A bunch of us bought two day tram passes (good deal!) and headed off to the Dam Square. It really was a dam (in the 13th century), but is now the central plaza.
Here's the Royal Palace. Not lived in (rent's too high?) but still used for official functions.
The national Monument, erected in 1956 to commemorate the casualties of WW2. I cut the top of the photo off; it is a rounded top with nothing fancy.
This is the former main Post office and is now the Magna Plaza Shopping Centre.
A shot inside of the lobby. I did a bit of retail therapy here - bought a great piece of cheese. All day long, I'd stop and slice off a hunk for a snack.
Lots of other buildings in the square, but it was time to head toward the Anne Frank House.
On the way there we passed the Westermarkt Church. It wasn't open today, but I figured I'd better include one church photo.
This is the only photo of the Anne Frank house - the lowest floor (black) has been restored to it's former look.
No photos allowed inside the house / museum. You enter from around the corner and go through a number of exhibits before you get into their actual hiding place which was the upper 3 floors of the Annex behind this building.
It was a very moving and respectful visit, reminding one of the tragic events surrounding the story.
Afterwards - the canal near the house. The yellow boat behind the tourist boat is a houseboat, with a rather dour individual looking out at those @#$@# tourists making waves in his front yard.
A couple of bike photos. I liked this one because the bikes (typical Amsterdam commuter bikes) were named "Stella." I looked it up - there is a bike manufacturer named Stella.
This one ain't named Stella! We have one tandem bike on the trip, driven by a lovely couple, Greg & Sue. I figure we could get them to switch to this one, so I could ride in the third seat sipping Lattes and there is a spare for somebody else to sit in while they carry snacks for us.
(I won't hold my breath)
I met up with another rider and we had lunch. Afterwards, on my way to the van Gogh Museum I ran into (or rather, saw) this. Is it what I think it is? There are drain grates in the sidewalk at each of the "cubicles."
Leave a comment if you know what it is, or if you have used one of this type.
On my way to the Museum Quarter, I passed this magnificent structure, the Rijksmuseum.
And a detail of some of the architectural artwork.
The Van Gogh Museum is a thoroughly modern building a ways past the Rijksmuseum. This is the special exhibits hall. The huge awning I'm under belongs to the Museum of Modern Art.
I spent 3 hours between the van Gogh permanent exhibit and the special exhibit (van Gogh and Japan) and suffered serious cultural overload. Definitely get the audio tour if you go as it explains a lot of the background and techniques he used.
No photography inside the museum, but there was a large screen flashing some of his famous works in the lobby. I had to shoot from an odd angle to avoid people getting their selfies into my shots.
The Yellow House
The bedroom in Arles.
These are two paintings of the house he lived in for a while in Arles, France
After the museum, I used my tram pass for a quick trip down to the Central Station which is the main commuter terminal for buses, trams and railroads. I have a death wish if I wanted to show up there at evening rush hour!
Look at the bikes! Huge numbers, all chained up to racks. I don't know how people remember where their bikes are. In fact, I saw a couple of glazed eyed people stumbling around, either looking for their bike or a place to lock it up.
Last shots. Some of the facade of the main station.
A rather pretty building I noticed on my way back from the Central Station.
Another rest day tomorrow, but don't now what I'm doing yet. Depends on my developing cold and also what's available, since it's Saturday and I haven't booked ahead.
