We decided not to take Anja right into Amsterdam. The descriptions or routes and marinas was just too complicated to risk when we had little children to consider. At the most popular marina, we might be rafted three or four abreast, and have to move to allow others to manoeuvre. The town of Weesp was a much more congenial stopping place and the train took us into the centre of the city in 15mins.
Amsterdam of an earlier era- with boats like Anja
David and I bought museum cards which allow us access to many Amsterdam Museums and also the majority of small town museums.
Amsterdam and its canals
We visited several Museums: The Rijk with its beatifully presented art treasures, the Maritime Museum where we particularly enjoyed the display of old atlases; the van Gogh Museum with an excellent chronological presentation of his works and finally the Amsterdam Museum which gave a good history of the city. We also enjoyed a canal cruise to make up for the fact that we were not bringing Anja through the city. In fact most of the canals would have been inaccessible to us as the bridges are too low and many are not open to everyone.
Amsterdam seen from the canal
In Amsterdam English was widely spoken and displays were almost always offered in Dutch and English (as well as German and sometimes French). This was quite different from the other cities we had been too and it gave us a chance to understand better what we were seeing. We try to access information in the local language but we our electronic translators often let us down. Amsterdam itself was very busy and crowded with tourists whereas Weesp was a beautiful and calm spot to be. It also had n excellent and direct train conection toSchipol so that our daughter, son-in-law and grandaughters could easily travel to Schipol for their 'plane back to Australia.
Amsterdam Street
Best Regards,
Penny and Dave
The Amsterdam replica
Ancient 15th century atlas
Bike parking at the Railway Station
At the Rijk Museum
At the Rijk Museum- the Delft room
At the Rijk Museum
Rembrandt's Black Watch