(Part 6) The Land Called The Netherlands: Around Amsterdam Again

- July 14, 2019, Sunday.

- Though Amsterdam's main attractions can pretty much be covered in a day (click here), I can assure you that there is so much to explore even within the city center! There are small museums on anything you can imagine, art galleries with new and famed artists, and other experiences that can make your visit to Amsterdam more worthwhile.

- On our last day in Amsterdam, we had a more relaxed day after several days of traveling outside Amsterdam. We paid for our breakfast buffet at the hotel as a small reward for seeing so many things in the past few days, and it was a good change from the usual croissant-and-juice breakfast we'd usually have since we were always in a hurry to catch an early train out of Amsterdam (so this is a tip: try to find hotels that have a separate breakfast fee from the room fee if you're like me who always likes to catch an early train out of the city. I usually catch a train way before my hotel's breakfast hall opens, so if I would paid for my breakfast beforehand, I'd just be throwing away money! If you pay for breakfast separately, that is, if you wish to avail your hotel's breakfast services, you'll save a lot of money! However, if in case you are absolutely sure that you'll be eating breakfast at your hotel everyday, by all means, go ahead and pay in advance as there might be some promos if you pay it together with your room fee and so on.)

A typical Dutch breakfast: bread, some butter, and hagelslag ("hailstorm"; refers to the chocolate sprinkles.) 

- After breakfast, we rode on the tram to Koningsplein stop (trams 2, 11, or 12) to see the Dutch Costume Museum (Het Klederdrachtmuseum.) It is a fairly new museum, being established only in 2016, inside a really old 17th-century building. It houses a wide array of costumes from the different parts of the Netherlands. The best part about this museum is that there is a photo studio at the basement where you can have your photo taken wearing a traditional costume from the fishing town of Volendam (and you'll also get to see this kind of  "cultural" photo studio in case you plan to visit Volendam, though we didn't visit Voldendam for this trip to the Netherlands.) The photo studio will ask you to pay a certain amount, and for that you'll be able to wear a traditional costume, have one copy printed out, but they're also kind enough to send the rest of the other photos to your e-mail, so I guess that's a bargain if you're interested in this kind of cultural experience.

You'll see this.

I intentionally placed that headdress on my head HAHA.

Costume from Urk.

Costume from Marken.

Zeeland costume. (Yes, New Zealand was named after the Netherlands' Zeeland.)

My turn!! Wearing a traditional Volendam-style costume.

- It was a bummer when the rain decided to pay Amsterdam a visit that morning, and it nearly spoiled the next thing that we had planned to do. Most travel guides would suggest doing a canal cruise in Amsterdam. My mom and I chose the Lovers Canal Cruise 1.5-hour cruise since it was the cheapest that we found, and its boats had roofs over them (this is way cheaper and more worth it than an overpriced gondola ride in Venice, Italy!!); it was still raining and as much as I wanted to have a roofless boat, it wasn't practical at that time. Most canal cruises can be found outside Amsterdam Centraal, Kaizergracht, and other random stops depending on the company. You can find ticket stalls and inquire details from them. Based on my experience, the canal cruise was actually not as overrated as I originally thought. Apart from the cool experience of sailing down Amsterdam's various canals, the audio guide also told us stories about the canals, some buildings facing the canals, and the houseboats that lined the canal banks. I was glad that it didn't so hard, so I was at least still able to enjoy the view even though the skies were gray.

Canal cruise (do you notice my wooden clog necker slide?)

Singel, the most prominent canal. The big building on the left is the Round Lutheran Church (Ronde Lutherse Kerk.)

Our boat sort of looks like this. This is another Lovers Canal Cruise boat.

Househoats are apparently a thing in Amsterdam. People really live inside boats rather than the usual houses on land. 

Hi Goofy!!

- After having lunch at a Syrian restaurant as a small celebration for finally doing one of the most touristy things ever (i.e. the canal cruise,) we rode the tram to Spui stop (trams 2, 11, or 12) to visit the Amsterdam Museum. Originally opened in the early 1900s, though it only moved to its current location in 1975 at a 16th-century orphanage, this museum sought to educate people on the history of Amsterdam. I like a lot of things about this museum, but one thing that doesn't sit well with me is the confusing layout of the museum. Not sure if it was because it was an old building, but to summarize how confused I was with the museum's layout: it was a maze. It was especially difficult for my mom who cannot walk too much because of her age.

It's a really nice museum, but be warmed about its maze-like layout.

So many portraits of Dutch noblemen!!

With my Dutch burgher friends.

Dresses from way back when as part of the museum's fashion exhibit.

This wooden Goliath statue, around 9 feet, used to belong to an old "amusement park." Its eyes could move!!

- Finally, we had one last walk around Dam Square, taking a peek inside the Nieuwe Kerk, before calling it a day. If you ask me, if was more of a "goodbye walk" to Amsterdam as I don't know when I'll have the chance to go back to the Netherlands.

Inside Nieuwe Kerk

A puppet show in the middle of Dam Square. The kid looks very happy!!

No edits whatsoever. I was pleasantly shocked at how dramatic it turned out. HAHA.

- The Netherlands exceeded my expectations in all sorts of ways, especially on the simple yet glorious beauty of its cities, especially those away from the urban center of Amsterdam. It was hard to leave the Netherlands after a week's stay, but it was time to embark on a journey to it's neighbor down south - Belgium! 

- Please don't forget to read all about my other adventures in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg here!!

THE NETHERLANDS

Part 1, Amsterdam: here

Part 2, Zaanse Schans: here

Part 3, The Hague/Den Haag: here

Part 4, Haarlem: here

Part 5, Hoorn: here


BELGIUM

Parts 1 and 5, Brussels: here, and here

Part 2, Ghent/Gent: here

Part 3, Bruges/Brugge: here

Part 4, Antwerp: here


LUXEMBOURG: here