My earbuds have not shown up on the Vidar so I am trying to work out a way to remove them from my list of devices so I don't have to think about them again. The good news is that I was thinking of upgrading to the new Samsung buds; the bad news is that I wasn't thinking of doing it quite so soon.
We breakfasted in the hotel - a well-provisioned buffet which even included boiled eggs - white shells for soft-boiled, brown shells for hard-boiled. And they were. I like the coffee machine (the one closer to the door) because that produced a drinkable hot coffee. I have yet to acquire a taste for European coffee - or maybe it's the milk that I've yet to get used to. There is a coffee machine in the foyer of the hotel and I had a cup of coffee from it last night - thinking I was going to sit up for a while and do some catch-up with the blog. The coffee was strong and hot-ish but I couldn't work out how to make a milk-coffee there, and there was no creamer in our room. Let me tell you, it was almost enough to put hair on my chest! I'm not quite sure how I managed to fall asleep after having it.
We had pre-booked tickets to the Van Gogh Museum for this morning and we caught a Bolt there to meet the others. What a wonderful thing to do! The exhibition is set over three floors and looks at different ages and stages of his life. I loved the fact that there were children there - with at least two groups, each with a teacher with a Vincent Van Gogh puppet and a little suitcase full of artistic supplies to use as props in their discussions with the children. What a fantastic way to learn about Van Gogh - sitting on the floor under the original 'Sunflowers' painting.
Sooz had been thinking about visiting the Jewish Museum while we are here but in the end decided it was too sad. I have an idea of what she was feeling. I know when I'd been on the canal cruise yesterday afternoon, passing the area where Anne Frank's house and the Anne Frank museum are, I was overcome with emotion thinking about the families hidiing there during the war. Today I passed a statue for a Majoor Bosshardt (in the Salvation Army) who had been instrumental in saving Jews, and two years after her death she was voted the Greatest Inhabitant of Amsterdam of All time - for this work and for providing practical assistance to the homeless, addicts and persons working in prostitution in the nearby area.
I found the statue as I was wandering around, looking for the HOHO bus so I could go for another ride around Amsterdam, this time sitting on the open deck to take photographs. We had been told yesterday that due to local rules they aren't allowed to sign where there stops are and while I was able to find two of them yesterday where both the buses and the cruises stop (near Gassens and near the Reiksmuseum), I could not find either of those today. But I did get to see other things - like the dinosaur carved out of wood, three Bulldog establishments (which I have since found out were probably in the red light district - which would explain some of the stores I saw around there), and Amsterdam's ChinaTown.
On my search for the chemist (more lurgy supplies needed) I did stroll past a demonstration happening in the main square, and saw some road closures, police on horseback, and lots of soccer fans (there is a match on tonight).
On her way back to the hotel, M had seen a Syrian restaurant and we agreed we would go - because she had seen a sign saying they had tabouli. Yum! And it was. Flat bread, hummus, tabouli and some kebab. It doesn't get much better.
It was still cold so we didn't stay out late and I had time to work on catching up with some of my blog words as I watched, actually listened, to a Z-grade movie about an industrialist compromising the Miama area - and causing volcanic eruptions in the area. I hadn't finished my notes by the time the movie ended, so I switched to the '+1' channel and listened to the last hour of it again as I continued blogging.