“A little less than three weeks ago I completed an insane 5 country tour in 10 days with the Netherlands and specifically Amsterdam rounding out the tour. I was only in Amsterdam for a day and half as I do in any city I try and book a local tour guide to take me navigate the city. I arrived at the Amsterdam airport around 11:15am, waited in line for the Iamsterdam card (which was extremely helpful), took the train to my hotel to check-in, caught the bus to the Amsterdam Central Train station, and promptly met Rick at 2:00pm in front of the Stromma Shop. Prior to the tour Rick was always responsive to my emails which was comforting and more importantly professional. Upon meeting Rick, I gave him my story of traveling around for two weeks, how I needed to use the bathroom, desired something to drink to take with me for the tour, and wanted to know if he would be flexible in accommodating specific attractions I desired to see, Rick gave me a nice smile and addressed all of my concerns. Rick began the tour by giving a brief history of the building where the Stromma Shop was nestled, along with significant events that led to the establishment of Amsterdam. From the very beginning of the tour I was impressed with the way Rick could see a particular place or object such as an emblem on Central station or flag on a building and he could provide important yet detailed information. Additionally, I could see that Rick had a plan devised in his mind about where and how the tour should be conducted but throughout our time together he would gauge my interest to see what I wanted to see in the time we had available. Furthermore, I frequently asked a lot of questions sometimes interrupting the flow of the discussion, yet Rick skillfully addressed my queries then continued on with the tour. Following the brief history of the the city (he frequently made connections with places in Amsterdam such as Harlem and Brooklyn to the cities in the US) and discussing points along the Central station we walked over to the Amstel river where he pulled out his map and discussed the layout of the city, along with salience and uniqueness of bikes to Amsterdam. Afterwards we began an enjoyable stroll throughout the city discussing and seeing highlights that included (not in any particular order) the Ann Frank house, the Red Light district, the buddhist temple (fo gaung Shan), traditional and famous coffee shops (dispelling any myths or misinformation), pointing out important statues scattered throughout the city (The Netherlands Belle or the statues honoring the folksingers in the Jordaan neighborhood), a walk along the numerous canals and how they are designed throughout the city, the Dam square, the royal palace, hidden churches and synagogues, the Mokum museum cafe, and more. Along the way Rick took me to a traditional cheese shop where I was allowed to sample the various cheeses (my favorite being the smoked cheese) and we stopped at a food stand that sold herring sandwiches with onions and pickles (it was to die for). As the tour was ending I wanted to see the Van Go Museum, Rijksmuseum, and the Museumplein, so Rick provided detailed directions and I was able to see these places before the day ended. Rick was one of the best tour guides I ever had and my brief time in Amsterdam would not have been the same without him. If you are ever in Amsterdam I highly recommend touring with Rick.”
