An Adventure in Amsterdam- The Netherlands

BY ANN PARENTI

Any tour guide of the city will tell you that there is an old saying in Amsterdam, God created the Earth, but the Dutch created Amsterdam.

The city of charming canals, storybooks, gables houses, fabulous museums, and bicycles galore, the Dutch capital of Amsterdam, is a joy to explore. With waterways that form nearly 90 islands connected by 1500 bridges, it is a sight worth visiting.

When you visit the Rijksmuseum, the Netherlands’ great repository of art and cultural history, you will glimpse the legacy of the Dutch Golden Age in the lush paintings of Rembrandt and other Dutch Masters featured there.

For my two days in the city, I decided to take a canal cruise to see sites that cannot be seen in any other format, and I was not disappointed. Afterward, I stopped in the famous Grand Cafe restaurant, 1eKlas, for a salad and to see the design and decor of this historic restaurant dating from 1885 on platform 2B in Amsterdam Central Station. This magnificent structure was designed by the famous architect Pierre Cuypers who also designed the Rijksmuseum.

I then walked back to the station where I originally began my day journey and continued to stroll back to the Movenpick Hotel, where we were staying, and met up with my husband, Curtis, for dinner later that night. We will leave this charming city tomorrow afternoon and begin our Viking River Cruise on the Rhine River. Stay tuned for our next adventure along the route.