Arrived at Schiphol on May 8 and took the train down to Leiden to our AirBnB on Oude Vest just .5 miles from Leiden Centraal. We had 6 nights in the city and used it as our base for exploring the area. We specifically chose Leiden over other recommended cities because we were looking for less of a "tourist vibe" and that is what we got. The tourists come in mid-morning and are gone around dinner time and that's when we were out exploring somewhere else. Our very comfortable canal side digs on the ground floor was very welcome by my spouse who has bad knees and doesn't like stairs. It was also a comfortable place to retreat to as we struggled with jet lag. We never got into Amsterdam and frankly did not really miss it. We had a day exploring Leiden, a day of separate activities (Kukenhof Gardens/a long bike ride through the countryside), a day at Den Haag (Haagse Market & Mauritius House), Mother's Day was spent at the Voorlinden Modern Art Museum. Our final full day was spent at the Kinderdjjk UNESCO site. We left on 5/14 for Germany by train.
We found the Netherlands to be incredibly well organized and easy to travel around in. We made use of public transportation and the use of credit cards to "check in and check out" on all forms of transport was incredibly easy. Its hard to imagine why one would go to the trouble of getting an OV chip card or buying paper tickets. Dining was problematical at times in Leiden if you wanted a canal-side seat. You either had average food and a view or better food and no view. We never really solved this riddle. What was fun was dragging the chairs out of the apartment and sitting canal-side with our own beverages to enjoy the nightly parade of boats. It was also a thrill to ride a bike in the Netherlands even thru the city center. You just insert yourself into the flow. We had a fantastic time and are eager to return to the Netherlands.