Crowds

Our final day in Amsterdam was very busy, but we didn't get too far. Our mission was to conquer the Rijksmuseum, but even with a whole day we struggled to get through half of it. It has only reopened recently, so now the complete collection is back on display. There are a few bumps that will hopefully be ironed out over time, but it was an impressive building. It's always hard to remember that any old buildings were designed to be seen as clean and new, the grime and wear of centuries is not a true representation of how a building was intended even if we think it makes it more authentic.

I'm not very good at appreciating art for art's sake, but I do love art that reveals pieces of history, and this museum is full of that. I saw the Night Watch (today's theme: Dark), but it was incredibly busy and I couldn't spend as long examining it as I would have liked. Erica and I had a good laugh over Rembrandt's self-portrait sketches, they were just like the selfies we'd been taking of silly faces all week - some things don't change. After looking at the rows of paintings of significant Dutch traders, merchants and leaders I came to the conclusion that I have a Dutch nose.

Once we made it out, with aching feet and bulging brains, we discovered a market around the lake outside. It was the first of a new four-times-yearly craft market, and we enjoyed all the stalls with pretties and shinies. We bought a few bits and pieces, for me some new earrings, then raced back to the hostel to collect our luggage before catching a train to The Hague.

We had found a fabulous felafel bar a couple of nights before, and stopped there for food before heading on to our next adventure.