finally, its time to bid cologne good-bye and move on to the next leg of our trip ~ amsterdam!
amsterdam is around 2hr 45mins from cologne via ICE.
there are 2 time slots almost daily - 8+am & 1+pm.
naturally, we took the earlier train.
light breakfast at the central train station before boarding the train
it was before noon when we reached a drizzling amsterdam - brrrrr.
with some quick asking around, i sprinted over to the tourist centre to get our iamsterdam tourist cards and we were good to go!
free public transport comes with the card.
so we boarded the local tram line 1 to make our way to our hotel which is near the museum area.
left: our hotel - santa de filosoof
right: waiting for our room to be ready in the waiting area
so, to get decent accommodations during the peak season in jun is really not that easy, not to mentioned expensive!
i've settled on this 3 star hotel which is easily the most expensive accommodation for our whole trip....
but upon reaching, it does has its quirky details and quaint atmosphere as highlighted in the travel guide book.
random shots in the hotel while waiting for our room ~ glad that they got it ready in 15mins time
after unpacking and freshening up, we left for the market square!
left: outside new church
right: interior of new church
1st stop was to the neue church located at the heart of the market square.
per our understanding, it is no longer a functioning church but more like a cultural exchange where different performances/exhibitions are held there.
during the time we were there, there were a performance put up by tibetian monks who were composing a beautiful work using colored powder and some iron/steel funnels.
quite impressive.
monks at work
then its shopping time around the main shopping areas around market square and the famous 9straats next to it.
pancakes is pretty common over here and unsurprisingly, we scheduled a pancake tea-break time!
left: tea break @ pancakes amsterdam!
right: lemon sugar and chocolate pancakes
next up, we went to a boathouse museum to see how it's like living on water.
in amsterdam, there are still a number of such houses around though getting lesser over time.
left: boathouse museum
right: about to enter the boathouse
left: a kiddy section in it
living area
this boathouse that we were in is surprisingly spacious once you are inside.
it is ard 1100+ sq ft, similar to a normal 4 bedroom HDB flat.
just that you have to accommodate to a lower ceiling, rectangular floor plan and the very slight bobbling motion when in it.
tons of canals here!
we happened to walk past the anne frank museum which is originally not on my itinerary.
because i was not that keen to bring yz to a place that is closely associated with the holocaust. :(
still, when we walked past it, there was barely a queue so we made the impromptu decision to visit it.
(perhaps its near to its closing time of 6pm for the next day when we did our canal cruise and came by the same spot, the queue was snaking long!)
being so close to such a sad part of history is never my preferred cup of tea.
though not as bad as compared to the time hubbi and me did the tour at the auschwitz camp @ krakow, the cramped spaces in the secret hideout place here do give us a feel on how stressed and fearful the conditions were back then.
to yz, its just like a fun excursion where he got to climb steep narrow stairs and explore tiny rooms. @_@
but i do think its important to keep such museums going on to remind everyone how war can be senseless and how human spirit can thrive even in the worst conditions.
sigh.
still, its more depressing than educating to me when it comes to such history.
after that, its time for dinner.
for amsterdam, ive researched for a restaurant with good reviews before the trip and per the advice online, its best to make reservations!
so i did for a slot at 630pm.
but when i reached the restaurant, it was empty. @_@
so much for reservations. still, i offered my name in order not to keep them waiting for me.
which is a good thing for people started streaming in after us from 7pm onwards and we overheard that the place was fully booked for the night!
so we saw people who walked in got turned away due to no reservations made...
so how was the food!?
it was actually pretty decent. not gastronomically sumptious but really good for its pricing.
it was around $50+ per head without wine.
hubbi had angus beef while i had ravioli + a side of potato balls (which is very nice) + rose wine for myself.
and with that, we concluded a long day and slowly bring our aching bodies back to the hotel for, you guess it, a match + movies showing on cable.
ahhhh... life.
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