On our last full day of our Europe trip we decided to visit Amsterdam. It’s about 2 and a half hours from Brussels, so again not too far to drive which was great.

We first went to the area where the museums were, we sadly missed out on getting tickets to the Van Gogh museum, so we went in to the Stedelijk museum instead, which turned out to be a poor substitute. We then went to get some lunch and after turned towards the famous canals.

We visited Anne Frank’s house which is now a museum, We didn’t go inside but just paused to reflect. We then walked around the main streets, passing shops and restaurants. After stopping for ice cream we decided the best way to see the canals was via a boat ride. Out guide pointed out one resident and his pet egret on a canal boat who never flew away.

We passed the well known Seven Bridges canal passing under all of them.

We then headed out towards the IJ waterway, known for being Amsterdam’s waterfront, where the Nemo Science and the National Maritime museums were located. I thought the Replica of the Dutch East Indiaman ship Amsterdam docked nearby was pretty cool. The guide said it had been used in the Pirates of the Caribbean films. There were also swimming areas here which was very busy on what was a very hot day.

After our canal ride we visited some shops to get some souvenirs and then headed home. On the way back we spotted a few windmills which I loved seeing. I managed to get a slightly closer look at this one. A nice way to end our trip, I thought.