We booked our layover in Amsterdam to ensure that we had time to recover from jet lag before heading to Tanzania. It worked. We are feeling much more like ourselves and ready for the continental shift! However, it was important to get as much out of our last day as possible.

We started with figuring out the Amsterdam tram system and made our way to the starting point of our walking tour at the Old Church in the heart of the Red Light District. We met up with Sergio, the owner of the tour company and he took us on a 3.5 hour walk around town. Sergio showed us more of Amsterdam than you would normally see walking around on your own. He gave us some insight into the way both the rich and middle class people made Amsterdam the city it is today. For example, we learned that the people pay taxes on the width of the houses but not the square footage. Therefore many homes in Amsterdam are narrow and tall.

We enjoyed the walk and made it to the Palace square only to re-engage the transit system to get to our museum tours. Anne, Dale and I went to the Rijkes Museum for a guided tour. Ken, Denise and Jane headed over to the Van Gogh Museum. Hugo, our guide, took us through the highlights of the museum and gave a really great introduction to the politics of art. It was interesting to learn about how Rembrandt came to be so beloved. He was popular at the same time as Peter Paul Rubens. However, Rubens was from Antwerp and Rembrandt was from Amsterdam. When Belgium separated from the Netherlands, Rubens went with them. The Dutch chose to elevate Rembrandt and market him deliberately as their best. He was worth it. This painting – the night watch – is considered to be his best work and they built a room in the museum to house this huge painting and give it the best spot.

We didn’t have time (or strength of leg) to see both museums. We only saw the one wall of Van Gogh paintings – including this self-portrait. 

We returned to our Air b&b feeling exhausted but satisfied with our travels. We made ourselves a wonderful home cooked meal and spent a relaxed evening re-packing and getting ready for the next phase of our adventure.

We left Europe and had a great flight to Arusha. Wakara, our guide for the next week, met us at the airport  We are all excited to get started.