Amsterdam Part II

So, I think we ended last night eating cheese and started the second morning in Amsterdam eating cheese. And pastries. Think crunchy-apple filled, cinnamon-sugar coated, pure goodness.

It was then time to hit the Albert Cuyp Market in the Pijp on our way to our plans for the day. It’s hard to describe the market, which is torn down every night, but you can pretty much get anything you need or want. About 20 meters in, Sam found a fabulous vintage cheese board as a souvenir.

And if you need formal wear, well, they’ve got you covered.

After wandering through the market, we headed over towards the Museumplein. Any visit to the Museumplein is not complete without a photo opp at the I Amsterdam Sculpture.

Aren’t Julie and Jaro cute (M is for Mustache):

Before getting on the boat it was time for a quick snack for C&J. I did not participate in the herring madness. Onion+pickled fish=not my favorite. But they both swear it was delicious.

It was then time to start our touring via canal boat. We chose a hop on/hop off option that was good all day (and of course grabbed a few Heinekens before boarding). The views from the boat were spectacular. I loved “spying” on the Nederlanders still on shore.

We waved, which thrilled them.

After a quick pit stop at Central Station, we wandered towards the Jordaan, passing the bike garage on the way. The garage has room for 2,500 bikes.

We then headed to our second market of the day — the Noordermarkt.

While this is also a bit of a flea market, the real highlight was the food (it was time for a late lunch).

We started with beer snacks – -at least that’s what we called them — no idea what they were, except I bought something that tasted like a rice dorito. Much better than it sounds.

With Cristina, I found my sampling buddy. Like me, she wanted to try a little bit of everything, so we shared. First up, was a Phillipino egg roll. I apologize for not knowing the real name, but it was yummy. Next, was the bratwurst, served up by a jolly native.

Just in case you want to bring your food home to cook, a fully dressed rabbit was available:

For something sweet we had a fresh stroopwaffel. My hands were too gooey with caramel to take a picture, but yum pretty much sums it up.

I cleansed my pallet with fresh mint tea with honey, we grabbed some Heinekens and La Chouffes and jumped back on the boat to complete our circle of the city.

After a walk home, we crashed for a bit before our final meal of the day. This time at a Moroccan/Middle Eastern restaurant called Bazar in De Pijp.

Too full to do anything but sit on the coach, we waddled home to bed.

Sundays was a museum day and with foggy weather and bad light, not a lot of photos. But, I couldn’t resist posting the warm, freshly milk chocolate dipped donut we tried.

Also, while walking through the streets we came across this fearless bird — stork? crane?

Chicago in Amsterdam — Day 1

When I moved to Moscow, I had high hopes of making ex pat friends. Friends that were excited about travel and adventure and had a certain spirit. I found that. But I never expected that I would find so many that were from Chicago. What it is about a Chicago soul that brings us together so far from home?

It started last year, when I met Heather, originally from the Chicago burbs and instant kindred spirit (even if she does root for the Giants and the Yankees). But this fall, I met a couple more Chicagoans — Cristina from the south suburbs and Sam from the northern burbs. Also a little strange, all three of them were Iowa grads (hey, at least it’s Big 10). There’s something easy about people from the midwest — we “got” each other right away and decided to conquer Moscow together. And then about a month ago, Sam was introduced to another pair of Chicago ex-pats, Julie and Jaro that are living in Amseterdam. J2 were visiting Moscow and knew Sam through a friend and over drinks at either Chicago Prime or Genatsavle, we decided it would be a great idea for the three of us Moscow folks to visit them in Amsterdam.

And, for a change, it actually happened.

Last Thursday, Cristina, Sam and I all packed ourselves into Aeroexpress and headed off to Amsterdam. After an easy flight, the three of us landed at Schipol, and after only a little bit of difficulty (when are we going to get chip & pin credit cards in the States?), managed to get ourselves on the train to Central Station, where we were met by J2.

It was fairly late so after hopping on the tram back to their amazing flat in De Pijp, we had a glass of wine and crashed for the evening.

On our way to the tram stop the next morning, we grabbed pastries at a local bakery, where I had an incredible still hot from the oven olive and rosemary bagel. This started a trend for the weekend of eating, talking about eating, planning what to eat next, and so forth. I had found my people.

Our first stop that morning was Anne Frank’s house. It was the one thing on my Amsterdam must-do list. I’ve probably read Anne Frank’s diary more than a dozen times in my lifetime, and it never fails to move me. I knew I had to see it.

If reading the book was powerful, being there was overwhelming. Walking through the entryway concealed behind the bookcase, and ducking my head, brought tears to my eyes, which didn’t let up the entire time I was there. I reread the book in preparation for the visit and standing in the bedroom where she slept, walking through the kitchen where they all ate, and standing at the window next to Peter’s bed where they had endless chats was mind boggling. I looked out at a view almost identical to the one she saw almost 70 years ago. This was where it all happened.

After the house, we met up with Julie and walked around the Jordaan district, stopping in a number of adorable shops.

After ducking in and out of shops, we headed over to the floating flower market, which even this time of year, is gorgeous with color. Such a refreshing change after the grey of Moscow these days.

Hidden (or maybe not so hidden) in the flower market, was an incredible cheese shop with unlimited samples. I think I brought almost 2 kilos of cheese home with me.

And because we hadn’t eaten enough that day yet, we headed back to De Pijp for lunch at one of Julie’s favorite cafes — De Duvel. The tuna melt was as amazing as she described and went perfectly with a carafe of sauvingon blanc and a side order of frites.

After a brief nap to recharge, we headed to Utretchsestraat for more window shopping and bar hopping. The pubs in Amsterdam are lovely. It’s a casual, neighborly atmosphere to enjoy a Heineken or two. We wandered over to Pata Negra, where we were able to sneak into a table and speed eat our way through tapas (oh patatas bravas, how I have missed you in Russia). From there it was a stroll through the Red Light district. I have mixed feelings about this visit — it’s something I think I needed to see, but was disgusted by the scene. Not by the women, but the men walking through the streets with a hungry look in their eyes. After a recovery drink in Leidensplan, we headed home.

Of course, we had to cut the cheese (and snack on it) before bed.