11 April 2019
We woke again before the alarm and had our customary cup of Earl Grey.
Down for breakfast at 8:00, a very extensive buffet with cooked options, but once again after we had eaten our fruit and yogurt, all we could manage was some bread.
Chris and Peter went to the Viking desk and clarified the arrangements for tomorrow morning, as we were to be off early to Keukenhof gardens and then to the maritime museum before making our own way to the boat.
We then left the hotel at 9:30 for our walking tour, which took us along the banks of the canals and over the humpback bridges, through the narrow alleyways past the bakery smells of the cake shops, and jumping out of the way of the mad cyclists.
We walked through Begijnhof courtyard, a private enclave reserved for single older catholic ladies, who pay a subsidised rent for their homes, afterwards on to the Amsterdam Museum, the only free entry museum in the city.
We saw the narrow fronted houses and the much grander houses further out from the centre until we ended the tour in Dam. From there we visited a department store for a snack lunch and comfort break befor heading off to the Rijksmuseum, where we had prebooked a tour of the Alle Rembrandt exhibition. That took up most of the afternoon with just a short time left for a quick tour of level 2.
We were quite tired after being on our feet for so long, so found the tramstop to take us back to Dam, from where we took the short walk back to the hotel. A brief stop in the bar for a drink to wam up and rest, before going back up to our room and then out for the short walk to Nieuwmarkt, where we had intended to dine at In de Waag. Unfortunately, the restaurant was fully booked, so we walked about a bit until we found the Hoi Tin Chinees Restaurant down a side street. There we enjoyed an authentic Chinese meal of excellent quality with some unique dishes we had never tasted before.
Back to the hotel for a brief stop in the bar for hot drinks before retiring to our rooms and blogging.
It will be an early start in the morning!