Sneak Peek at the Maritime Museum in Amsterdam...

When I found out that a member of the AWC was the Director of Operations at the Maritime Museum in Amsterdam, I contacted her about the possibility of planning a private tour for the club. While it took just 9 months to build in 1656 (it was a marine warehouse at that time), the building had been closed for a remodel for over 4 years (just by coincidence, we had visited the museum on its final open weekend in January 2007). Much to my surprise, Lara arranged for a sneak peek of the museum two weeks before its official opening in early October. Several of the exhibits were still off-limits, but it was clear that this was a much improved museum. I was especially impressed with the new roof, consisting of 1,200 pieces of glass, which is strong enough to walk on; robots are used to clean the glass with 3 men holding the hoses. Afterwards, a few of us went to the antique district for lunch and some window shopping. I then dashed back to meet Ashlynn at school as she returned from a 2-night school trip to an adventure camp in Holland.