The Netherlands in June
More photos of The Netherlands can be seen at shanraephotos.shutterfly.com
It was the World Cup and The Netherlands, Oranje football team was making a run for it. What better way for us to enjoy our beer tour than to sit in some pubs and watch the games. At least it made us feel less guilty that we were not out site seeing but enjoying our time with beer and locals. These little fuzzy guys were given away at Albert Heijn stores and were great gifts to bring home to friends. You were supposed to buy $50 worth of stuff to get one, but we sweet talked our way into getting them at every visit. Amsterdam was the only city that seemed like the people actually enjoyed speaking English with us.
The Anne Frank Huis is a must for anyone who is visiting Amsterdam. It needs to be planned and not done on a whim. The lines are enormous and since we bought tickets in advance, we walked right in.I was a little apprehensive at first since there was a very modern building on the corner as the entrance. Don’t let that fool you. The very small skinny house next to that is the Anne Frank Huis and is sitting almost as is since they left. For some reason, Otto Frank did not want any furniture left in the house. It is sparse but, you get a real feel of what it would have been like to be holed up there for years. The wall that Anne had hung photos of celebrities on is still there as well as a very decorative commode. WARNING: Bring tissues since they are not provided.
Ahhh! Delft! Leaving Amsterdam and arriving at this very charming town was like a breath of fresh air. That may even be literal since the smell of weed was not as prevalent. The first thing that hit me was how different the canals looked. In Amsterdam, they were clean and full of boat traffic. In Delft, they were full of lilly pads and wild life. I even saw a few people fishing along them. Then, there was the square. It was one of the most charming squares we saw. It was not overly crowded, in fact it was pretty empty. Carillons were filling the air and they played and played. We had a seat in the middle of the square and took it all in. As with this entire region, there are amazing beer bars. We went to Doerak on Vrouwjuttenland (good luck with that one) and had a great bartender and of course amazing beer. It was right on the canal where you can just sit out and unwind.
Den Haag was full of public art. It is also home to the Escher museum and a very unique art exhibit called the Panorama Mesdag. I had never seen anything like it. You walk into the small museum and ascend a spiral staircase that opens up into what looks as if you are on the top platform of a lighthouse. You then have a 360 degree view of a beach landscape. It is supposed to be a rendering of what Den Haag looked like around 1881. It is worth a look. http://www.panorama-mesdag.com/#pagina=920
So, now we blog. 