Amsterdam: Day 2

APRIL 2016

Our second day in Amsterdam was SO much fun. We enjoyed a quick breakfast and set off to the most unique church we have seen so far in Europe: Our Lord in the Attic.

Back in the 16th century, Catholic Mass was outlawed in Amsterdam, which was under Protestant rule. Luckily, the Dutch are pretty nice people (even though they were persecuting a religious group), so they were tolerant of Catholicism as long as parishioners didn't openly worship. So, wealthy Catholics would build churches in their homes and host mass for other Catholics in the area.

Can you spot the church?

One of the coolest things about the church is that you actually get to tour the entire house, ending at the church in the attic. The main floor had a few rooms including a study, the next few floors had bedrooms, kitchens, and even a restroom. It was SO interesting to see how people lived hundreds of years ago. It was crazy to think about how this church and this house were older than the United States! What?! During a recent excavation under the home, workers found lots of artifacts from the past 400 years. The excavation was actually done on the part of the house that was used as the toilet before plumbing was installed. So apparently, per the video shown in the dining room, the toilet room would just turn into a garbage hole, home to all of the broken dishes. Needless to say, I don't think the water in the canals was very clean back then...

B with his audioguide, super chic shoes, attempting to stand in a doorway!

After exploring the house via lots of teeny tiny steep staircases, we emerged to this:

Beautiful, right?! It was three stories, and painted purple because thats what historians believed the color of the church was when it was operational in the 17th century. The pulpit was folded into one of the marble columns, and the whole altar was just gorgeous. We spent a full 30 minutes just in this space, listening to every single stop on our audioguide. Behind the altar there is a dressing room for the priest, a sanctuary, and even a confessional. While being in the church, I couldn't help but think of the women, dressed in their Sunday best, climbing all of those almost-vertical dollhouse stairs up to this church for worship. Amazing!

The view from the back side of the church's top floor. Beautiful!

We REALLY enjoyed our time at Our Lord in the Attic. When I planned it, I definitely knew it would be a neat museum, but it far exceeded my expectations. If you visit, be ready for lots and lots of steep stairs!!

We departed Our Lord in the Attic and headed to Amsterdam Centraal train station. We took a direct train back to Schipol airport to board the bus to Keukenhof. The park is south of Amsterdam, and booking the bus through Keukenhof seemed like the most efficient way to get there. There are many ways to get there, including public transit, but this was the only option that dropped us off at the front gates. Upon arrival, we noticed that it basically looked like a theme park entrance, for flowers!

Luckily, there are lots of maps available, which is definitely helpful when navigating the park. There are different exhibits, restaurants, and souvenir shops located throughout, so it doesn't feel repetitive at all. There are also tons of markers throughout showing you the different names of all of the flowers, so its definitely informational as well. Generally, as you walk through the park, there are just flowers everywhere. Like murals on the grass, the colors pop to create patterns and brighten up the park. The day itself was fairly cloudy, but we hardly noticed, thanks to the vibrant colors!

Behind this windmill there are fields of tulips... they just hadn't bloomed yet!

The delicious roof at the petting zoo

One of our favorite indoor exhibits was the tulip house. There were different tulip species planted in every square meter within the exhibit, and they were in full bloom! We snapped lots of photos, we just couldn't help ourselves!

Outside the exhibit 

Fightin' Texas Aggie Tulips! 

We also loved the orchid exhibit. It seemed to have a "fashion" theme, and the entrance to the exhibit seemed to be modeled after a runway. There were flowers growing out of blue jeans, jars, and even wedding dresses.

We enjoyed a few stroopwaffels (DELICIOUS) and headed back to the hotel. I definitely want to return to Keukenhof next year, even if its for the shortest Amsterdam weekend trip ever. Next time we visit, we want it to be at the end of April so we can bike through the fields of tulips. Early April was beautiful at Keukenhof, but even more flowers may be in bloom a bit later during the month or in early May. 

We relaxed at the hotel for a little while, and then headed off to dinner at Brasserie Vlaming. The restaurant was fairly small, and very cozy. The lights were dim, but the whole atmosphere was very warm and romantic. From what I remember (because I totally failed on this trip and didn't take any food photos), the food was excellent. I had a roast chicken that was delicious! Good chicken is hard to find in Italy, so if I can find it at a restaurant abroad, I usually go for it!

On our way home, I found this stellar example of Amsterdam architecture that I HAD to share! 

First of all, most of the buildings lean forward slightly. This is for two reasons: one: to appear larger, and two: so when they use the pulley on the top floor, theres a smaller risk of destroying the front of the house! Clever!

Also, they're a little crooked. Tons of homes either had unintentional spaces in-between them, or they were simply leaning into one another. I'm sure its partially due to the ground settling on the canals, and also due to all of the different angles of the homes' faces. I absolutely loved all of the buildings throughout the city, and it truly complimented the ambiance.

We wrapped up the evening at a Dutch pub, before heading back to the hotel for our final night. The greatest thing about restaurants and bars in Amsterdam was that smoking was prohibited in most places. It made it very easy to enjoy a few Heineken and lose track of time!

Wednesday was our third and final day in Amsterdam, so stay tuned! Don't change that channel ;)