Amsterdam

This city, just as I remember it, was incredible. We met a melting pot of amazing people, found some unique meals, and established a baseline for relaxing.

This place was a reset for us. Iceland was breathtaking, Dublin was fun, but Amsterdam was no pressure, no timelines, no plans. We didn’t even know when we were going to leave – thanks to our amazing friends, Jarryd & Michi, who graciously opened their charming dutch home (and their lives) to us. It’s fun to explore new cities and figure things out yourself, but there is also something so special about landing in a new place and settling right in to how the locals do things.

This was so true of our first day in Amsterdam. We got in late the night before and settled into our cozy loft our friends had prepared for us - the wood framing looked like an upside down boat. We woke up late the next day, which to some might have proved difficult, since we were right in the heart of the city center on Spui (pronounced sp-oww) – a major shopping street in the city.

It was Rob’s birthday so I snuck out to grab breakfast. I went to go get some real boss pancakes (Amsterdam has waffles, pancakes and crepes galore), but wound up at what would be our staple brekky spot for the remainder of our time there. I grabbed us some tomato & ham croissants, fresh OJ, and hot-off-the-waffle-iron Stroopwaffles. The owner’s wife was making them right there. I opted for the chocolate slathered one. If you haven’t had a true stroopwaffle, you are missing out. These sweet treats are like thin mini waffles, with caramel sauce sandwiches between, with a hint of cinnamon (and melted chocolate – if you want).  We spent the rest of the day wandering around our home base. That evening, our friends told us that there was a festival going on and there was a live jazz orchestra playing on a barge on one of the canals that night, and they had a friend who wanted to take us all out on his boat to watch it.

We met the rest of the crew on a houseboat, which was super cool to get to see the inside of an Amsterdam canal houseboat, then hopped onto the boat to cruise over to the concert. It was unlike any other concert I’ve been to. The lights dancing on the water, the sound echoing beautifully through the canal, and other boats coming in waves, surrounding the floating barge - packed in close to each other. Before we hopped on, Michi had grabbed a birthday treat for Rob, and we took a moment to sing to him and presented him with a chocolate covered sugar waffle, topped with fruit. We came to know this as the “tourist waffle” as our new group of local friends pointed out. It was a pretty touristy thing to bite into, but the cake shop next door was closed.  Everyone came over to our friends home on Spui and we stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, talking about everything and anything. One of the women we were with was somehow intent on telling Rob that he looked like the “killer sheriff” from a movie. She reminded us every time she could, and at the end of the night, wine bottles deep, we were no closer knowing what she actually meant. We think Rob’s mustache was the trigger for the nickname.

 We went to a flee market the next day, and grabbed lunch at one of Michi’s favorite cafes. We happened to run into friends from the night before by happenstance, so we added a table by theirs and enjoyed a typical dutch breakfast, Uitsmijter, (toast with ham and fried eggs over medium and melted cheese), and a Heineken. The owner of this place was warm and friendly. Rob ordered a pastrami sandwich and it was literally the best pastrami we’ve ever had.  

We were planning to cook dinner later that night for some friends that were coming over, so we stopped by farmer’s market to pick up some fresh produce. We ended up putting together a delicious meal of pici pasta with summer veggies and a side of roasted cauliflower and zucchini that we seasoned with a mystery mix of fresh spices (I think they were a gift from Russia brought by their last batch of visitors).  It was a charming night meeting more new friends and sharing a home-cooked meal together – I can’t stay away from the kitchen for too long. Another meal I made included a beautiful pumpkin (more like a kobucha squash, but orange) that I found at the Dutch equivalent of a Whole Foods, and served it roasted, alongside a mushroom cranberry farro with caremlized onions and pan sautéed chicken in white wine sauce.

We spent our days here exploring, riding dutch on bikes (exhilarating), zooming through a few museums  -- we thought the Studio Drift exhibit at the Stedelijk museum was the most intriguing, and of course Anne Frank House was well worth the visit – shopping at hip boutiques, chowing down on fresh baked goods from our prime snack spot, Dutch Delicacy,

One Sunday morning we went to church at the oldest protestant churches in the area. One weekday evening we rode bikes to a hotel near Rembrandt Park where they were having a rooftop movie night. The views were majestic. We rode dutch through Vondel Park, which we rode back to another day with friends that were also in town. One night we were taken away on a little boat to a private island, Vuurtoreneiland (Lighthouse Island), where we had the best 11 course meal, ever. This experience will be in it’s own separate post because it was THAT good. And SO special. We got the hint from our gracious hosts, and although the reservation wait was 2 months out, we called on a whim and they happened to have 2 cancellations that night. Without hesitation, we swooped them.

