My History Traveling to Amsterdam 

The first trip I ever took to Amsterdam was a long layover while traveling to Cairo, Egypt. I was in my early 20’s, meeting a group in the Middle East and could not be more excited to go to the Anne Frank House! I was a teacher who focused on Holocaust history and read Anne Frank with numerous classes over the years. After stowing my suitcase in a locker, I hopped on the train to head into Central Station in the heart of Amsterdam. It was early in the morning, so I found a café (not coffeeshop…at least not yet) for breakfast until my Anne Frank ticket time slot arrived.

The Anne Frank House is a small museum, just the apartment with the attic and then an adjacent building for the museum. I spent hours there soaking everything in, learning more to share with my students and spending a pretty penny in the bookstore. On my way out, I stopped for some photos of Westerkerk (West Church) on the canal at the corner. This was the church that the young author wrote about hearing in her diary, that was her only connection while hiding from the outside world. I got to hear its chim before finding a lunch spot. After grabbing the classic baguette sandwich I’ve always loved in Europe, I decided on a canal cruise tour. I should’ve chosen a Flagship cruise (I didn’t and learned the hard way), but now I always recommend this company for flexibility in time and location. 

My next three trips were in the years I was living in Berlin, Germany. This is when I first learned about the Keukenhof Garden and tulip festival, with all the beautiful spring flowers that Holland has to offer. It became an annual pilgrimage to see each year and thankfully I had lots of long weekend holidays. Large groups of friends would share hostel rooms and see the museums and sites of our choice during the day and ate, drank and partied well into the evenings. European & International teachers are a different breed! 

My love for the Dutch city grew to be one of my favorite places to travel. I was excited to share it a few years later, with the man who became my husband and life-long travel partner. My husband had a big birthday, one year into dating and I wrapped up a passport application with an itinerary for a 12-day trip to Berlin, Amsterdam and Paris. If he was going to be with me, he was going to need to love Europe. 

European travel is not for beginners or those who fear exceptionally steep stairs! I showed him the city of Berlin, Germany where I had lived for a few pivotal years, loving the European lifestyle. Berlin was having a heat wave, and it became very real to this Florida-born boy that most of Europe does not have air conditioning!

A few days later, we were in Amsterdam, enjoying a respite from the heat. Amsterdam is often cool and rainy well into mid-summer months, so be prepared with rain gear and a sweater and jeans. We took a canal cruise, enjoyed the Dutch painters in the Rijksmuseum and went into the Anne Frank House. This is the trip I really fell in love with the Jordaan Neighborhood, with the beautiful bridges, canals, cafes, boutique shops and coffeeshops. After the most amazing time in Amsterdam, we took the train south to Paris. 

Hubby is a classically trained painter, so between the art museums of Paris and visiting Claude Monet’s home and studio at Giverny, Ken’s first European trip was life changing to say the least. We also traveled out to Normandy Beach, a beautiful drive out in the French countryside. The cliffs and dunes of the coastal landscape, the museums dotted along the countryside and conversations with veterans and their children were priceless. We have since shared this location with our children during the 80th anniversary and have been asked to plan going back for the 85th anniversary celebration.

Amsterdam was always the city that stuck in hubby’s mind and he fell in love with the city, I’d been infatuated with for years. He has taken me back many years to celebrate my birthday during Spring Break, right in time for tulip season. We happened upon our first King’s Day Celebration and had the time of our lives. We have since spent time in Amsterdam during every season and many holidays over a dozen trips. 

This summer we took our first family trip to Europe. Starting in Amsterdam for a week, then took the train to Paris for a few days, before renting a car to drive to Normandy, France and back up to The Netherlands. We stopped in Brussels and Antwerp, Belgium and planned on spending our last few days on Zandvoort Beach. Weather changed our plans and took us back to Amsterdam since our kids loved it so much and begged to go back! 

The kids acclimated to the city quickly and felt more relaxed and comfortable in Amsterdam then expected. Paris is a big city and very crowded when we went (avoid olympic crowds at all costs). It relaxed again in the French and Belgium countryside and we all felt back at home in the Netherlands. Looking forward to spending our first Christmas & New Year’s in Europe this winter with all of our kiddos.