Despite agreeing that we should leave the hotel by 10 AM, the four of us were out the door at 11:30 and heading toward a nearby cafe to get breakfast. (They all serve the same thing… and it’s all of similar quality. It no longer matters where we get breakfast.) By 12:30 PM, we were at Amsterdam Centraal station, confused by all of the timetables. Finally, we figured out that we needed Platform 1 if we wanted to get to Delft. The train was arriving in a few minutes so we got up to where we needed to be and boarded the train.

Around 1:40, we were in Delft, a city south of Amsterdam. (We passed by a lot of farms on our way. We saw lots of cows, horses, and sheep, as well as flowers.) It’s been described as a mini-Amsterdam with its tiny canals and churches. Yehuda and Kate went one way, Alex and I another. We agreed to meet back at the railway station at 3:30.

Having a limited amount of time in this city, Alex and I tried to do the quintessentially Delft things: see the churches (Nieuwe Kerk and Oude Kerk), the city hall (Stadhuis), and the town square (Markt). We first passed by the Oude Kerk but didn’t stop by because we wanted to see the other church and the city hall on the square. We were amazed by the huge market square (Markt) and all the people. On the nearby canal streets, there were also a lot of booths and tables set up with people selling all kinds of things. After gawking and browsing for a few minutes, we went to the Nieuwe Kerk and took photos, inside and out. We found the tomb of the Prince of Orange to be especially fascinating. The city hall (Stadhuis) is directly in front of the Nieuwe Kerk across the square, so we took exterior photos and started walking back toward the railway station.

The four of us got on the 3:47 train to Den Haag and arrived in the city at 4:02. Again, Kate & Yehuda and Alex & I split into 2 teams and agreed to meet back at the station at 6:30.

Since everything closes at 5 PM in Europe, we weren’t able to go to any museums or really see anything of worth. This was very disappointing as there are quite a few interesting museums we wanted to see. Instead, we wandered around the busy city center. Some of the narrow streets are just chock full of shops/stores on both sides. We even stumbled across something called “The Passage” (French pronunciation), which is pretty much exactly like “The Passage” in St. Petersburg. (Both are covered outdoor shopping malls that specialize in expensive boutique-y stores.) We also saw some parks (and evidence of a street market that occurred earlier in the day) and had beers on the terrace of a cafe, Bodega de Posthoorn.

Overall, The Hague was disappointing. There was nothing to see or do. Many of its citizens are older and wealthier, which probably explains why, at 9:30, we were so glad to be back in Amsterdam. (We were delayed in The Hague because we decided to have dinner there, at Cafe Brasserie Dudok, while Kate and Yehuda headed back to Amsterdam.)

On our way back to the hotel from the railway station, Alex and I stopped by the Grasshopper, another coffeeshop that lets its customers hang out on the terrace without buying marijuana — as long as they buy something. So Alex ordered a cappuccino and I just got a bottle of water. (Water is expensive, usually costing €2 for a 0.5L bottle.)

At the conclusion of day 5, Alex and I realize that there are a few things in Amsterdam that remain unseen or un-experienced:

• bakeries (Pompadour, Puccini, Winkel)
• Begijnhof (nun convent from the 14th century)
• seeing the city by bike
• canal boat tour
• Heineken brewery
• raw herring from a street vendor
• Amsterdam public library
• NEMO musem
• Bimhuis (jazz club) — closed in August, apparently

…We still have a lot to do & see.

We had an event-filled day yesterday. After going to the ATM to withdraw some cash, Kate, Yehuda, Alex, and I walked to the Pancake Bakery. Because it was around 1:30 PM when we arrived, it was open this time ;) (We all woke up very late that day. Kate knocked on our door at 11:30 AM and she was the only one who was awake.) We all had some delicious Dutch pancakes while sitting outside canal-side. If you’re ever in Amsterdam, I suggest you go ;) Haha.

We headed south toward the Museum District and passed by the Westerkerk again. We attempted to go inside but it was closed to the public for choir practice. So we took some exterior photos and kept walking.

We arrived at the Rijksmuseum first because it closes earlier than the Van Gogh Museum. (The two are near each other.) We spent about 1-1.5 hours at the museum of Dutch history and art, looking at their small publicly available collection. The building is currently under construction (to be completed in 2013) and a large portion of their collection was closed to the public.

We then went to Vondelpark (similar to Central Park) to get hot dogs and just rest for a little bit. Then we went to the Van Gogh Museum, which is where we stopped by a video kiosk and made a very brief video to send to our parents. The museum itself was strange, featuring a small collection of Van Gogh pieces and a lot more works by his friends Bernard and Roden.

After the museum (around 9 PM), the four of us sat down and tried to pick a restaurant. We decided on Walem. We arrived around 10 PM and the kitchen closed soon after we arrived. (The place then turned into a bar/club.) The menu was limited but very good. We ordered calamares (fried shrimp, not squid … much to our surprise) and bitterballen (small round croquettes filled with pureed potatoes and meat) to share, Alex got a salmon & potato soup and a goat cheese salad, and I got beef tenderloin w/French fries & salad. Everything was very good. I’m drooling thinking about it all now :P

We arrived back at the hotel around 12:15 AM.

