With my only full
day in Amsterdam, I was determined to see as much of the city as I possibly
could. I started my day off with a
breakfast provided by the hostel of two pieces of toast and a boiled egg. But I’m not complaining. At least they had breakfast. My first stop was
De Niewke Kerk, the New Church, which was having an exhibit on the Chinese Ming
Dynasty. The exhibit was very
enlightening and was full of many ancient Chinese artifacts. I bought a gift at the gift shop to bring
back for my Chinese teacher. By this
point, I had gotten the hang of navigating through the city by tram and I
journeyed on to the Museumplein. I took
a photo of the famous Iamsterdam sign and went on to the Van Gogh Museum.
The only problem
with packing your schedule is that it leaves very little time to savour the
museum. I had only spent about 45 minutes at the Van Gogh museum. I did this in
order to make it in time for a free walking tour of Amsterdam by Sandeman’s New
Europe Tour Company. They hold walking tours at most of the major cities in Europe. Their tours are free but they operate on a tip-based
service. My tour was led by the
wonderful Kendra who kept our entire group of 30 entertained for the whole 3
hours. I tipped her a whole 5 euros for her amazing service. I learned so much about the city
that I never would have known (like why the De Oude Kerk aka the Old Church is
in the center of the Red Light District) had I not gone on this tour.
As the day turned
to night, I took the opportunity to wander around the Illuminade Walking Tour,
held in conjunction with the Amsterdam Light Festival. There were a few gorgeous pieces however at
times it was hard to navigate. My advice
is to take the Watercolors Canal Cruise if you want to see most of the
beautiful light pieces. However the compilation of lamps called “We Light
Amsterdam” on the Walking Tour is a can’t-miss. The end of the walking tour signaled the end of
my day in Amsterdam. And it was a great
one.
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