A turbulent trip to Amsterdam – including the fallacious museum

Our intrepid readers have travelled all over the world in recent months and shared their adventures with us as they found the temples of Thailandcooked paella in Barcelona and explored Glaciers in Alaska.

Now a San Jose family is sharing their stories from a recent trip to Amsterdam. Read on for details, and find more travel inspiration at www.mercurynews.com/tag/wish-you-were-here/.

Wish you were here

Jose Middle School student Blaze Bentz (center) visited Amsterdam this spring with her grandmother, San Jose resident Polly Ferguson, and her aunt Abby Lineberry. (Courtesy of Polly Ferguson)
Jose Middle School student Blaze Bentz (center) visited Amsterdam this spring along with her grandmother, San Jose resident Polly Ferguson, and her aunt Abby Lineberry. (Courtesy of Polly Ferguson)

NETHERLANDS: This spring, San Jose Middle School student Blaze Bentz took an 18-day trip through London, Amsterdam and Berlin, accompanied by her grandmother, San Jose resident Polly Ferguson, and her aunt Abby Lineberry. “We went to the wrong museum!” says Polly. “After an emotional visit to the exceptionally well-made Anne Frank House In Amsterdam we wanted to eat a Dutch pancake and then go to the Resistance Museum, but due to a lack of advance planning and language skills we ended up in the Rijksmuseum!

“The Rijksmuseum is an impressive museum. We saw many works by Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Vermeer, which is not bad, but we wanted – we now know – Resistance Museum focused on the Dutch resistance against Nazi occupation during World War II.

TRAVEL TIPS: “Book the Anne Frank House upfront! Tickets go on sale six weeks upfront and sell out inside hours. Abby was up at 2am six weeks before the trip along with her finger on the buy button to make sure that we had tickets. The Pancake Club serves delicious pancakes/crepes with outdoor seating overlooking a canal. Tickets for the Rijksmuseum might be purchased upfront or on the door, but tickets on the door are time stamped and you’ll have to attend an hour or more before you may enter the museum. Tickets for the much smaller and far less famous Verzetsmuseum might be purchased on the door for immediate entry.”

The Amsterdam Pancake Club proved to be a delicious attraction for Blaze Bentz and her grandmother Polly Ferguson. (Courtesy of Polly Ferguson)
The Amsterdam Pancake Club proved to be a delicious attraction for Blaze Bentz and her grandmother Polly Ferguson. (Courtesy of Polly Ferguson)

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