the very first thing we did on arrival was eat 'friet' with mayonnaise. so good!
we took a walking tour of central amsterdam, following rick steves' recommendations (another great guide book). along the way we managed to eat cheese sandwiches, more fries and poffertjes which are tiny pancakes with powered sugar and butter. yes, please! and that scenery... i couldn't get enough. warning: many canal pics!
we walked along bloemenmarkt (the flower market) which was a let down. it didn't have any fresh flowers. but right across from the flower market we did find a great place to eat rijsttfel (a tasting menu consisting of many small plates, all indonesian). go to sampurna, you won't be disappointed.
in the area you will also find the herring stand; fresh raw herring to be eaten whole (no, i didn't). the mint tower is here too, which once marked the limit of the old walled city. the singel canal (pic just below) was built to protect the old city. as the city grew outward more protective canals were added. a bit of trivia stefan, our personal guide, shared with us.
i thought it would be fun to check out the kattenkabinet, a museum dedicated to cat art. there are some famous ones there too, picasso and rembrandt. they also have a few cats that live there which kai and i thought was pretty awesome. stefan thought the whole thing was quite strange :)
although we opted not to visit the van gogh museum and rijksmuseum, we did enjoy the nijntje (miffy in english) sculptures in the garden. when kai was little he owned tees with nijntje's image on them :)
one night we ate at tomaz, a restaurant that serves dutch classics. stefan was like a child on christmas morning, so excited to be eating a childhood favourite... stamppot with hachee which is a dish with mashed potatoes and cabbage served with braised beef in a rich sauce. it was good! kai had his first "beer" here. it was a priceless moment when the waitress put down the "beer" in front of him. he immediately pushed it towards his dad. stefan pushed it back towards him and i said that kids can drink beer in amsterdam (he may have believed me since he learned about marijuana and such, so many teachable moments in amsterdam!) then, we told him it was a no alcohol beer :) we had a good giggle.
thanks to its flat landscape, holland is the perfect place for getting around on bike. bike lanes are everywhere. so, the 'fiets' are the preferred means of transportation. they outnumber cars and people! and they whiz by in a blur... men in suits, women in skirts and heels, parents toting their children (it wasn't unusual to see 3 kiddos on a bike or in a 'bakfiet', a cross between a bike and a wagon).
crossing the streets was a nervous affair. i kept forgetting to check for bikes! there were too many times that i or kai could have been hit but only because of the cyclists' dexterity and skill did we manage to avoid a collision. watch out for bikes.
the jordaan neighbourhood is a charming district and my favourite. it's filled with tiny streets lined with bars, cafes and shops. so pretty. the neighborhood has a garden-like ambiance. very picturesque. many of the homes have windows right on the street and residents don't seem to care. there was a family right there going about their morning routine, dad in a bathrobe at the stove cooking eggs while his partner sits at the table reading a newspaper and their two little ones playing nearby. all in all, jordaan seemed like classic amsterdam, quiet canals, lined with trees and old narrow buildings.
we wandered into a little coffee shop (not the local kind, wink wink) where we had a lovely breakfast. a simple and delicious yogurt with granola was needed after so many fries!
haarlemmerstraat is a great street to stroll along. similar to nine streets but one long street crossing a few of the canals. we found a cozy spot for wine and bitterballen (like a round croquette filled with a meat ragout). actually, finding a cozy spot for a drink and bitterballen became a before dinner routine during the few days we were there.
we wanted to see the anne frank house (living in holland, stefan had never been!) and we were smart by showing up early but still it was a 45 minute wait. better than the usual 2-3 wait, i guess. we tried to book online a month before but they were already booked. it was very special to visit something that was such a part of our history. kai and i recently read the anne frank's diary and i was most taken with her writing... so articulate, thoughtful and wise. it was surreal to walk around in their hiding place, seeing the swinging bookcase that concealed the entrance to their hiding spot, the notches on the wall showing the kids' growth. i really enjoyed the experience.
the westerkerk, a church next door to anne frank's hiding space, chimes every fifteen minutes. a sound that provided anne frank with hope.
stroopwafels, made fresh... nothing beats it! still-warm, freshly grilled thin waffles, spread with gooey caramel syrup in the middle is too delicious. we found a shop just across from the westerkerk.
i hope to see you soon amsterdam. you're so lovely. xoxo
although we were leaving amsterdam, we weren't leaving the netherlands just yet. we rented a farmhouse in the south with the lovely melanie and family. on our way we stopped off at stefan's parents home where marion fed us all the dutch snack delights. we also had an early toast to their 50 years of marriage!
travelogue: the holland countryside next...
