DAY 3
“¿Que hora es?” asked my mom. “Son las 9:30 a.m.”
We slept in, which is very strange for us. My mom and I are the type of tourists who are the first ones in line for everything; we’re up early for breakfast, for museum openings, to get on the tour bus. We were exhausted, and I was very happy she wasn’t in a rush to get ready.
We strolled down to Illy Cafe around the corner from the hotel for a Caffe Latte, a Cortado and a Pain au Chocolat. We took our sweet time at breakfast. Again, very uncharacteristic for us.
From the cafe, we took the metro to the Rijksmuseum. I wasn’t fully prepared for what came next. I anticipated long lines, but I didn’t know we had to purchase our tickets online. The security guard asked us to step aside and purchase tickets by scanning the QR code etched onto the glass doors. A couple joined us shortly after we stepped aside. Phew! We weren’t the only ones in the same predicament.
I had difficulty filling out the form because I couldn’t find the British flag icon that would switch the website to English. The first steps seemed obvious: first name, last name, address. I kept entering my phone number where I should have entered my zip code. Finally, I got the jist until something else stopped me in my tracks.
I took advantage of a small break in the line to ask the security guard to translate the part that kept impeding my progress. “You need to add a telephone number,” he said.
Okay.
It felt like an eternity, but I finally purchased our tickets and showed the security guard. He waved us in.
The museum is a treasure trove of beautiful paintings. The four most famous paintings in the museum are The Night Watch by Rembrandt, The Milkmaid and Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer, and Van Gogh’s Self-portrait.
The first I had the pleasure of viewing up close with little disturbance in 2017. Because it was December when I visited, my mom and I practically had the museum to ourselves. One could walk the length of the painting without bumping into a soul. This time, however, a glass chamber separated the painting from its viewers by fifteen-twenty feet. The Night Watch is undergoing restoration and will remain in the glass chamber for the foreseeable future.
It’s a beautiful painting, hanging at the end of the Gallery of Honour. In this gallery, you’ll find Vermeer’s The Milkmaid. As I walked towards the area in which the painting is displayed, I saw a crowd of about six rows deep of extended arms with cell phones raised to get a photo. I lifted myself into a releve pose (ballerina move), caught a glimpse, and bolted before I became one with the chaos.
We toured the remaining galleries on that floor, and then we headed to the lowest level to view the ship models, swords, and china in the Special Collections gallery.
Museum-fix satiated, we left and took the tram to the Basilica of St. Nicholas. Visiting the Basilica was on the top of my mom’s to-do/see list.
“¡No me voy sin ver la iglesia!” my mom exclaimed, which meant I was in charge of keeping track of time to make sure we didn’t get locked out. Unfortunately, the basilica is only open from 12-3 p.m. on weekdays. It was already 1:15 p.m. when we left the museum.
The Basilica of St. Nicholas was designed combining various styles, neo-Baroque and neo-Renaissance being the most prominent. Of all the churches I’ve explored on my travels, it’s the one with the darkest interior.
The Basilica of St. Nicholas is known for hosting the International Organ Concert Series during the summer months, where many world-renowned organists have performed. A concert was being held that evening at 8:00 p.m., and I asked my mom if she wanted to attend. The ticket was €10.
Church-fix satiated, it was time for lunch. I decided to return to De Engelbewaarder for lunch, a local joint located far, far away from the chaos of Damrak street. I know of this place because I chose it when I and a fellow flight attendant were looking for a place to have dinner.
I really like this place. The building is nondescript save for a small sign hanging off the wall. You couldn’t tell it was a bar/restaurant if it weren’t for the minimal outdoor seating opposite the building. The food is delicious, and the staff is cordial but distant, which meant we could enjoy our meal without the pressure of having to vacate the premises for another group of tourists.
My mom and I took the one remaining table by the window, and ordered two burgers (I was really looking forward to having the veggie burger, but it’s only offered for dinner) and two Kriek beers. I thought I was ordering my lambic beer and instead got a different, but equally refreshing drink.
After a very long, late lunch, we walked back to the hotel to get ready for the concert.
As is tradition, even though we had disregarded tradition the entire day, we were one of the first people to arrive. There’s no assigned seating. I wanted to claim a spot where I could see the organ, because I didn’t want to stare at the altar or apse or the back of someone’s head for the duration of the concert. We picked a pew on the left side of the forward part of the nave, which gave us a direct view of the organ.
For one hour, we were treated to eight different musical pieces performed by Jos Maters. Maters is the assistant organist to the artistic director of the Basilica and specializes in music from the English tradition.
He did a lovely job.
I’m not religious (I’m an atheist), but I admire the works of art produced in the name of religion, which is why I didn’t hesitate to suggest attending the concert. Plus, I thought it was a legit local thing to do.
