Tag: Europe

Day 2: Amsterdam

April 18, 2018

Got up in the morning and went to the first destination of the day – Anne Frank Museum. It was an easy walk from our hotel, about 16 minutes. On our way we found a coffee kiosk on a canal and had a cup of coffee, which was quite good, and a croissant. We sat at the picnic table by the kiosk and had our breakfast while enjoying a beautiful view of the canal. We have booked our 10am Museum visit online well in advance due to a limited number of people that the small building can accommodate simultaneously. Booking in advance is required even for an Amsterdam Card’s holders, although admittance is free for a cardholder. We had purchased our 48-hours cards about a month prior to our arrival. Having this card was a smart thing to do as the card covers all museums, canal boat ride, public transportation and discounts at selected restaurants.

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Day 1: Amsterdam

April 17, 2018

We arrived at noon and were greeted by bright sun and wonderful warm weather. Picked up our 48-hours IAmsterdam cards that we bought on line. The card allows a free entrance to the most of museums (except Anne Frank house), free public transportation and a canal cruise. Well worth the money.
Got to our hotel by Uber that happened to be a late model Mercedes 300, piloted by a very friendly driver who spoke perfect English. Interesting detail – all taxicabs that we saw at airport, during our 5 minutes wait for Uber, were Tesla cars. I thought that our Vancouver was a green city, but this was really impressive.
 Checking into our NL Leidseplein Hotel was very easy. Our room was on a second floor and facing a canal. Hotel was small, only 13 rooms and no elevator. What is typical for old European buildings, the stairs to the second floor were very narrow, long and steep, at around 60° angle. I don’t envy guests who were returning to their rooms after too many beers. Difficult to climb up or down even for a sober person.