We touched down at 8:30am local time this morning in Amsterdam. The weather met expectations with overcast skies and 50 degree Fahrenheit temps. But it’s amazing.

We are only here a few days, primarily for the tulip festival. We will spend all day Sunday touring the grounds and we are quite excited. One of the most exciting parts is that we are be joined by some of the King Family: Wendy, Ella, and Will. There will be lots of laughing for sure.

Today is low key. Anne Frank house. Pancake lunch. Canal cruise. Dinner if we are up for it. We were up for it. All of it. We had a fantastic day.

First stop was the Anne Frank museum. I think I’m maybe one of the few people who hasn’t read the book, so it was quite informative. It’s an amazing story, and seeing the buildings first hand makes it feel even more moving. The museum is a strong recommendation. Pictures were off limits within the museum, but our private learning session had some unique items.

Next stop for hungry travelers? Obviously Dutch pancakes. On our walk to the museum we went by a place called The Pancake Bakery. The place a huge line and I immediately lost hope. Until I learned that Wendy had chosen this very spot and made reservations for almost exactly when we finished at the museum. It was awesome.

For anyone who hasn’t tried them, a bacon cheese and apple pancake is next level. Not too sweet. Not overly filling. Pairs well with local beer. Oh yeah, Ella’s pancake which was nicknamed “diabetes” based on its ice cream, whipped toppings, and hot fudge. Looked amazing but way more dessert than I could handle.

From there we had a little time to kill and walked around. We explored a cheese shop (complete with cheese museum) and a flower bulb shop that specialized in tulips.

Before we knew it, our time had come to board our canal tour. The open boat gave us a great opportunity to see everything as we quietly moved through the city. We learned all about the shape of the houses: they’re narrow because you paid for width and windows when facing a canal, tall because they had to maximize space for storage of goods, and pitched forward with hooks along the roof peak to allow for the east unloading of goods from ships. This helped us understand the layout and shape of our airbnb, especially the nearly vertical winding stairs.

The city is beautiful from the water. The architecture is consistent but unique and the canal bridge lend a unique charm. One is even called the Love Bridge that ensures the long happy unions of people who hug while passing below.

The tour was the perfect length of an hour and we got off the boat just as a mist was forming. Definitely a must do when visiting the city.

The bright sky was confusing as it was already time for dinner. Chloe found a place nearby that sounds good so we went to see if they had room. The Bistro Amsterdam was jammed with people, but the manager took an immediate liking to Will and told him that she’d have space for us in 30 minutes. We think she may have tossed some people out or hurried them along, because we got a great table almost exactly 30 minutes later.

The food was traditional Dutch and made just for us. They even made a vegetarian version of a meal for Michelle. It was loud and fun, and a great way to wind down the night.