It was the calmest I’d felt in a long time. I was tempted to imitate the people who had their eyes closed. It seemed like a great way to take in the harmony of every chord, letting the music soothe your soul and allowing your mind to wander. At times, my mind was blank. It’s a strange feeling when you realize that you haven’t been thinking about anything. Perhaps I consider it strange because we’re constantly “on” all the time. At other times, I thought about stupid stuff. It was as if the music triggered the irrelevant thought.
I felt light for the remainder of the evening and night.
When he finished, he was given a standing ovation and thunderous applause. He walked down from the atrium, and shook hands with some folks. I managed to tell him, “That was beautiful. Thank you.”
DAY 4- Rotterdam, Delft, & Den Haag
Today was not a day for sleeping in or snoozing alarms. My alarm went off at 6:15 a.m. By 7:00 a.m., my mom and I were in the hotel restaurant for breakfast. Breakfast was not included with our stay, and it cost €24/person for a buffet breakfast.
The breakfast at this hotel is delicious. I’m biased because I love breakfast. I’m also biased because European breakfasts always offer healthier options than their U.S. counterparts. Satisfied, we returned to our rooms to collect our belongings and head out.
But first, a stop at Illy Cafe for a Cortado.
We were one of the first people to arrive at the Tours and Ticket office; we had to check in at 9:00 a.m., with a scheduled departure time of 9:30 a.m.
The tour was booked solid, requiring one regular bus and one double-decker bus to accommodate the crowd, which was separated into two groups. Our group was guided by a Mexican-Dutch man who gave the tour in English, Spanish, and some Italian. He was interesting to speak with during breaks.
The first stop on the tour was Madurodam in Den Haag. The park opened in 1952 and was originally established as a monument to a resistance hero by the name of George Maduro. The park has miniature replicas of famous Dutch cities and towns as well as prominent architecture. The park is interactive. For one euro, a little conveyor belt deposited a pin in the shape of tulips in the tulip garden. I got lucky because the machine popped out two pins.
For another euro in a different area of the park, a little truck delivered miniature ceramic klompen (Dutch clogs). Someone else got lucky that time and received two ceramic klompen for the price of one.
At first, I thought this was a complete waste of time, but I eventually warmed up to the park and its magic. It’s worth visiting.
We didn’t get to walk around Den Haag, which I didn’t mind because I didn’t see anything worth visiting. Perhaps when I work my next AMS trip, I’ll take the train to Den Haag and walk around.
The bus did drive around the center, and we got to view the city from behind a window.
Our next stop, a very brief stop (10 minutes), was the Peace Palace. We only got to see the outside. Tours are given and must be booked in advance (click here for more information). If you’re staying in Den Haag, then perhaps it’s worth seeing.
I felt this was a bit of a tease. “Here’s a beautiful building, but you can’t go in because there’s no time.”
From here, the bus took us to Rotterdam.
Once we arrived, we hopped on a boat for a one-hour cruise on the Amstel river. Quite frankly, this was a huge waste of time. Rotterdam’s skyline is unimpressive; there’s nothing to see. Skip the boat tour.
My tummy was begging for food by the time we reboarded the bus. The next stop on the bus was Markthal, a food hall with a variety of cuisines.
Let me be quite honest here: I hate food halls/markets. Eataly? Hate it. Time Out New York/Lisbon? Hate it.
I hate the concept. I cannot enjoy my meal as people walk by/through where I’m sitting. It’s a stupid concept! And it’s always a painful experience.
What made this experience even worse was that ordering food at Big Jo’s was chaotic and the food was cold and disgusting. I grew up poor, so throwing away food in my home was unacceptable. I painfully kept shoving fork-fulls in my mouth until my mom told me to chuck it and get something else.
Yeah, Big Jo’s. Your food is disgusting. And you really need to implement some type of order when it comes to serving those who dare eat at your establishment.
I needed to get rid of the awful aftertaste of what I had eaten, so I looked around and found a Tapas bar. I ordered a glass of rosé and two tapas, but I knew that I needed more food to be okay for the remainder of the day.
I decided to give it one more try, and I found Erikucha Arepera. Give it up to the Latinos who saved my tummy! I ordered Arepa pabellón and Tequeños, and I was set after this. We thanked the ladies behind the counter and headed to Kubuswoningen.
Kubuswoningen is a set of yellow cube houses built in the historic centre of Rotterdam. A quick google search will show you what they look like inside and out. They look cool from the outside. I didn’t bother paying for a tour of the inside of one of the houses (costs €7). I was pretty sure I could save the money by searching for it online.
We returned to the bus with five minutes to spare.
Our final stop for the day was Delft, and we took off once everyone was on board the bus.
Delft is the one city on this tour I wish we had had more time to explore.
