Monday, April 22, 2019. Since our legs are still exhausted from yesterday, we figured out the trams this morning - yippee! We still walked over four miles today, but at least it wasn't seven. :).
After jumping on a tram, we went on a Blue Boat tour. It was 75 minutes, informative and sunny. Simply beautiful. We learned (and observed) that since the city was originally built on wooden pilings, many of the buildings are leaning (significantly). Most houses have large hook-like things sticking out of their top to support a pulley when people move in and out (most stairs are narrow and steep). Once a year, all of the water in the canals is replaced with fresh water.
We then came back to the apartment for some lunch and to recharge.
This afternoon, we toured the Amsterdam Museum. It has a lot of cool history dating back 1000 years. The building that houses the museum served as an orphanage from 1580 til 1960, so there is a separate interactive section, designed for kids, where you can see what life was like as an orphan here in the 1600s. Thanks to the plague, it was a busy place. Haughton and Ridgely decided that they would rather not be an orphan!
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| During our boat tour |
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| Waiting for the tram to take us to the Amsterdam Museum |
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| Haughton admiring paintings in the Amsterdam Museum |
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| Learning about sugar production and the slave trade |
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| Haughton has been itching to ride a bike in Amsterdam. He finally got a chance! |
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| When eating, four orphans shared one plate. Less to clean-up. "No, I don't think being an orphan would be fun at all!" |
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| I don't think the kids were remotely interested in sleeping here! |
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| Courtyard where the orphans played |
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| Talking and talking and laughing |
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| Reading in the evening |
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| Unwinding in the evening |
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