I AMSTERDAM

When I told my daughter that I was heading to Amsterdam she seemed dubious. She made sure to tell me to watch out for the coffee shops and stay clear of the brownies. No problem!

We arrived in the evening to find that our hotel, right off of Dam Square by the Palace, had 'water problems' and our room was uninhabitable. The outlook for obtaining a room in the same vicinity was not good and we were initially dismayed to be shuttled to a hotel that seemed to be quite a ways from the center of town. But, as luck would have it, this hotel was a 5-star property in a nice, quite neighborhood not far from the Museum District - much more my speed than the Red Light District, that's for sure!

Upon the recommendation of Mark and Stella, we set off in the morning for the Rijksmuseum. Along the way we stopped at an outdoor cafe for breakfast. Mike ordered a Belgium waffle that looked amazing but he finished in about two swallows. To his credit, he made it through to lunch without any hunger pangs at all.

The museum had great representation of the 17th century masterpieces from the Dutch Golden Age. We saw works by Rembrandt, most noteably Night Watch, as well as other masters including van Ruyesdael, Hals, Vermeer and Steen. Right now they have an exhibit featuring Miro, who traveled to the Netherlands and based his 'Dutch Interiors' on the postcards he took home of paintings by Sorgh and Jan Steen. It was interesting to see the original dutch paintings, that were the inspiration, displayed alongside the surrealistic work of Miro.

If you go to the Rijksmuseum, don't miss the dollhouse display. One of them is a 17th century home built entirely to scale, down to every last furnishing in the house. It is displayed in an inlaid cabinet. The cost is said to have been equivalent to that of a home along the canal during that time period - crazy!

After wrapping up the Rijksmuseum, we headed down the Museumplein to The VanGogh Museum. Van Gogh is one of my personal favorites and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing so many of his famous paintings in one place. I especially love the way he experimented with brush strokes to created different effects that are unique to his work.

After hours in the museums, it was time for a walk in the park so we headed towards Vondelpark. The plan was to rent bicycles and join the throngs of cyclists spinning around the city on old-fashioned, rusted out bicycles. As we roamed the park in search of bikes, it started to rain so we never did get that bike ride in. This could have been a blessing in disguise given that the bikers seemed to have their own 'road code' and definitely dominated the cars trying to navigate this city!

On our way to dinner we took the obligatory walk through the Red Light District. Any time of day or night this place is packed with people and, honestly, I just don't get it - enough said. Dinner was at a charming french restaurant specializing in seafood. It was off the beaten path and that suits me better.

Sunday we started the day with another outdoor breakfast by a canal near the Rembrandt House. The Rembrandt House was really interesting. This upscale home was extremely expensive and Rembrandt eventually lost it when he could no longer pay the debt on it. Here again, we found the sleeping situation odd. The beds were actually in giant cabinets called box beds that were extremely short. Apparently they slept sitting up for fear that if they were to lie flat they might die from too much blood rushing to their head! I also did not realize that Rembrandt was well known for his intricate copper etching prints.

Our next stop was a canal cruise. This turned out to be a great way to see the city and spare our feet. I can tell you that my this flip flops where not meant to walk all over cobblestone sidewalks for days on end! to wrap up the day we took a stroll through the flower market and ate dinner at an Argentinian Steakhouse.

My overall impression of Amsterdam is mixed. While the cobblestone streeets, canals and bridges lacing the city are picturesque, I would recommend avoiding the main streets of the town center, as they seemed to be dirty and louder as the night wore on. This could be due to visitors celebrating Holland's success in the World Cup - go Orange! The people seemed to be very friendly and laid back. Even those not frequenting the notorious coffee shops! All in all, a good experience. On to Belgium...