Day 6 - Tuesday - Amsterdam

Tuesday was our last full day in Amsterdam, so we again took advantage of the ability to sleep 1) without a baby monitor and 2) without any alarm clock whatsoever. 

 

At least we made the hotel breakfast this time (barely). 

 

Since we decided to forego a day-trip to Belgium (too much effort and time it was determined), we found ourseleves with a rare day without any plans. I handed the reigns to Brendan, and he thought it'd be a kick to check out east Amsterdam, which has a lookout tower across the inlet from the city. 

 

Well, that "kick" turned into more of a "swing." More on that later. 

 

To reach east Amsterdam, we needed to catch a ferry from the train station. We set out on foot, determined to find a few new canals on the way. The walk to the train station was long but pleasant -- we bumped into a large sidewalk market and found a few quiet canals. It's always interesting to venture away from city centers and see how the "real" locals live, where they shop, etc. 

 

We found the train station easily (it's huge!) and followed the well-marked signage to the foot ferries. We took the world's shortest ferry ride which was less than 10 minutes across, and the route ran constantly with two ferries going back and forth. The lookout tower was practically adjacent to the ferry drop-off across the water, and when we (Brendan) discovered a swing had opened on top of the tower just two weeks ago -- and was billed as "Europe's Highest Swing" and a mere 5E more than the general lookout ticket-- we (he) decided it'd be a crime NOT to do it. 

 

We rode the tacky-but-fun elevator to the top (complete with a laser light show on the ceiling) and joined a short line to the swing. We were lucky to have visited before lunch, when we left the line looked at least an hour long. There were two swings at the top of the open-air observation deck and each could seat two people. As we buckled up for our turn, the tour operator took a quick photo and said slyly, "Smile while you can!" 

 

Funny guy. 

 

The swing was half-terrifying, a great view, and all around a one-of-a-kind experience. How many people can say they were on Europe's highest swing during its opening month? 

 

Well, we can. That alone was probably worth the extra 5E. 

 

After finishing the swing and taking a few photos from the observation deck -- being away from the city center, the view wasn't AS interesting as Westerkirk, but we were much higher and it was neat to see the skyline, a mix of medieval and modern architecture -- we caught the ferry heading west to the city.

 

We began the long walk back to the hotel, stopping for a lovely lunch at a cafe built into a pier (De Jaren), with a view of one of the few drawbridges in the city. It was great people-watching, boat-watching (one was moored literally two feet from our table), and felt like the perfect "last meal" in Amsterdam. We ventured back to the hotel and spent the rest of the afternoon packing, grabbing a quick burger dinner, and taking one last evening walk before calling it a night. 

 

One last blog entry coming....

 

Last day -- we miss Declan like crazy at this point but still want to suck every ounce of fun left in Amsterdam!

You never know what you'll find on a long walk... Brendan was in love with this motorcycle.

Lookout tower with the swing at the top

Last nice meal... had to get Bitterballen and beer, of course!

Lunch with a view

One of our last photos from that evening's walk. I'll miss our late evening walks the most -- always one of my favorite things to do with Brendan while traveling.