As the flight was about to board, I recognized 2 anesthesiologists from MSK who were also boarding the plane. We laughed at the coincidence. They were going to a meeting in Lenz outside Vienna. We boarded and talked in the aisle until we were forced to sit down for takeoff.
I had arranged for a taxi to pick up me and Jen to take us to the hotel. They were incredibly efficient and communicative making our meeting easy. After a 25 minute trip into town, we arrived at our hotel just before noon. Miraculously our room was ready. We got organized and set off to find lunch and plan the rest of the day.
Amsterdam has very little car traffic but there are lots of bicycles. There don’t seem to be many traffic signals so it pays to be vigilant to the oncoming traffic of any sort.
After making a dinner reservation, we set out for an unusual museum named “our lord in the attic”. We learned that in the end of the 1500’s the Protestant church took over all churches and removed all signs of Catholicism. However, the Dutch were tolerant so that Catholics were able to establish house churches so long as they were kept “hidden”. This museum comprised 3 houses that had been combined for church use as well as living and trade of linen goods. The narrow stairs and low ceilings in several rooms were typical of the times. The attic which served as the church was a beautiful 3 story area with an organ and altar as well as a room for vestments and church objects. The audio guide gave the stories of those who had lived there.
We headed back to our hotel for a quick nap before dinner. We passed through what was part of the red light district. The condom store had a colorful display.
Dinner at John Dory restaurant was a delicious tasting menu with fanciful and tasty dishes.
Finally we returned to the hotel to sleep and get ready for a big day of museums tomorrow. One very noticeable thing was that despite the presence of many shops selling all sorts of drugs, there was not the ever present smell of marijuana that is prominent on the streets of NYC. INTERESTING!
The Adventures of Anne 