others. Pay a little more for the Flex tickets and skip the line.
For some local flavor, we visited the Albert Cuypmarkt, the largest outdoor market in Amsterdam. We sampled local delicacies such as pickled herring and fresh stroopwafel( two thin, crispy wafers with a syrup filling) while browsing the stalls selling bags, scarves, and jewelry, along with produce and other food items. The Bloemenmarkt is another popular destination. It’ s located on the Singel Canal and is the world’ s only floating flower market.
Of course, no Amsterdam itinerary is complete without a visit to the Anne Frank House. A sobering yet hopeful testament to the resilience of the human spirit, it offers a look at the tiny annex behind a bookcase where, for just over two years, Anne and her family, along with four others, hid from the Nazis while a group of Dutch men and women risked their own safety to provide them with food and shelter. Tickets are required and go on sale six weeks ahead of time. Start your tour with the 30-minute introductory program to better appreciate the experience.
After visiting the Anne Frank House, we were inspired to learn more about the Dutch experience during the Nazi occupation from 1940 to 1945. Highlighting the thousands of ordinary
The Rijksmuseum, the national museum of the Netherlands, houses more than a million artifacts. | Photo: Kerstin Ohlsson
Did You Know?
Here are three things that may surprise you about Amsterdam.
Excerpted from Meininger Hotels’“ 10 Most Fascinating Fun Facts About Amsterdam”; meininger-hotels. com / blog / en / fun-facts-amsterdam.
1. Amsterdam has more canals than Venice and more bridges than Paris.
2. If you’ re looking for a coffee and pastry, you’ ll want to visit a koffiehuis and not a coffee shop. The coffee shop is where you go to get cannabis and a koffiehuis is where you go for a coffee.
3. Amsterdam has the highest concentration of museums per square meter of all the cities in the world.
A canal at sunset( above) and another topped by a rainbow( below). | Photos: Kerstin Ohlsson
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