I spoke too soon. Jet lag caught up with me on day 2. After an incredibly long sleep in and a great day in The Hague, I was going strong at midnight. I finally got to sleep after 2 and woke up at 5am.

I walked to the train station for the 9am train to Amsterdam. Arrived early for my booked ticket at the Anne Frank museum so had a chance to poke around some diverse shops. This area kind of reminded me of the 70’s- lots of beads and Moroccan bags and hangings. Again, I was struck by the incredible number of bicycles. Women dressed in very formal work clothes and high heals flying by on their big bikes. Mothers with small children riding in little cabins attached to the front of the bike- or rather built as part of the bike itself are charging through with the rest of them. There are lots of electric bikes as well with a diverse group of riders. No one wears helmets – holding their own with the cars on the road. I asked one woman about helmets and she laughed saying people would laugh at you if you wore a helmet- that you would look ridiculous and out of place. Hmmmm

The Anne Frank Museum was very well done and organized. Groups of 30 or more people are allowed in every 15 minutes and with small phones, can listen to a recording explaining things as you go through. You climb at least 4 floors of an old warehouse building were the family hid for 2 years during the Nazi occupation. The original wallpaper still has childhood growth markings as well as things that Anne glued onto the walls while she lived there. It is a very moving experience – well worth the cost of admission.

After the 1 and 1/2 hour tour, I had about a 40 minute walk to a tram line to the Van Gogh Museum. Again, an excellent exhibit on 3 floors. There were explanations for most of the works and the works of many other famous Impressionist painters. The exhibit takes about 2 hours to see but unfortunately, no pictures are allowed.

By about 5:30 I was pretty tired from all of the walking, it was a relief to find a tram that went directly to the Amsterdam Central station, a hub for all of the Amsterdam busses, trams and trains. Pretty amazing- so well organized.

I had to take this last picture. Here you have a hotdog stand adjacent to this beautiful old building. There certainly is no shortage of places to eat in Amsterdam. Every type of food you can imagine.