A Lazy Sunday

Houseboat on Prinsegracht Canal

On a lazy Sunday  11-6 we watch the rain, then the sun, drink coffee and plan for our scheduled visit to the Anne Fran House, but for the morning we try the normal part of life, the laundry since we have a washer and dryer in the building.

For 1.5 EU you can do a wash and a dry, but our change doesn't exactly work since our host said it was .5.  So after loading the wash and the soap and being short, we remove them  and wait for the stores to open.  The first one can't give us change because of their automatic change system. We then try another store and get change. Reading this is probably boring, and there at least ten more steps before we have our clothes done, and its an excellent example of how things can be different in another country, including reading the instructions in Dutch.

Cafes provide blankets for chilly mornings.

Half way through we go to a local coffee shop which has benches outside with blankets to enjoy your coffee and street watching.  This was a definite tension reducer on a slow Sunday morning. People in Amsterdam are not in a hurry on Sunday.

Cafe Sonneveld

We meet Ed and Linda at Sonneveld for lunch.  Its a charming local Amsterdam place.  We have a lazy lunch of soups and sandwiches, plus beer of course. Locals begin to stream in and by the time we leave the place is full.

Then its off to the Anne Frank house and museum.  The thought that it is right down the street from where we are staying makes us pause.  The house includes the rooms that they occupied and walking through them gives you a slight sense of what they experienced while hiding.  The collected writings and commentary by people that knew her made her seem like a normal girl caught in a terrible world. There is also commentary from people who have visited the museum and a place for you to sign and leave your thoughts.

Interior drawing of Anne Frank House

We take the rest of the afternoon to decompress and relax.  We are doing a pizza dinner because we feel that is one food we probably will not see for a while.  We select La Perla in our neighborhood on a busy street called Little Italy. That doesn't work out because of the wait, but being little Italy there is another one, Hostaria. It is the size of my living room, they have somehow managed to cram a kitchen, three chefs, 20 tables and a waitresses into it: it’s a wonder there’s room for any diners at all. Our meal was excellent and we weren't sorry it was our second choice.

Red Light District

Ed wants to see the famous red light district which is a short cab ride away.  In stark contrast to our quiet neighborhood, its crowded and a real sensory overload ranging from the women in their windows to shops that sell everything about sex. There are a few museums thrown in like the sex museum and the marijuana museum and plenty of bars.  We walk around and take a cab back to our neighborhood for night cap at the Cafe De Prins which is practically empty on a sleepy Sunday.

Local beer at Cafe de Prins