One of the main reasons we wanted to visit Amsterdam was to see Anne Frank’s house. Jane has read her diary (and seen the movie) and is fascinated by her story. We had booked tickets before the trip. The museum was very well done. There was a route through the main house and annex where the family hid from the Germans for over two years. Each room had a running commentary of the things that happened. Knowing the story is one thing, being in the place where it actually happened was quite eerie. I thoroughly recommend the tour, although it leaves you with a reminder of the terrible things that happened at that time. Unfortunately photos inside the house are no permitted, so I cannot share any photos here.

We continued walking the streets of Amsterdam and stopped for lunch in Wurst & Schnitzelhaus, a German restaurant. They had a schnitzel lunch offer for 9 euros.

After lunch we walked down to the Van Gogh museum. I’d always had an interest in Vincent van Gogh ever since primary school where I wrote an assignment on the man. It was also interesting because we’d previously visited Montmarte, where Van Gogh lived after moving to Paris. When we got to the museum we were told they had “sold out” and there were no more tickets for the day. Bummer.

We decided to go to the Rijksmuseum instead which was right next door. This is the biggest museum in Amsterdam and has works of Van Gogh and Rembrandt.

We walked back into the city and through the streets of the red light district. It was fascinating to see the girls in the windows selling their “wares”. No photos allowed though.

We ate dinner at Saint Morris Argentinian Restaurant. Its funny when you’re in a city, you can find all sorts of cuisines, other than that of the host country. There were no Dutch style restaurants to be found. We shared a steak, chips and salad. Jane ordered a side of Chicken wings.  We managed to eat it all, after our epic walking day.

Later back at the house we realised we’d walked 11.8 km. We still have time for a glass of wine before bed.