Apparently I have three readers who want more! lol.
Friday morning was pretty low-key. I stored my bags and checked out (no cheese sandwich at breakfast,,, kind of disappointed!), and then went to the train station to buy a ticket for later. I found Rembrandthuis, which was actually quite difficult, and grabbed a free audio tour through the house (which is where he lived and had a painting studio, but in the end couldn't afford it and it was taken and everything auctioned off). There was also a pretty large etching exhibit, which was quite cool to see how it is actually done, I had no idea all the work involved.
I grabbed some lunch and ate in Dam Square again (it kind of became my home base for the few days I was in Amsterdam) and then went to Oude Kerk (Old Church) where it turns out there was a photo exhibition. I won't talk much about it since I'll do a separate blog post, but I will say it was the coolest setting I've seen for something like that! After that I grabbed my bags and headed to the train station... goodbye, Amsterdam!
45 minutes later I was in Den Haag (the Hague - it's odd that this is one city which they anglicize the name for). My friend Jacky picked me up, as well as another girl who was staying the exact same days I was, Lana. We stopped at the supermarket to grab a few supplies, namely Dutch treats for me to try out! We came out to a freak rainstorm (the only rain I saw while in the Netherlands.. unusual, I think!) and dropped everything off at her apartment before heading to the promenade at a nearby beach for dinner.
Saturday was low key... cheese sandwich for breakfast (hah! now i'm addicted, I think), the city centre in the afternoon (where I opted to visit the Mauritshuis museum and see Vermeer's "Girl With a Pearl Earring" - which I fell in love with - while the girls shopped) and to Jacky's friends house for the evening where we made dinner, played card games, and generally had a great time.
Sunday was the big touristy day. I had mentioned to Jacky how I wished I could go to Kinderdijk, which is a UNESCO heritage site with 19 old windmills. It turns out it wasn't as far as I thought, so we spent the morning walking around there and doing a canal boat ride to the futhest windmill, having a picnic lunch, and then driving up to Keukenhof gardens to be blown away by the beauty of the ridiculous amount of tulips and other flowers. It was a great day.
Now here I am... I think we may try to spend an hour or two at the beach (depending on how long it takes us to get ready!) before coming home to get all packed up to head home. I can't believe a week has passed by, but for once I am actually looking forward to coming home... that's a first!
♥ Callah
