Mom is Amsterdam!
On the riverbank where we ate lunch
We headed straight to the Reijksmuseum when we got to Amsterdam, which was under construction. I'm actually thankful we weren't there when it was in its full glory. The works of the museum were condensed with the construction & they displayed only the Master Works ... and that was painful enough. I think I don't like old, dark, Dutch paintings of people I don't know. The Night Watchmen was the highlight of the tour.
After that we went to the Van Gogh museum which was packed ... and still absolutely amazing. It was probably one of the highlights of the entire cruise for me. Rooms and rooms of Van Gogh's art arranged chronologically, and with an audio tour to explain what was going on in his life as he was going through different stages in his artistic career.
Finally, we went to the Anne Frank house - which was certainly sobering. It really tells a different story, when you are actually standing in the spaces where those families lived for so long.
Anne Frank, outside her temporary home.
Mom and I meandered our way back to the ship after that. We walked along the edge of the disappearing red light district and saw some interesting shops, and lots of 'coffee shops'.
One last thing I want to point out ... check out the shield of Amsterdam below. Notice the 3 X's? Those are St. Andrew's Crosses, and represent different things, depending on your source of information. But I just thought it was amusing, given Amsterdam's somewhat lewd reputation.
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