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| train station |
in the area you will also find the herring stand; fresh raw herring to be eaten whole (no, i didn't). the mint tower is here too, which once marked the limit of the old walled city. the singel canal (pic just below) was built to protect the old city. as the city grew outward more protective canals were added. a bit of trivia stefan, our personal guide, shared with us.
i thought it would be fun to check out the kattenkabinet, a museum dedicated to cat art. there are some famous ones there too, picasso and rembrandt. they also have a few cats that live there which kai and i thought was pretty awesome. stefan thought the whole thing was quite strange :)
although we opted not to visit the van gogh museum and rijksmuseum, we did enjoy the nijntje (miffy in english) sculptures in the garden. when kai was little he owned tees with nijntje's image on them :)
it was lovely to walk around vondel park. it is huge and lively. families, couples, and friends sharing blankets and food. stefan was born in amsterdam and lived nearby. his mom tells stories of taking him to the park when he was little so it was really lovely to be able to take kai there too.
thanks to its flat landscape, holland is the perfect place for getting around on bike. bike lanes are everywhere. so, the 'fiets' are the preferred means of transportation. they outnumber cars and people! and they whiz by in a blur... men in suits, women in skirts and heels, parents toting their children (it wasn't unusual to see 3 kiddos on a bike or in a 'bakfiet', a cross between a bike and a wagon).
crossing the streets was a nervous affair. i kept forgetting to check for bikes! there were too many times that i or kai could have been hit but only because of the cyclists' dexterity and skill did we manage to avoid a collision. watch out for bikes.
nine little streets is a great area (between jordaan and central amsterdam). there are nine streets in a square that are great for shopping. boutique after boutique. watch people eating on the sidewalk, sip a beer or two, watch the bikes go by, and hop in and out of shops. screaming beans is in the area, where stefan enjoyed a cup of coffee and they also had delicious quiches. i walked through this area a few times! the canals are always in view.
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| the dutch are pretty famous for their cheese. stefan made sure to stop at the many cheese shops (they aren't just for tourists!). his favourite is an aged cheese placed between two slices of bread, nothing else. |
the jordaan neighbourhood is a charming district and my favourite. it's filled with tiny streets lined with bars, cafes and shops. so pretty. the neighborhood has a garden-like ambiance. very picturesque. many of the homes have windows right on the street and residents don't seem to care. there was a family right there going about their morning routine, dad in a bathrobe at the stove cooking eggs while his partner sits at the table reading a newspaper and their two little ones playing nearby. all in all, jordaan seemed like classic amsterdam, quiet canals, lined with trees and old narrow buildings.
we wandered into a little coffee shop (not the local kind, wink wink) where we had a lovely breakfast. a simple and delicious yogurt with granola was needed after so many fries!
haarlemmerstraat is a great street to stroll along. similar to nine streets but one long street crossing a few of the canals. we found a cozy spot for wine and bitterballen (like a round croquette filled with a meat ragout). actually, finding a cozy spot for a drink and bitterballen became a before dinner routine during the few days we were there.
winkel is located in this area which stefan said has the best apple pie (his parents took him there last summer when he visited). it was crowed (!) but the pie was indeed excellent!
the houses are narrow and high to minimize taxes (which were based on the amount of street frontage a building occupied) and they crowd together. they lean forward on purpose so that you can hoist up cargo/furniture without bouncing things off the wall. they are built on top of thousands of logs hammered vertically into the marshy soil to provide a foundation. so, they shift with the tides leaving some leaning this way and that (i've tried straightening some of my photos and it's impossible!).
the houses are narrow and high to minimize taxes (which were based on the amount of street frontage a building occupied) and they crowd together. they lean forward on purpose so that you can hoist up cargo/furniture without bouncing things off the wall. they are built on top of thousands of logs hammered vertically into the marshy soil to provide a foundation. so, they shift with the tides leaving some leaning this way and that (i've tried straightening some of my photos and it's impossible!).
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| you can see the joists used to carry up cargo/furniture |
the westerkerk, a church next door to anne frank's hiding space, chimes every fifteen minutes. a sound that provided anne frank with hope.
stroopwafels, made fresh... nothing beats it! still-warm, freshly grilled thin waffles, spread with gooey caramel syrup in the middle is too delicious. we found a shop just across from the westerkerk.
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| the anne frank house and line-up. |
although we were leaving amsterdam, we weren't leaving the netherlands just yet. we rented a farmhouse in the south with the lovely melanie and family. on our way we stopped off at stefan's parents home where marion fed us all the dutch snack delights. we also had an early toast to their 50 years of marriage!
travelogue: the holland countryside next...
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