A DAY IN AMSTERDAM

After our second night in Amsterdam hotel boat , it was time to say goodbye to this great accommodation. Because it was a long weekend, with a couple of holidays, there was no place to spend a third night there.

After breakfast on the deck of the ship proceeded to the checkout. A brief visit to the fashionable and fun Amsterdam Public Library , where further tip for travelers, you can use the internet for free - was carried on our warehouse of bags at the hotel reception and departure boat toward the Museumplein , or Museum Square.

Located southwest of downtown and close to the huge Vondelpark, the Museumplein is a square surrounded by some of the major museums of Amsterdam: the Rijkmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and Stedelijk Museum. Walk toward it, crossing the canals, Waterloo Square, Rembrandt Square and the antiques district. It took us about 30 minutes to arrive.

At this time, was at the Museum Square poster for "I Amsterdam", which literally means "I amsterdam" but using the colors red and white to emphasize the letters "a" and "m" can read as "I am Amsterdam" or "I am / I'm in Amsterdam." It is very difficult to take a photograph on this poster / sculpture, which is usually crowded with tourists, and this time was no exception. However, we did eventually.

That morning we got tickets for the Van Gogh Museum on the internet, which came in very well and can enter through a row much shorter and much less time than we needed to take tickets at the door of the museum. After passing through security, we leave our stuff in the wardrobe, we removed the audio guide who had booked a new ticket surcharge for security-by - and entered the museum.

The Van Gogh Museum paintings can be seen throughout the different stages of the life of this famous painter of Dutch origin, who explored impressionist and pointillist styles, as well as "japoneserías" (Japanese art influences) and some of the exotic in the company your friend - and artist - Gaugin. Also included in this museum, paintings by Gaugin and other friends and influences that had Van Gogh.

A complete tour of this museum, with audio-guide, takes almost four hours. The tour without an audio guide if it is to see and read all, just takes about 3 hours, since the vast majority of the paintings are accompanied by explanatory texts, and the large influx of tourists and visitors difficult to read. This museum is not allowed to take pictures and plenty of security personnel to monitor this rule is respected.

Upon completion of the visit to the Van Gogh Museum, I went ahead to Rijkmuseum to buy tickets to my companions. Surprisingly, there was virtually no waiting. The reforms are in Rijkmuseum several years, but has a small collection open to the public. Here is a brief account the history of Dutch colonies and sea trade in the past. Also shown are several works by Dutch and Flemish painting and Rembrandt's famous painting known as "The Night Watch" or in English, "Thenightwatch."

I did not visit on this occasion the Rijkmuseum, which had been very recently, on a flying visit to Queen's Day in Amsterdam . Use this time to meet my two friends in this city and enjoy with them, a smoothie and a bagel on a sunny terrace. Later, together with my fellow travelers, visited the Tulip Market, almost closed, but with some shops open to buy souvenirs and bulbs or seeds of tulips and other flowers, and drove the huge Vondelpark, which was half of the youth population of Amsterdam taking advantage of the sunny day.

After a beer at the "Blue Tea House" located in the park, take the tram 5 towards Central Station. From there we walked to the hotel boat to look for things. One of us went to get the car on the outskirts of Amsterdam , because we used the economic mode parking P + R ("park and ride" or "parking and trasládate"). Then all the bags in the car and after enjoying the sunset on the pier next to the hotel boat, we left Amsterdam and travel to our hotel that night in a small nearby town: Amstelveen.