27/09/2024
Mom and I are in Amsterdam! We had a slow day to recover from a busy 2 days in The Hague. It is also pouring rain here, so it was an ok day to sleep in and for me to get a little work done. We’re also worried about our Georgia and Florida folks with the hurricane blowing through! Tell us how you are doing!
After the rough transition from Belgium to the Netherlands, we were slow going for a day. But on Wednesday mom and I did a private walking tour of The Hague with a wonderful guide. She has a PhD in the history of architecture and art. She was funny, knowledgeable, and kind. We enjoyed the tour SO MUCH.
On Thursday, we checked out of our hotel, but left our luggage with the front desk and went to the Mauritshuis art museum. What an absolutely stunning home and galleries! Mom was in HEAVEN with the many Rembrandt paintings—you can see in one picture her holding her hand up to say 5 Rembrandts IN THIS ROOM alone!! We also saw Vermeer’s Girl with the Pearl Earring. Beautiful!!
After the museum, we walked over to the Plein square and had gyros pitas at a fairly authentic Greek restaurant run by Greeks. Their indoor dining room reminded me of fancy restaurants in Athens.
Finally—we walked back to the main train station. I left mom at a coffee shop and I took the train the 1 stop back to our hotel to get our luggage. Once back at Den Hague Centraal, I met back up with mom and we boarded our train for Amsterdam. A taxi from the station to our hotel, and we checked in and settled in for our next 7 nights.
We changed our plans slightly and are staying 3 extra nights in Amsterdam. We eliminated our next stop (Hamburg) and bought one-way flights to Copenhagen. The flight is a MUCH better idea than a 9-hour bus, 2 nights in Hamburg, then a 7 hour bus ride. But, otherwise, we are still going strong. Mom and I LOVE Amsterdam, and with 7 nights here, we can take it slower than we would for only 5 nights.
Cheers! It looks like the rain is letting up! I’m gonna go explore!
