Wet Amsterdam

September 6, 2011

Oh Amsterdam. I think that we had a total of 4 hours of nice weather the whole time we were there! Luckily, the train ride from Bruges was relatively easy but we arrived in a monsoon. We hopped off of the tram into the first restaurant we saw and totally lucked out. It was a gorgeous, huge place with chandeliers and wonderful croque madame sandwiches. After putting on rain gear, which turned out to be our costumes for most of our time in Amsterdam, we left the restaurant and headed to our hotel. We ended up getting a fantastic rate on a boutique hotel called RobertRamon. It was close to everything, extremely chic, and looked like it belonged in NYC.

After dropping off our bags we headed to the Anne Frank museum. Luckily, the horrible weather must have scared everyone away because we didn't have to wait in the long line that is typical of that museum. It was extremely moving to see where Anne and her family hid for two years and one month until they were found by the Nazis. When setting up the museum, Otto, Anne's father and the only survivor of the Frank family, requested that the rooms remain empty. He wanted them to represent the hole left in people's lives as a result of the Holocaust. The museum was wonderful and they had great exhibits consisting of pictures of how the rooms once looked and excerpts from Anne's diary. They had a wonderful special exhibit on Margot Frank, Anne's sister. She also kept a diary but unfortunately they were unable to find it after the apartment was raided. If you ever travel to Amsterdam, this museum is definitely a must see. I apologize for the lack of photos. Photography was forbidden in the museum.

We ventured back into the rain after the museum, and stumbled upon this wonderful little wine bar. I will be posting more about it when I get home on my wine blog (http://www.whineaboutwine.com/)

For dinner we decided on a pub in the popular Leidseplein square which is packed with restaurants and the popular Bulldog Coffee Shop. We dined on humongous burgers, that I think had a slab of Canadian bacon on them, in a Heineken restaurant while the storm raged outside. It's so strange drinking Heineken after those delicious Belgian beers...it now tastes like water. I'm a Belgian beer fan for life! We returned to our rooms that night completely soaking wet from the storm. I honestly don't think that I have ever been that soaked in my life. Thank God the hotel bed was nice and cozy!