Amsterdam Day Five

Today was a sleep in and a quiet start. Gwen was due to fly home today. I went out for a walk, to find a different supermarket, and this time got my directions right. It was a beautiful, clear morning, just a little cool but very pleasant. Many people were using the cycle ways to go to work, school etc. I continue to be impressed by the cycling culture here.

I also picked up some breakfast from our favourite local bakery on my return.

Once Gwen was packed, and we were all ready, we headed off to the tram, and headed to the central train station. From here, we walked Gwen to her train that would take her to the airport. The train station is huge, with 14 platforms, and each (long) platform has two ends numbered "a" and "b". So what we did was pick a train, walk all the way to the train, only to see it depart because it took so long to walk there. So we chose another train departing from the other end of the same platform and waited there to avoid further cross-platform shenanigans.

After that, Helen and I caught a tram toward Dam Square and just wandered around looking at a few shops and again working up an appetite for lunch. We happened upon the same cafe as a couple of days earlier. We knew they had the best apple pie we have ever eaten. So of course we returned, and the owner recognised us and we got a nice welcome.

After lunch, we walked some more, ending up in Spui. We sat on a park bench to rest our feet, and while doing so Helen noticed a lot of people (mainly tourists) taking a lot of interest in an open doorway just behind us. So we decided to check it out also.

This door led through a beautiful hallway with arched ceilings, and is the only way in to see the Bejinhof, a large inner courtyard containing the English Reformed Church in the middle. This is one of the oldest buildings in Amsterdam.

 

After that we returned to our accommodation via tram, where Helen had a snooze and I did yesterday's blogging (I always seem to be a day behind). We ventured out again around 6pm, and explored new areas. Rembrandtplein is a hotspot of restaurants, cafes, coffeeshops etc and packed with people. It was a beautiful evening, warm and no wind. The weather forecast had said thunderstorms due 5pm, and they were clearly arriving late. I didn't bring the camera with me, so got a couple of nice snaps using my iPhone instead.

We ended up well away from Rembrandtplein and found a nice spot next to the canel to eat a later dinner, and take in the sunset. Very relaxing. We didn't end up heading home until after 9pm.