#351: Cafe Society (pg 240)

 

July 12, 2025

Cafe 't Smalle

"A favored watering hole since it first opened in 1786."

A flavor of the inside.

But on a day like today and with a view like this, the outside is where you want to be!

Verdict:  No, this isn't something you need to do before you die.  In fact, it was taken out of the 2nd edition and rightfully so.  Enjoy Amsterdam's eating and drinking scene and find a place along the canal on a nice afternoon or evening, but it doesn't necessarily need to be in a "brown cafe" (which name derives from a combination of the wood-paneling which is beautiful and it's tobacco stains from years of pub living, which is, well.... less beautiful).  

#350: Pulitzer Hotel (pg 242)

 

July 12, 2025

The Pulitzer hotel is located along a gorgeous canal in the Jordaan District just a short walk from the Anne Frank house.

It has two very nice restaurants with beautiful outdoor seating options.

And a lovely lobby with some "Pulitzer-prize" winning books.

One of the lovely courtyards that make you just want to stay here instead of venturing out into the city.

Verdict:  No, this isn't a must do.  In fact, it was taken out of the 2nd Edition of the 1000 Places book and rightfully so.  It's a lovely place to stay if you can afford to do so (rooms typically range between $500-$700/night) but it's not something you have to see before you die.  So, while this magical courtyard and historical elegance may draw you in, unless money is no object, I'd stay in a less expensive place and spend your time and money exploring this must-see city!

#349: Anne Frank House (pg 239)

 

July 12, 2025

Posing here with my sister Lindsay in front of the building which housed Anne Frank and her family, along with 4 other people for 25 months before they were discovered. 

As you can see here,  they stayed in the back upper floors of a business.  They were able to stay hidden as long as they did because most of the Nazis were searching in people's homes, not in businesses.  

Verdict:  Yes!!  This is an absolute must do.  The whole experience exceeded my expectations.  It's obviously very sobering, but it's very well done.  The area is bigger than I imagined.  You are not allowed to take pictures inside the house, which is why my only pictures here are of the outside.  But when you tour the inside, you go inside the business building area and then you go behind a bookshelf and up the stairs to where they lived for 25 months.  It consisted of 3 small bedrooms plus a larger kitchen/living area room (which also doubled as a bedroom) and a bathroom.  After touring the building and living area, there is a gift shop and small museum display of Anne's actual diary and other writings.

Also, this was taken out in the 2nd Edition of 1000 Places as its own entry and just added as a subtext under "Amsterdam."  While I agree with the book's doing that with many of the other Amsterdam sights (Cafe Society, Oude Kerk, Pulitzer Hotel, Van Gogh Museum, etc), I think this one should have been kept as it's own entry.  It's definitely worthy of it. 

Cost:  16 euros

Tip:  Makes sure to book these tickets well ahead of time as they sell out very quickly.  Every Tuesday at 10am, they release more tickets and you can book out as far as 6 weeks in advance.   And I definitely recommend booking 6 weeks in advance as soon as they go on sale (I set an alert on my phone to make sure I got these) especially if you are going during  peak season. 

#348: Red Light District (pg 243)

 

July 12, 2025

I honestly wasn't quite sure how to document this one!  As you can see in the windows here, there are "no camera" signs everywhere.  In fact Rick Steves Amsterdam guidebook suggests "leaving your phone or camera in your bag. Don't take photos of women in windows or a snarly bouncer may appear from out of nowhere to forcibly rip it from your hands. In this district, taking even seemingly harmless photos of ordinary people is frowned upon by privacy-loving locals."  So, needless to say, this is the only photo I dared to take. 

The Red Light District is Amsterdam's oldest neighborhood and prostitution has been practiced here since the Middle Ages.  

Verdict:  My normal bar for what I decide to put as "yes" is "Is this something you can't see or do anywhere else?  Is it uniquely interesting?"  etc.  So, if I'm going by those standards, then this deserves a "Yes."  Walking through during the afternoon, I found the whole area absolutely fascinating -it's certainly not anything I've ever seen before!   Window after window with scantily-clad women "for sale."  But certainly, there's also the feeling of sadness in terms of what got these women here in the first place and the whole seediness of it all.  So, I guess I'd say this..... If you do decide to go, I recommend going during the day and just doing a walk-through to get an idea of the place and avoid going after dark, where the whole area turns to complete debauchery. 

