Transportation: Flixbus
I found a Flixbus combination that was somewhere reasonable to get me to Amsterdam and back in a day. Although the morning bus departed unseasonably early and the return bus arrived borderline too late, the times allowed me to get to and from Midi Station with public transit using my monthly pass.
I took the metro from Sloterdijk station to the central station. I bought a day pass, which might have been worth it, except that when I arrived at central station I ran into the City Sightseeing hop-on and hop-off bus which is never a good deal when its just the bus (in my opinion), but you could get a bus and boat combo in Amsterdam for 25 euro (a "canal cruise" alone sets you back 13-18 euro on the cheap side). It seemed worth it to be able to ride the canal boat as much as I wanted, so I bought a ticket.
Unfortunately, this made my metro pass mostly useless since I didn't leave the main tourist area. I might have gone further if the weather was good, but it threatened to rain all day. I started my trip on the bus, which quickly fogged up due to the weather, and press of body heat (damp from the outside). The seats were supplied with squeegees, but you had to keep on it if you wanted your window clear for viewing.
I got off at the next stop that looked convenient for transferring to the boat, which happened to be a spot they were advertising free tours of a diamond factory. The factory had a giftshop outside where you could use the restroom and get coffee for free, so I did that then hopped on the next boat.
The canals in Amsterdam are absolutely gorgeous, and the boat guide (recording) gave some nice information about the history of houseboats on the canals. I stayed on the boat until we got to the "Anne Frank house" stop. Unfortunately, I missed out on buying tickets for the Anne Frank house (normally you can buy some there, but they are doing construction so you had to buy online, and they were sold out for the day of my trip). I did find a statue dedicated to her nearby.
There are other famous things to do in Amsterdam, but floating on the canals and visiting the Anne Frank house were my only two of real interest. I started roaming the streets and found a tulip museum, where I went in to check out their shop and emerged with a special vase and bulb for a hyacinth. I took the boat back around the tour loop to the diamond factory stop, and this time went on the tour. It was interesting, but not terribly engaging.
After that, I wandered to the flea and flower markets, where I bought a bike helmet, tulip bulbs, and gouda. After a bit more wandering I made my way back to the station to catch the Flixbus home. Unfortunately the bus had some technical difficulties (mirror ran into a signpost and fell off when the bus pulled in) that had us making a pitstop at the Flixbus station for repairs. I was worried we would arrive too late for me to catch public transit home, but thankfully I made the last bus/tram combo.