I started the day early as we were to meet at 8 am to walk to the train station to travel into Amsterdam. Jody gave us our round-trip ticket and explained how to read the signs (they were in Dutch) as we would be coming back to Haarlem on our own. Jody also gave us the tram maps for Amsterdam and an all-day tram ticket so we could find our way around on our free afternoon. We first visited a cheese shop and had delicious samples of Dutch cheese. Then we followed Rick Steves' Amsterdam walk. Amsterdam's Centraal Station is beautiful. From there we passed Damrack, Dam Square, the Royal Palace, New Church, De Papegaai Hidden Church, Amsterdam Museum, and Begijnhof. Then we walked to the Rokin Canal for a canal cruise. We headed down the Amstel River, then on the Herengracht Canal (gentleman's canal). We passed the Seven Bridges view then followed along the Golden Curve were the rich live. We passed the Locks and entered the channel where we saw a Viking Cruise ship. We headed back along the Oude Schans and passed the Rembrandt House and the Mint Tower before docking. Lunch was on our own and we had 2 hours before meeting again to jump a tram to the Rijksmuseum. Once there, we were divided into two groups to tour the beautiful museum. Our tour lasted about 1 1/2 hours. After the tour, I chose to go back on the train to Haarlem with Jody and others in our group. Good thing Jody was there. There was a delay on the train and an announcer was speaking in Dutch. Jody translated and said the problem was waiting for the shift change and a new conductor to arrive. We waited about 40 minutes, then were on our way. Once back in Haarlem around 6 pm, I stopped at the market to pick up a light dinner and spend the evening writing in my journal. Tomorrow, we leave Haarlem and visit Arnhem Open-Air Museum.

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