Day 10: Sunday, September 17

Day Trip To Marken and Volendam

Well, it’s our last full day in the Netherlands before going home so we’re going to make the most of it. We’re travelling out of Amsterdam by bus to explore the quaint little fishing village of Marken, then taking a ferry across the water to the little town of Volendam, before returning to Centraal Station in Amsterdam.

Our route looks something like this:

It’s bright and sunny today, so here we go….

Marken

At the Wooden Shoe Factory:

Strolling around the village of Marken:

Time to board the ferry for the trip to Volendam:

Crossing the Gouwzee bay to Volendam:

 Volendam

Approaching Volendam:

Strolling around Volendam:

Sint-Vincentiuskerk (Saint Vincentius Church):

A final wander through the town:

…Then to the bus stop to catch our chariot back to Amsterdam:

Back In The City

We got back to our hotel in Amsterdam, dumped our stuff, rested a bit, then set out for our favourite restaurant we had discovered while visiting Amsterdam – a cozy, welcoming, eccentric little place that focuses on outdated polka music (of all things). Sounds weird I know, but it all works. The name of this place in The Jordaan district of Amsterdam is Bij ons in de Jordaan (roughly translated: “Our place in the Jordaan”):

Before leaving I made a stop in the washroom. On my way I saw this:

All in all, it was a fantastic meal which nicely capped off the trip.

While paying the bill the restaurant owners came to chat with us and thank us for visiting. So friendly! The older woman there gave us each a big hug and sent us on our way with her Dutch good wishes and tidings.

We meandered slowly back to the hotel. On our walk back, Vince took a few night shots of the Amsterdam streets:

We reached the hotel and started to pack up what we could tonight. It’s a big travel day tomorrow – soon time to go home.

Thank you Netherlands, it’s been quite a day!