We finished up the trip with a few days in Amsterdam. Sitting in our hotel now writing this post and trying not to stress out over the elections until it's time for dinner.

Getting to town was a little hectic. Turns out there was a train with some mechanical issues on the line so two thirds of the trains into Amsterdam from Leiden were crowded. It only slowed us down by about a half hour but it was a little hectic and much more crowded than I would have liked.

Since we had most of the day, after dropping our bags at the hotel we explored one of Amsterdam's street markets. The Ten Katemarkt in particular.

Of course, Devorah wasted no time in finding yarn and fabric stores.

A Dutch specialty appears to be Speculoos cookies - think Biscoff cookies you get on planes. One particular version is the Gevulde Speculaas which is an almond paste filled version. We got a particularly tasty one at the market.

We spent the rest of the day wandering through the city, through Voldelpark and eventually getting back to our hotel.

Had dinner at the Blin Queen which is a pancake restaurant by day and a really nice dinner restaurant in the evenings though we did get a great pancake there for dessert.

Next day was another walking tour. It was a bit of a disappointment. It randomly turned out to be the same tour guide as the one Batya and I toured with last year and then he was great. This time, not so much. I'd like to attribute it to just a bad day. In the afternoon we hit the Albert Cyupmarkt - Amsterdam's largest street market. Also great stuff there. I think visiting the two markets were the highlights of the trip.

To close the day we found Amsterdam's Beguinage:

Though here it's called a Begijnhof. We noticed it on Google maps and decided to check it out.

Next up, museum day. First back to the Rijksmuseum which is truly amazing and then an afternoon canal boat tour with Those Dam Boat Guys which was fun.

Between the two activities we went to The Carrousel Pancake House - recommended last year by a friend.

That brought us to yesterday morning when we visited the Ann Frank House. We also did the introductory program. Both were very impactful. Walking though the house and going up to the secret annex you can't help but get emotional.

We also ended up randomly finding our way to the Netherlands National Holocaust Memorial which was also moving.

And finished out the day in the Amsterdam Museum.

Today's our last day in Amsterdam - we're flying home tomorrow morning. Our first visit today was the Straat museum.

A really cool place. We had to take a ferry from Amsterdam Centraal to get there but it was a nice ride and free. The museum is dedicated to street art and you just get consumed being surrounded by all these giant pieces. Really great museum.

Last up was the H'Art museum for an exhibition of Kadinsky's work on loan from the Pompidou Center. Lots of great works but what got me were his earlier non abstract works. I had no idea he started with stuff like that.

Now all that's left is a dinner, a breakfast and a long flight. It's been a great trip but I'm looking forward to getting home.