Today was the day for the Rijksmusem. We walked there and started with coffee, the cafe there is a little pretentious for a museum place, but the coffee was good.
We separated and started the visit . I had downloaded the App and was doing the 90 minute highlights tour. It was all Dutch art and there were some beautiful pieces, including Rembrandt, Van Gough and Vermeer. When started at about 10.30 and the crowds weren't too bad. My tour took less time than the 90 minutes so I went back to see the Rembrandts again and the crowds were mad. Getting there early was a good idea.
I caught up with Ken and we were going to have coffee but the pretentious cafe had lines of people waiting at the stairs to be seated so I left him to do some more art gazing and I headed towards the shops.
I left from the other side of the gallery, into the museum park. This is quite a vibrant area with lovely gardens and lots of people.
There are a lot of shopping streets with all the usual high street shops you see all over the world. Some we don't get at home, but it is the big chains who can afford the rent in these high traffic areas.
I wandered in and out of shops and streets and ended up not quite knowing exactly where I was, but not completely lost . It was nice just venturing into new streets and seeing what was there.
I had a coffee at a cute little cafe called Bake Me and then thought I should try and make some sense of where I was. I found myself in the Waterlooplein Markets which is not too far from home.The markets had some nice things in today.
Ken sent a message, he was already bored with the Dutch artists and was meeting me at Dam Square. I finally found my way there and popped into the department store, de Bijenorf, to buy a couple of things.
Dam Square was heaving with crowds. We sat in the sun and watched the interactions with people and the tourists taking selfies and enjoying the view.
We walked a little, to escape the dope smoker beside us, to the Spui area and bought a panini for lunch and then sat in the square and did some more people watching. A great way to spend some time.
Back home, Ken was feeling a little exhausted and needed a nap before we hit the streets again looking for dinner. We were heading out to Moeden in Jordaan but found another one I had seen recommended on the way so we stopped there. Great decision, Cafe Jarden was delicious. We sat outside on the second floor, with views over the canal below with all the people and boats. I had a great Vietnamese style pulled pork, noodle dish.
We strolled around the streets, watching the crowds of people. We cruised past Craig's bar suggestion, Bar Jalle. I think we were a little early, it didn't look overly inviting so we kept going. A blokes bar, I think. Close to Rembrandtplein, we checked out the statues of the Nightwatch again after seeing the painting up close.
We went home the long way, enjoying an ice cream for dessert and then back to bed. The chilled vibe of this city is exhausting!




Steps 27,348
Kms walked 19.7