After booking our tickets to return to London (on Thursday) last evening, Susan and I realized our time spent exploring Amsterdam would be mostly relegated to 1 day. After doing some research and consulting with our roommates who are each young couples (1 from Australia and 1 from Iowa) that seem to have similar goals in visiting as us (sightsee more and party less), we developed a framework for the day.
I woke up early as I have been for most days of the trip, partially due to early sunrises as part of the incredibly long daylight hours of European summers and partly due to not fully adjusting to the time zone changes. Susan also rose early this morning and we proceeded to breakfast. At this hostel, there were already plenty of diners and the breakfast was served in a “cafeteria” with a lunch tray and everything. The selection was pretty stellar though with coffee, tea, breads, spreads (including the elusive peanut butter), cheeses, meats, museli, yogurt, fruit and milk/juices…not bad for free.
Once we had thoroughly filled ourselves, we returned to the room and quickly gathered our things and set off for the day. A short tram ride took us to the center of town, the national monument (an obelisk), the national palace, and the new church (Nieuwe Kerk). The first thing we noticed entering the city is the awesomeness of the bicycling culture. Everyone was riding bikes to get around…we later learned there are over 1 million bikes in the city. The path system for them is also incredible.
That girl’s face says it all – get out of their way or they WILL run you over… As our guide said, “hitting tourists is a bit of a sport to them”
From there, we took a leisurely stroll west across some of the canals and to the Westermarkt (and Westerkerk). Just around the corner was our first stop, the Anne Frank house. It is completely modernized on the outside which is a little off-putting, but inside has been restored/preserved and includes various exhibits in the renovated areas to set the mood and to provide more information about displaced Jews during the war. The museum includes many quotes from the diary displayed along the walls and videos testimonials of family members and friends. It concludes with pages from the original diary (or pages Anne had rewritten). the museum was small, but powerful and definitely worth a visit. Since we arrived just at opening there was no line, but usually it extends around the corner…good timing.
No photos allowed inside the museum :(
After the museum we wandered more residential streets on the west side before returning to Dam (the main square) where we grabbed a coffee and waited for the “free” walking tour (no ticket price, but tipping suggested) that was recommended by both our roommate groups. This extensive tour lasted 3 hours with one 15 minute break to grab snack. It covered many of the main areas of old town including the red light district, the old church (Oude Kerk), the Jewish quarter, the Amsterdam West Indies Company, the Nieumarkt, Dam square, and finished at the Anne Frank house. Our guide was a small Irishman who has lived in Amsterdam the past 12 years. It was obvious he really loved the city for its unique tolerances, multinationalism, and history. He extensively covered many of the more “seedy” aspects of Amsterdam like legalized marijuana, prostitution, and, until recently, squatting. In each case, he explained how they came to be a part of the Amsterdam culture and why they are still allowed today. The whole tour was interesting despite being a touch long.
“A taste of the good life.” Happy 4th of July! 
We went to a coffee shop and they served us coffee! 
The tour – At Dam Square and the Red Light District 
West Indies Trading building (left) & The symbol for Amsterdam honoring their patron saint (St. Andrew) and also works for their current reputation (though originally was decided in the early 1900s) 
Hot lunch from a vending machine! Deep-fried beef gravy 
Us with one of the many canals
The walking tour concluded at around 2:15pm, so Susan and I quickly hopped a tram and headed to the south part of the main city. Here we visited FOAM (FOtographie museum AMsterdam), a special request from Susan. The museum was small but had some unique exhibits that appear to rotate frequently. The main exhibits we saw were one devoted to the paparazzi pictures of a single artist, an exhibit on the fading art of photo-albums, and an exhibit on teens in the Facebook era (with stills and videos cycling on iPads in a dark, enclosed circular room).
Again, no FOtos
Continuing south, we entered De Pijp and a huge outdoor market. Susan bought a scarf and I got some trail mix from the greatest single food vendor tent I may have ever come across (all confections, nuts, trail mixes, dried fruits, and granolas…delicious). Then we ducked into the shade and followed the tram line to the Museumplein.
Jeff is in awe of the greatness of this vendor
Cramming one more cultural activity into the afternoon, we visited the Van Gogh museum. It is a large art gallery with more than 200 Van Gogh works, mostly on a single floor that also tells the story of his evolution and some of his personal/mental struggles before his tragic suicide. The other floors contain exhibits about his work, the works of his friends (including Gaugin and Toulouse-Lautrec), and other artists he has influenced. There was also another wing dedicated to revolving exhibits but we opted to not visit that. Some of the highlight pieces were one of the famous “Sunflowers” paintings and a couple self-portraits.
Running out of gas in the late afternoon heat, we opted to tram back to the hostel before venturing out again in the evening. With the sun setting we returned to the city, but actually took a ferry to the Noord district and found a café/restaurant (that was more of a tapas place) on the river IJ. It was a little quieter atmosphere than the tourist hubs of the city. After dinner we rode the ferry back and walked into the city lit up at night, returning to the center for a tram home. Tomorrow is mostly a travel day since we have to return to London, concluding the backpacking portion of the trip.
We found a windmill in Holland! 
Just after the sunset while on the ferry 
So many bike commuters getting on and off the ferry 
A sight on our walk back to the hostel
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