Rain, Rain, Go Away!

We woke up early Sunday morning and were excited for the day to begin! We had planned on eating breakfast at our hotel, get ready, head to Zaanse Schans, a cute little Dutch village, just 20 minutes north of Amsterdam, and then go to the Anne Frank House and Museum later that day.  Well, the weather had a different plan for us. 

When we awoke, we quickly looked outside to see the weather conditions.  What we found was not pleasant.  Yes, it was in fact raining! We had known that there was a slight chance of rain, but we were hoping for the best! Instead of taking the train to Zaanse Schans in the morning, we planned to see if the rain had stopped later in the day and go after the Anne Frank Museum. 

We slowly got dressed (now, we weren't in a rush), and went downstairs and ate another delicious breakfast.  Knowing that we had to take our bikes back, our first mission was to brave the rain, with bikes in hand.  It was not very fun. It was freezing.  When we got there, we found a huge line, others had the same idea as us.  We had to wait in the freezing cold, rain, not to mention the strong winds that were gushing through. 

 Waiting in the rain to return our bikes!

With a few hours to spare before our time at the museum, we headed to the next best thing... a cheese shop! We knew that we wanted to take some Dutch cheese back to London!

 All of the choices! So many!

 We bought two delicious choices!

With umbrellas in hand, we braved the rain, yet again, and strolled through the streets.

 

 T on a bridge... in the rain

Because we were freezing... (well, I was freezing...), we stopped in a cafe and had some hot tea, hot chocolate with Baileys, and some typical Dutch sweet treats, Poffertjes met poedersuiker en boter... or fluffy pancakes with powered sugar and butter... eating yet again!

  After a few bites that we could not resist!

It was now our time to tour the Anne Frank Museum.  If you are planning on visiting, I HIGHLY suggest getting your tickets ahead of time! You may have to go with a time that isn't that great (we went in the middle of the day at 2pm), but it is totally worth it! If you don't buy tickets ahead of time, you will wait in line for 2 hours, or even longer! If you get your tickets ahead of time, you walk straight to the left of the line, ring the little bell, and walk right in.  Very easy! Luckily, we had scheduled this for today, it got us out of the rain.

After taking a step back into time, we stepped outside, and guess what? The rain had stopped! However, the wind was still blowing strong and had not left us! We ventured back to the hotel to get directions to go to the small Dutch village, but by the time we got back, he told us that by the time we got there, everything would be closed.  I guess that I will have to go back to the Netherlands to see the windmills!

Walking around Amsterdam

Since our flight was not until 9:00pm, we decided to have an early dinner after walking around the town.  We found a little Greek place and decided to eat there! It was again, very delicious! We have been so international during our time in Amsterdam! Indonesian food, Dutch food, and now Greek food! 

 My food: chicken skewer with potatoes, rice, and tzatziki sauce

 T's Meal: The special... chicken, lamb chop, gyro, with salad, tzatziki sauce, and poratoes

He was very proud of his special... and ate it all!

We then headed back to our hotel, had a little relaxation in the hotel lobby, grabbed our bags, figured out the bus system that took us to the airport, and we were on our way.  We took the 197 bus directly to the airport.  Very glad that we did this, the ride was only around 30 minutes and we did not have to switch trains, buses, or anything.  When we got there, we noticed that our flight was delayed... oh that wonderful London weather! We weren't leaving until 9:45 and now we had plenty of time to relax in the airport.  Finally landing in London around 10 (with the time change), we were hoping that the passport line was not too long so that we could catch the tube back into central London.  Well, we didn't get lucky... the line for checking our passports was SO long and took us about an hour to get through.  For short... our passports were checked at 11:20... the last tube was at 11:30.... we ran through the airport, to the underground station, and yes, WE MADE IT! Thank goodness we did not have to waste 50 pounds on a taxi ride!

Now, we must catch up on sleep, and plan for our next trip for next weekend! We are still weighing our options, but I think we are going to see the English country side with a stop in Stonehenge, and Windsor Castle.  Who know where our adventure will take us next! I will keep you posted!