#347: Oude Kerk (pg 241)

Oude Kerk

7/12/25

The famous organ pipes

Verdict:  No, this isn't something you need to see before you die.  In fact, not only does the 2nd edition not have this listed as its own entry anymore, it only makes a very brief mention of it in the Amsterdam listing on pg 228.  It's a cool church with a lot of history as Amsterdam's oldest church dating from ~1300.  The book states that "summertime concerts are one of the season's greatest pleasures" so maybe I would feel differently if we would have had the opportunity to hear the carillon bells and world-famous organ in action during a concert.  But as it stands, I would say this is beautiful church from the outside and a unique, deeply historic church on the inside, but not a must see before you die church.  

Cost:  Adult:  13.50 euros

Student ages 13-17:  7 euros

Children 6-12 3.50 euros

Children <6: Free 

For an extra charge, you can go to the top of the tower for great views of the city and an up close view of the carillon bells, but these are timed entry tickets with a max capacity of 10 people/group. 

 

#20: Rijksmuseum

August 26, 1999: We visited Netherlands' most famous museum, Rijksmuseum. Rijksmuseum is filled with works from Rembrandt, Vermeer and more. The most famous work is shown here, The Night Watch, by Rembrandt van Rijn from the 1642. It is a massive piece of art and has a grand hall all to itself. Definitely a sight to behold!
My ticket stub.

Verdict: If you enjoy art, history, culture or just think it's cool to see something in person that you saw in all your Humanities books, the Rijksmuseum is not to be missed. If however, you are not into any of those things.... you could probably die without seeing this :)

Addendum: 7/12/25

After 26 years, I made it back to Amsterdam!

We were only in Amsterdam for one day and had a ton of things on our list to do.  Since I had already been inside this museum (albeit 26 years ago!) and my husband wanted to enjoy doing outside things like canal rides on this beautiful day, I didn't go back inside this time, but it was still fun to walk around outside one of Amsterdam's most famous museums!

#346: Van Gogh Museum (pg 244)

 

July 12, 2025

Sadly, the only pictures you will see of me here are..... outside the museum 😢

I made a rookie travel mistake of not getting tickets ahead of time - 🙈

I hopped on line that morning to grab some tickets and it said it was sold out - Ahh!  So I trudged down there anyway hoping I might be able to stand in line and get some "day of" tickets (Many places sell timed entry tickets on line but still allow you to wait in line for admission) but alas, no such luck.  A little research ahead of time (darn that I didn't read my Rick Steves Amsterdam book a little more closely!) would have told me that they highly recommend you buy these tickets at least a week ahead of time - whoops!

Not the sign I wanted to see....

As close as I'm going to get on this trip.....

Verdict:  Obviously I can't give my actual verdict on this one since I couldn't go inside, but I will say this - in the second edition, this is taken out of the book as it's own entry and instead just mentioned as one of the sights in Amsterdam.  So that made me feel a little better about missing out this trip.  So, while I will make it a point to see this museum (and book ahead of time!) next time I'm in Amsterdam, there are plenty of other things to see and do in Amsterdam - especially on a gorgeous day like this one!

Price: 24 euros >18 years old

Free < 18 years old

#345: Bergen and Troldhaugen (pg. 326, 2nd Ed: Bergen pg 355)

 

July 10, 2025

Bergen!

We started out the day by exploring this beautiful port city, the second largest city in Norway, second only to Oslo.

Bergen Cathedral

This is Bergen's main church and was dedicated to St. Olav, the patron saint of Norway, in 1301.

One of the best things to do in this town is just to meander the streets.

And to eat a cinnamon roll!  We got this one from Godt Brod.

After wandering around the town for awhile, we made our way to the Floibanen Funicular and bought a one-way ticket to the top.

Highly recommend this - spectacular views from the top!

I spy with my little eye..... our ship!

Planning out our next destination 😉

Kissing Point

In position....

Mwah!  😘😘😘

We also loved meeting the local goats. 

There are 10 of them.  

Hi Floydis!

Truth!!

We took the funicular up....

But we hiked (and slid!) down (which I also highly recommend- it was lovely!)

Then we made our way to the famed fish market.

We hired a tour guide to take us on an "official" tour of the city and explored again under Neal's tutelage. 

The first part was a walking tour and the second half was on a ferry so that we could see Bergen by boat from the water perspective. 

Back on land for a bit more shopping and exploring before getting back on our ship!

Here I am along the wharf side district of Bryggen. 

Verdict:  We loved Bergen.  There was lots to see and do and it was aesthetically pleasing to the eye everywhere you looked!  There are lots of day trip options from here as well to explore the fjords, which in my opinion, is the very best part of Norway!