It was really only our first full day in Amsterdam but who stands on technicalities!

Early morning

Amsterdam morning

My plan was to get up early to capture some sunrise photos.  As luck would have it, when I awoke it was cloudy and a bit foggy (outside, not in my head!).  With the changes in time zones I wasn’t really sleeping so I decided to head out anyway.  Although I never did get the sunrise shots, I was rewarded with some nice reflections and some foggy landscapes to photograph.

Amsterdam morning

Amsterdam morning

Foggy Amsterdam morning

Amsterdam

Back in the hotel I actually rolled back into bed and caught another hour or so of sleep.

Amsterdam

After a late, unremarkable breakfast at an unremarkable restaurant, we were off to the Central Station to buy some 3-day transit passes.  I had learned from the concierge at the hotel that this was the nearest place to buy them.  It would mean buying tickets on the tram to get us to Central Station then buying the passes there. However, we managed to luck out as someone handed Susan their 1-hour ticket just as we boarded the tram.  That meant we only had to pay for one ticket before purchasing our passes.

Amsterdam

If you are spending a few days in Amsterdam and are planning to use the public transit a bit to get around, the day passes are really a good deal.  They give you unlimited use and the 3-day pass cost us 16 Eur – compared to 2.80 EUR for a 1-hour pass.

View towards Anne Frank House

Part of the line-up at the Anne Frank House

Anne Frank House

I had purchased tickets for the Anne Frank House well in advance of our trip.  When we arrived at the museum and saw the humungus line-up for tickets, I was totally impressed with my brilliant forethought!  At the appointed hour we went to a different door from the hoardes, buzzed, and were let right in.  We enjoyed a very informative 30 minute presentation on Anne Frank then toured through the house where she and 7 other Jews hid from the Nazis for 2 years.  Discovered and captured in August 1944, of the 8 only Anne’s father, Otto, survived the war.  Anne was only 13 when they went into hiding and her diary has given many readers a vivid portrayal of what life was like for them at the time.  It’s a heart-wrenching tale. Otto Frank founded the museum in 1960 and it is definitely worth visiting.

Doorway of the Anne Frank House

Following our tour it was back to the hotel to relax for a bit and to work on my blog, etc.  We eventually ventured out for dinner before calling it a night.  Our first full day in Amsterdam had been thoroughly enjoyable.

 “One day this terrible war will be over.  The time will come when we’ll be people again and not just Jews!” 

Ann Frank, 11 April 1944