Amsterdam
Our first night in Amsterdam before meeting up with our tour group started off with a shock! The fire alarm went off in our hotel at 1:30 am and threw us all into confusion. We were all so jet lagged that we thought our phone alarms were going off and waking up the entire hotel. We were quite the sight! After the alarm finally subsided and we laughed hysterically for a good 10 minutes, we went back to sleep. We enjoyed a slow morning exploring the city on our own before our Rick Steves Tour started in the afternoon. We walked around the Van Gogh museum and the Rijks museum, in the middle of which was a large grassy area where people were having picnics, taking walks, playing instruments, and enjoying the scenery. There were so many talented musicians everywhere, all playing different types of music. We braved the bike-filled streets to head towards the flower market in Amsterdam, where we stopped along the way for some famous Dutch pancakes. We quickly learned that our North American definition of pancakes was quite different from Dutch pancakes. Dutch pancakes are more like what our crepes are, but wow are they delicious! We continued our walk through the flower market, where tulips were being sold everywhere you turn. It was time to meet our tour group for the first time, so we headed back to the hotel, walking through Vondel Park on the way. Meeting our tour group was exciting! Our tour guide Bea and her assistant Kaitlin were so knowledgeable and got everyone excited for the adventure ahead. We were all tasked with getting a “buddy” who wasn’t someone we came with. Little did we know, we would actually become close friends with our buddies over the course of our two-week trip. After our initial meet-and-greet, we took a walking tour of the city, where Bea told us all about the history of Amsterdam, pointing out historical landmarks and giving us tips for how to spend our free-time. Our final destination was a restaurant where we got to taste the local wine and enjoy a 3-course dinner. We took a trolley back to the hotel and settled in for the night before another busy day. Our second full day in Amsterdam started with getting to know each other better over breakfast at the hotel. Then we headed out for our guided tour of the Rijks Museum. The museum is neat on its own, but having a local guide to point out various paintings and sculptures and explain their history was so much more enriching. Our guide was funny, dynamic, and knowledgeable - what more could you want in a museum guide? One special item we got to see in the Rijks museum is the famous Night Watchman painting by Rembrandt. After seeing the Rijks museum, we hopped on a boat and took a tour through the vast canals of Amsterdam, where we ate Stroopwafels and learned more about the history and architecture of the city. After a fun cheese tasting and lunch at a local cafe, we walked to the Anne Frank House for an audio tour. It was surreal to walk through a piece of history and learn more about the influential life of Anne Frank and her family. We had some free time afterward, so we ended our day at the Van Gogh museum. Our day was full of culture and history and after a hearty dinner, we turned in for the night. Travel Day: Amsterdam to Bacharach After breakfast, it was time to pack up and head to our next country! We met our bus driver, Paul, and started down the road to Bacharach, Germany. On our way, we stopped at the Netherlands Open Air Museum in Arnhem, where we saw antique houses from all over the Netherlands and learned about their way of life, including how they did their laundry and how challenging their bikes are to ride. We enjoyed a Dutch pancake lunch and got to explore the museum on our own for a couple of hours. We raced through the hedge maze and hopped on the train to get a full tour of the open-air museum. Then it was back on the bus to drive the rest of the way to Bacharach. One of the best parts of going on a Rick Steves tour is not having to drive yourself around. This way, you can rest and enjoy the beautiful scenery as you travel through the different countries. Upon our arrival to Bacharach, we got to try the local wine, Riesling, which was our family’s personal favorite. We stayed in a charming old tower that overlooked the river on one side and the quaint town on the other side. We enjoyed a hearty dinner of salad, tomato soup, Wienerschnitzel, and ice cream. About half of the group went on a walk around the two-street town after dinner. The quiet cobblestone streets and storybook-like houses were a welcomed change after sharing the streets with hundreds of bikes in Amsterdam. |