We started by visiting the Royal Delft Museum, an earthenware factory established in 1653. It’s here, one of many factories that popped up in the 16th century, that Dutch craftsmen worked to copy Chinese porcelain, a luxury introduced to the public by Dutch seamen.
Our tour guide divided us based on the language in which we wanted to hear the tour. English speakers were directed to a young man while everyone who required a different language received a small audio guide. I elected to hear the tour in Italian, but I changed my mind, as did many others, after hearing the young man speak.
He delivered the information with great energy and interacted with the group. You could tell he really enjoyed his job. We walked through the building and ended with a tour of the warehouse where Royal Delft pieces are designed and made.
I purchased a small owl with metal glasses on top of a book (I love owls!), and I purchased a set of postcards with the photos displayed in the Flowers in Blue exhibition for my mom (she enjoys drawing flowers and birds).
From here, we left for the city centre. Our tour bus left us in a hotel parking lot because large vehicles are not allowed in the city centre. It was about a 10-15 minute walk to/from the hotel/city centre.
It was almost 5 p.m. or a bit after that, and we caught the last vestiges of an open air market. The Nieuwe Church was closed. The Stadhuis Delft was closed.
We made our way to Phoenixstraat and walked to Delft Windmill de Roos.
We walked through cobbled streets, ending up at one of the canals. We headed towards Nieuwe Church to see if we could grab a beer at a local spot. There was a place I wanted to go to because they had seating on the canal, and I found it. We walked into Grand-Cafe-Diner ‘t Boterhuis and requested a table outside.
I was looking forward to drinking a Liefmans or Kriek lambic beer, but I began panicking that we’d miss the bus if we stayed. I was trying to figure out how long it would take my mom to walk back to the bus; I didn’t want to rush her. We decided it was best to leave and not risk missing the bus. I apologized to the waitress, and we left.
We settled in for an hour-and-a-half-ride back to Amsterdam. I think we all nodded off before being awakened by our tour guide’s last official announcement.
We left a small tip and thanked him and the driver.
These tours can be a hit or a miss. In my opinion, this tour was a miss. If you’re in Amsterdam, take the train and explore these cities on your own. The only city I’d return to is Delft because I felt like I missed out on visiting some important sites. And I want to have my lambic beer on the porch on the canal.
LAST DAY
We left our bags packed and ready to go the night before our return home. We double-checked the room for any personal items, and then left and headed to the restaurant for breakfast.
I checked out and thanked the front desk clerk for a good stay.
It was too early and Illy Cafe was not open, so I had to settle for a Cortado at the airport. We took the Sprinter train back to Schiphol Airport, having purchased the tickets the evening before.
At the airport, I checked in at the counter because I couldn’t check in on the app. A different airline handles everything for my airline in Amsterdam.
With temporary boarding passes in hand, we made our way to security. Security is a breeze in Amsterdam. I only had to take off my jacket and belt and was let through within five minutes. Then came customs, which is handled by a machine using facial recognition. The lines here were much longer than at security.
Even so, I made my way through quickly and then I heard, “Come here for stamp.”
Who the hell said that? I thought I was good after the machine gave me the green light. Isn’t the point of these machines to replace human contact?
I looked to my right and saw a Dutch god. This customs officer was tall and handsome, with olive skin, dark hair and beard, and muscular arms and chest. I gladly made my way over to him, handed him my passport, and just stared.
I almost blurted out my version of a marriage proposal, “Do you want a blue passport?!”
I was so mesmerized that I forgot my mom was stuck at the machine trying to get through. The Dutch god stamped my passport and waved me through.
“No, you don’t want a blue passport?”
I turned around to see if my mom was doing okay because she hadn’t come through. When you wait for someone, it always feels like an eternity especially if it’s an elderly parent who isn’t too familiar with technology. She made it through.
We landed at JFK around 2:00 p.m. Whoever handles gate arrivals for international flights decided to park our plane at B47, which meant we had to walk a very, very long way to Global Entry. Trust me, the best gates for international arrivals at JFK are B22-B27. Anything higher, and you’re walking the length of the B Terminal to get to customs. Yuck!
We made it to the Global Entry kiosks. I received the green light and headed towards the exit, where the complete opposite of the Dutch god greeted me. I turned back to see my mom waving at me in frustration.
I shrugged back a “there ain’t shit I can do for you because I’m past customs. Sorry, mom.”
It didn’t take long for her to get through. She smiled and said, “Me tocó quitarme las gafas.”
“Did you enjoy the trip?” I asked my mom.
“Si, quedé encantada.”
What a great trip overall! I love your version of a marriage proposal… “do you want a blue passport?” 😂😂
So did you bring us back a couple of “Dutch gods”? 🤣😅 I’m so happy you and your mom got to experience Amsterdam again especially your mom.