 – Amsterdam

Day 8 – Amsterdam:
I went with Natalie to the conference and played on the internet while she went to one of the presentations. I researched all of the possibilities for the next day’s adventure (we were looking at Dusseldorf, Cologne, or Rotterdam).

We left the conference and went to the Rijksmuseum, which is one of the most famous museums there. It highlights the golden age of the Netherlands. I learned that Rembrandt was Dutch, and also that Rembrandt is his first name (van Rijn is his last name). They had a ton of his work, and it was all very impressive. I was surprised at how large the Night Watch is, and was saddened to read about a crazy man slicing it all up (but they restored it). Random factoids for you!

Today we went to an Italian deli for lunch; it definitely looked like a place that was more for locals than tourists (no English menus!). I had a delicious mozzarella and tomato sandwich, their bread is simply amazing!!

My task for the afternoon, while Natalie was at the conference, was to make train reservations for Germany. Never in a million years did I anticipate a long line (the longest line we’ve waited in at a train station was maybe 15 minutes). I had a lovely 2.5 hour wait at the Amsterdam train station. During which, I met a very nice fella from Sweden. We talked all about our journeys, and where we were trying to go. Around hour 2, he asked me which train pass I had… I sat there with a blank face and just started laughing. At that moment I realized that we bought the Benelux (Belgium-Netherlands-Luxembourg) & France pass… We did NOT buy the pass that included Germany! All I could do was laugh, otherwise I might have cried at all the wasted time. I ended up waiting anyway, just to see if maybe it was cheap enough. It wasn’t. Rotterdam, here we come. I consoled myself with more shopping. Remember, 1 Euro = 1 USD! 

We met Natalie’s coworker and her friend for dinner. We went to a Mexican restaurant that was recommended by one of Christine’s friends. Yes, we ate Mexican in Europe! It was delicious! Again, Natalie’s was better than mine. I just have this thing when I travel that I want to try things I’ve never seen before, or local cuisine. I had a soup that was rice, corn, squash, and maybe some other veggies. It tasted really good, but Natalie had enchiladas and they were amazing!

After dinner (which was around 10pm), we headed back to the hotel. Need to get up early for our excursion!