Our Amsterdam, Netherlands trip highlights include: Amsterdam, Zaanse Schans in Zaandam, Keukenhof Botanical garden in Lisse, a day trip to Kasteel Da Haar & Utecht, and a day trip to Cologne, Germany.

With the time zone change and flight times, we flew overnight and arrived in the morning in Amsterdam's time zone. To avoid jet lag and acclimate quickly, we freshened up, and headed to breakfast and to explore before a mid-evening Royal Palace tour. We had a nice pancake and freshly squeezed juice breakfast at a café within Schreierstoren, or the tower of tears in English. Built in the 15th century, it was once part of the city walls of Amsterdam and earned some folklore around its name claiming wives wept here as their husbands departed for long battles or fishing journeys, though historians believe the name derives from Schrayershouktoren, meaning "sharp corner," because of the angle the wall made at this point.

We walked around the city center towards Dam Square, found ourselves sampling cheese in the Old post office which is now a mall, and weaved in and out of canal streets soaking in the sights while we found our bearings. We took our time getting an intro to the different neighborhoods around the city, and chose to take an impromptu canal tour to give us a chance to look up and appreciate more views without having to watch for bicycles (though many bikes, scooters, and even cars end up in the canals year after year).

After some lunch, we kept the momentum going and made our way to Dam Square once again for our Royal Palace tour. We purchased tickets in advance, and had a convenient time window for entry and had plenty of time to explore each room at our own pace. After our tour we slipped into a grocery store to grab some provisions and headed to our temporary home for some much deserved rest and reset.

We had an early morning ferry crossing to meet our hop-on hop-off bus tour to Zaanse Schans, a historic neighbourhood in Zaandam, and Keukenhof - Botanical garden in Lisse, Netherlands. We explored Zaanse Schans first and quickly were transported back in time with the views of windmills and distinctive green wooden houses that were relocated here to recreate the look of an 18th/19th-century village. The are plenty of shopping opportunities and artisan workshops demonstrating wooden clog carving, barrel making, and pewter casting. Being early May, we also enjoyed seeing many baby ducks, geese, goats, and other village animal residents.

Back on the bus and a quick jump we arrived at Keukenhof botanical garden in Lisse. Keukenhof, also known as the Garden of Europe, is one of the world's largest flower gardens, and is only opened within a short window within spring. While the outside fields had already been harvested during our visit, the park had many flowers to enjoy, as well as food stands, costumed stilt walkers, art installations, and a kids park with some neighboring live dance music. After getting lots of photos and maybe a bit too much pollen on our noses, we made our way to Gusto for an Italian dinner to wrap up our day.

Our third day was crowned museum day, with Museum Square visits spread between Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, and the Moco Museum, Amsterdam. We started with the Rijksmuseum, the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history, since we knew this would be the biggest of the three. We honored the Dutch golden age, appreciating Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Frans Hals. Highlights also include a peak into the Cuypers Library and a stop in your tracks' central arched hallway with the Gallery of Honour.

After a quick bite and outdoor garden walk, our time slot was ready for the Van Gogh Museum, an art museum dedicated to the works of Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries located just around the corner. The museum's permanent collection is chronologically structured so visitors can view the work directly within the context of Van Gogh's life and mental landscape. The museum houses the world's largest collection of artwork by Vincent van Gogh holding over 200 paintings, 500 drawings, and 750 personal letters.

Our final stop brought us to the Moco Museum, an independent art museum with locations in Amsterdam, Barcelona, and London, dedicated to exhibiting modern and contemporary art. The museum was founded with the mission of attracting broader and younger audiences, and making art accessible to the public. While the exhibit was a bit small compared to our previous tours, the building itself was very eccentric and added to exploring the modern art pieces in each small room. A longer walk home afterward may or may not have included more cheese stores for samples and what came to be known as “pocket cheese” for the traveler on the go.

A very early morning train departure brought us to our day trip to Utrecht, though castle-day would probably be a more accurate name for our adventure. We started with a visit to Kasteel De Haar (De Haar Castle), the largest and most luxurious castle in the Netherlands situated in Haarzuilens near Utrecht. Originally dating back to the 14th century, it was completely rebuilt between 1892 and 1912 by famed Dutch architect Pierre Cuypers, the visionary behind Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum and Central Station, and financed by the ultra-wealthy Rothschild family. Beyond the Grand Ballroom and Knights Hall, we also explored some of the 135 acre manicured park and gardens; patterned after Versailles, boasting a romantic Rose Garden, a Roman garden, Grand Canals, winding maze pathways, and a deer park.

Before heading back to Amsterdam we wandered the surprisingly busy streets of Utrecht. We had read that we should expect a more laid back atmosphere, but we found ourselves in an overwhelming amount of foot and bicycle traffic at every corner. We said hello the “Thinked on the Rock” rabbit sculpture at Neude Square and caught a train back to Amsterdam .

Our last day trip planned was another train ride, this time south to Cologne, Germany. Another early morning and late night return allowed us plenty of time to explore the city, visit a beer hall or two, and get our fill of some German sausages, potatoes, and desserts.

Immediately stepping out of the train station you are greeted by Cologne Cathedral, a Catholic cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and a renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1996. While we waited for the church to be open to the public, we strolled a bit around the Rhine, travelled a part of the Hohenzollern Bridge (Hohenzollernbrücke), also known as the "lock bridge" where thousands of couples attach personalized padlocks to the fencing and throw the keys into the Rhine River to symbolize eternal love.

We then explored the cathedral, had some breakfast nearby and split our group as half of us climbed the bell tower, while the remaining explored the city center. After regrouping we scheduled a river boat tour, enjoyed a few beers and snacks at Augustiner am Heumarkt, and enjoyed our day before a sleepy ride back.