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We knew that we would not be able to spend as much time sightseeing today as we had on previous days, because we had a lot to do to get ready for
our departure to Germany. We had been so busy before our honeymoon with the planning for our wedding, that we had only been able to figure out a
bare outline for our honeymoon. Our rental car pickup was by the museums, and when we were near there the previous day we had decided it would be easiest
to take a taxi to pick up our rental car. But we still had to figure out how to get from there to the
timeshare in Germany. Also, after living in this apartment for the last 4 days we had our stuff distributed all over the place, and we had to get it
all back into our suitcases.
We hadn't bought any souvenirs in Amsterdam yet, so we decided to go back to the Oude Zijde and Nieuwe Zijde and walk around to see if
we could find something we liked. We had been looking for a tall building that would offer us a view of the city, and although we had read
about three different buildings recommended for this purpose, we had not been able to get to any of them when they were open. The Kalvertoren
mall was nearby, and it's top floor cafe was mentioned in Rick Steves' Amsterdam Guide , so we decided to head there for lunch. On our way up to the cafe
we were passed by a group of 4-5 people who were dressed in costumes that were some kind of a cross between a 17th century nobleman and an
Oompa Loompa.
We were able to get a picture of the last two before they disappeared into a building.
We had two sandwiches and a fanta at the cafe.
The cafe was on the top two floors and was encased by glass, so it allowed for many great views of Amsterdam.
The Bloemenmarkt closed everyday at 5:30, and so far we had not been able to make it there either, so after
we finished souvenir shopping, we decided to head over there. We bought 25 tulips for 5 Euros at the Bloemenmarkt, which even at our
horrible exchange rate seemed like a great deal. We were
suprised how hard it was to even find flowers at the Bloemenmarkt. Out of 20 or so stalls, only about 3 of them actually sold fresh flowers. Most
of them sold seeds and wooden tulips. We had hoped to buy tulips on our first day in Amsterdam so that we could enjoy them throughout our time
in the city. We had never been in the right part of town before the market closed, so we ended up there on our last day, but we decided to try and pack
the tulips and take them with us to Germany. Be sure to check back when the Germany pages are up to see if they made it.
We brought the tulips back to our apartment, and put them in a vase by the window. We spent the rest of the night
planning our drive to Germany and deciding what to do the first couple days we were there. For dinner we went back to the Indonesian place from a couple nights ago, because
it was quick, delicious and inexpensive.
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