We were also told about this unique story telling night at a bar venue, called Mezrab. We wandered on over there in the pouring rain, and walked into a packed room, all sorts of people sitting and standing, intently listening to the host welcome the first story teller. Couches, chairs, benches, carpet, standing room, the place felt like a big living room, cozy, warm, each person coming and going and moving as they please but giving the speakers respect as they told their stories. Some were comedians, some were hopeless romantics, and some shared something impactful from the deepest part of their heart.

An old Iranian woman sat at a table in the back corner, serving up two types of soup. I couldn’t understand what they were, so I went with something that looked like a red lentil soup. She carefully garnished the hearty portion of soup with crème fraiche, parsley, and sprinkle or coriander, placed 3 pieces of grain bread around bowl and handed it to me with a warm and weathered smile. I later got my hands on some Iranian rose water ice cream, studded with pistachios. I was full and happy and felt like I stepped into a whole world of its own.

We ate at this quaint tea house called Gartine, a little 6 table room with a small kitchen and incredibly fresh food, with ingredients grown from their farm outside the city. I ordered the creamed zucchini soup with truffle oil and seeded sourdough bread with horseradish butter on the side. Rob got the Eggs Benedict with butter lettuce and roasted buckwheat sprinkled on top.

Another night we grabbed some tasty food from this French spot. We got prawns with citrus and some amazing vegan creamy tomato coconut soup, topped with basil herb oil --definitely making this at home!

One of the last nights we were craving a dessert, and followed our noses to some really delicious smelling churros, wafting through the popular Red Light district area, amongst the throngs on nonchalant tourists, even cutting through the coffee shops’ haze of smoke. They were puffy fried little delicacies, laced with cinnamon and dusted with powdered sugar.

Another favorite treat was the famous Van Stapele white chocolate stuffed dark chocolate cookie. Do yourself a favor and buy the most they allow. Each day they have a set max per customer (when I went it was just 7 cookies) because they only bake a set amount each day and there is a line out the door and around the corner. One morning I strolled by and since there wasn’t a long line I grabbed one to share. It was so good, Rob went back and bought a 6 more.

We took a day trip to a place just north of the city called Hoorn. They were having a week long festival that included a carnival in the narrow village streets. Everybody was out and enjoying the rides and food booths. It was wild to see fast spinning, electric bright carnival rides, whirrling around old church bell towers and tucked into the heart of this traditional dutch town. We grabbed lunch — Bitterballen, butter-pan seared sole, caramelized brie salad, burger, chicken tzatziki — and had some tea. FYI when you get tea in Holland, mint tea is a bunch of fresh mint and warm water, and orange ginger, is literally fresh oranges and ginger slices — it so much more delicious than the tea bag version we’re used to.

Our friends were taking us to see the town and visit some of their co-worker friends, so we ended up gathering at their clean & minimalistic dutch-styled house overlooking the hay-day of the carnival. It was cozy and warm, and they were telling us about this holiday that they had the following day that they were getting ready for. All of their friends were invited over for a big brunch they were preparing, and before going shopping down in town. It was their version of “Black Friday” and most people take the day off work to take advantage of the discounts and deals. It sound like a fun way to gather with friends and score some deals, versus the crazy run-people-over-to-get-that-last-flat-screen-TV Black Friday that we have in the states. And I’m always looking for an excuse to host brunch.

We ended up staying in Amsterdam for 11 days, which was a little longer than we intended, but the new friends we made, comfortable accommodations and the oversight of not pre-purchasing Eurail passes made for an extended weekend. Note: if you are planning to travel around Europe using Eurail passes, you actually have to have them mailed to a physical address. We ended up buying ours in Amsterdam and having them shipped to our next destination in Paris.

Some people already seem to have an idea about Amsterdam before they’ve ever been, but if you haven’t gone, this gorgeous city is a must-see. And if you have the time, these unique places and experiences make it all the more incredible.

Feed Your Sense of Wonder,

Chrissy Weir

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