I don’t know what it is about Amsterdam but it’s impossible to get a lot done in one day. The laid-back attitude of the people makes you want to slow down, too.

We got up early yesterday to make sure we got a head start on the day. We were out of our hotel by 10:30. (Yes, this is early for us. Shush.) We headed towards the Pancake Bakery for breakfast, planning on stopping by the Huis met de Hoofden first. The former is a premier stop for pancakes in Amsterdam, offering a huge selection of toppings. The latter translates to “House with Heads” and is a building (now closed to the public) that is adorned with the busts of the Greek gods Apollo, Ceres, Mars, Minerva, Bacchus, and Diana. We got to see (and photograph) the Greek deities but we didn’t get to taste the famous pancakes — the “bakery” didn’t open until 12 PM. So we went to search for another place to eat and ended up in the Nine Streets, a shopping area known for its boutiques and galleries. (Apparently, the locals shop here rather than in the more commercial malls.)

We ended up having breakfast at a place called Cafe de Oude Wester. Alex ordered the English breakfast and I got the apple honey pancake. As usual, Alex polished off his plate of eggs and meat. I wasn’t able to finish my [gigantic] pancake because it was dripping with honey. If it wasn’t excessively sweet, it would have been perfect.

We then walked around the Nine Streets, stopping into some shops but not buying anything. We found a cafe/restaurant, Panorama, in a busy area (not in the Nine Streets) and ordered 2 pints of beer. We sipped on our cold drinks as we people-watched. We then went towards the Westerkerk, a large and beautiful church. We did not, however, go in. Instead, we went to the Anne Frank House across the street.

The line for the Anne Frank Huis was long. Alex almost didn’t want to wait but decided to stick it out. It took about 30-40 minutes to get in. It cost €8.50 per person for admission. Cameras were not allowed inside so we don’t have any photos of this museum. However, photos would not have conveyed the message that the House did. It was incredibly moving to see where the Frank family (along with 4 other people) hid during the Holocaust. Some of Anne’s words adorned the walls, bringing life to the barren rooms. (The Nazis confiscated everything inside the house when they took the people in hiding to the concentration camps. Anne’s father, Otto, was the only survivor and he requested that the rooms stay empty.) More than anything, I think it was Otto Frank who made this museum so sad — photos and videos of him were displayed throughout, his eyes filled with an unspeakable sadness as he looked at his empty home or talked about his deceased family.

Outside the Anne Frank Huis and Westernerk is something called the Homomonument. It’s exactly what you think it would be: a monument dedicated to all the gays and lesbians who have faced criticism or persecution because of their sexual orientations. We took some photos but not of the complete monument. We would have needed a birds-eye view for that to work. (The monument consists of a very large triangle painted on the ground, with each corner being another designed triangle. One such triangle spans into the nearby canal and has steps down into the water, another triangle is a huge slab of marble with words on it, and the final triangle is raised a foot or so off the ground. People were sitting and eating/reading on the raised triangle, so we don’t know if there’s more to it than that.)

Since it was already nearing 2 PM, we decided to head to the cafe atop the Metz & Co. building. This restaurant is located on the 6th floor and offers great aerial views of the city. Photo taking was not allowed so we really had to commit the views to memory. (In a city without skyscrapers, views from the 6th floor are spectacular. You see all of the commotion but the people don’t look like ants!) You pay for such a view, however. For 2 glasses of orange juice, 1 glass of white wine, 1 salad, and 1 tuna sandwich, Alex and I paid €41. But everything was delicious and fresh so we don’t have any regrets. Besides, we’re spending only half of our daily allowance so far — we planned it so that we could spend a maximum of €200 per day but we’ve only managed to spend up to €100/day.

After lunch, Alex and I walked to the Tuschinski Theater, a majestic old-timey movie theater. We took photos of the exterior but did not go inside (where, supposedly, you can watch movies from plush balconies and order champagne). The movies they were playing were American — Alex did not think we should pay to see a movie we wouldn’t watch in NY just to hear it in Dutch and say we watched it in Amsterdam. He’d rather see a Dutch-made movie in Amsterdam. So, uh, we’ll see what happens with that.

After a quick trip back to the hotel for — you guessed it — a shower, Alex and I headed to Leidseplein (another square in the city, with a lot of restaurants and cafes nearby) to meet with Kate and Yehuda. We went to Pancake Corner (a bar) for dinner and were surprised to find so many people in there. Apparently, there was some kind of game on (soccer, I’m assuming). After spending about 1-1.5 hours there, we headed towards the Red Light District once again. This time, though, because Yehuda (for whom this is the 3rd trip to Amsterdam) was there, we were able to see more of it. There are a lot more alleyways with red-lit windows and girls than Alex and I first thought.

After we’ve had enough of the half-clad girls, we walked to the nearby coffeeshop Greenhouse Effect and ordered hot chocolates, which were delicious. (Have I mentioned yet that it rained yesterday and the temperature dropped suddenly? Because, yeah, it rained and got cold at night. Hot cocoa helped warm our bones.)

We then returned to the hotel and slept a deep, long sleep.