Day 4 of 8-ish, I say “ish” to account for travel days.
Mistake #1: getting a late start. An earlier start would’ve gotten me to amsterdam sooner, which in turn would’ve allowed me to arrive at the Anne Frank house earlier, which would’ve likely meant a shorter line. The line was long:
From the back-
Near the front looking back-
I’ve waited at least as long to ride a roller coaster that turned out to be lame, so the wait wasn’t that bad. Besides while waiting I noticed we were near a home of another noteworthy person
And there was a film crew working on a documentary that was fun to watch
Anne Frank’s house from the outside looks like this
I can’t show you the inside because no photos were allowed. I can say that it is fairly minimal, but impactful. For me the wall showing where the growth of the children had been kept was moving as was seeing Anne’s actual diary. Well worth the wait. Afterward I had a savory pancake (basically a crepe with ham and cheese inside) at a cafe along a canal.
Mistake #2: missing the drop off point on the canal tour. I had meant to get off at the Van Gough museum stop which was the closest to my intended destination
(There’s no way I could do Anne Franks house, Van Gough AND Heineken in the same day! I got a late start after all; and my getting off in the wrong spot translated to a 40 minute walk.) Anyway, the Heineken tour is beer Disneyland and really fun, especially since the price includes 3 beers and there was this cool horse
Mistake #3: upon returning to the Utrecht Centraal station I turned left when I should’ve turned right, or visa versa I forget now, and took an inadvertent stroll through a not so nice part of town and wound up right back at the station!
All’s good, I saw history, had beer and made it back safe n’ sound. Van Gough tomorrow; barring any mistakes….
Adventuring in Europe 