The Netherlands - Amsterdam

Amsterdam!  Not a place like it in the world.

  We happily arrived from our overnight train around 11:30 to check in with Taco, our AirBNB host, who lives a 5 minute walk from the train station and in heart of Amsterdam, downtown.  We took an immediate liking to Taco and found that he was in the business of buying companies and merging similar companies, packaging them up, helping them with marketing to build them, and then to later sell them and profit.  An interesting Kitesurfer dude who shared his cool pad with us.

  We were hungry so we went to a spot he recommended for some food and started to fall in love with Amsterdam.  It was like combining Dublin, Venice, and London into one city.  Interestingly enough, Amsterdam was also built on a swampland like Venice.  They took long logs and stood them straight up in the peat/marsh and created walkable land.  From a little town in the marshes, Amsterdam soon emerged into one of the biggest trading ports in the world and the richest city in the world.  Run by wealthy merchants during the "golden age", these Dutch men built much of the buildings you see in Amsterdam today.  Each merchant could build how they wanted and thus they created a unique arrangement of architecture.  Amsterdam is just as much a Canal town as Venice, Italy, and surprisingly boasts more canals than Venice does.  "House" boats line canals and as you walk along them you take the canal feel of Venice, and the more open space and look of buildings like Dublin or some other larger city and combine them, along with a bit more green, to make a very special place.

  We continued to learn more about Amsterdam and every moment we spent, we liked it more and more.  The community is largely a community of bikers.  The average Dutch family has 4 bicycles in Amsterdam and it is more common to bike to work than drive.  People are allowed to lock their bikes along railings along the bridges (see bridge in pic)

and there are bike "paths" next to the roads, often sectioned off to be their own mini-road.  We were excited to get bikes and to see the city and head down to the park in the SOUTHWEST ;) where Van Gogh Museum and 2 other museums were.  The weather was a bit rainy for our 1st day so we decided to keep the biking for the next day or day after and stick to the other cool parts of Amsterdam for the day.

  Continuing on with interesting things about Amsterdam, you have the Coffee Shops and the Cafes.  Cafes are like Pubs and serve alcohol sometimes exclusively without any food at all besides perhaps a bar snack or two.  The Grand Cafes are like pubs but also serve food, sometimes really good food along with their beer.  Coffee Shops don't serve any alcohol at all, but instead serve only weed/hash/marijuana or edibles of the sort.  Here, people choose their poison and keep exclusively to it for the most part.

  We utilized Google maps to look up some places and found some crazy reviews.  I have been using Google maps for years and the rating system on it to qualify places (sometimes super accurately, sometimes just a little help) that I am at when out of town and helps to decide destinations:

User Reviewed:

26-30 Extraordinary to Perfection

21-25 Very Good to Excellent

16-20 Good to Very Good

11-15 Fair to Good

0-10 Poor to Fair

  I found several places that looked really sweet as well as the best ratings I had ever seen - like 2 or three places with 29/30 rating, and with 20+ reviews and 30/30 for another place.  Usually a place with a 22 or higher and 50+ reviews is a pretty safe bet that you won't be disappointed.  But, if possible, why survive when you can thrive and check out places that have almost a perfect rating.  In Amsterdam it looked like there were some places to thrive.

  We figured out a plan for our route and started our journey through the canals and streets of Amsterdam.

  We found a cool Cafe where there was an upper level that had 3 tables in it and overlooked the place as well as having a window near the corner table overlooking outside and into a plaza that was happening.  We think what made it so cool too was that the ceiling was super short up there so that you had to duck (except for our asian waiter who could stand straight) to walk around and it kinda made you feel like you were in a fort or something.  We vowed to come back to play chess later at that cool upstairs table.  Yeah, chess.  We never really played much before but found it a ton of fun at the Cafe Louvre in Prague and found ourselves playing it randomly on trains or at cool chill spots here in Amsterdam.

  Moving on, we found a Dutch whiskey place that we grabbed some whiskey from to take home for special occasions and because we know it would be appreciated and unattainable in the states.  Though I'm not sure whether I just wanted to see it being poured into a glass or if I really wanted Dutch whiskey, but its in the bag nonetheless.  Here is a pic of the dude pouring into my bottle from the 15 Jaar (year) barrel -

  As we walked along the streets we always have fun watching good street performers.  Sometimes it's just the uniqueness of whatever it is that they are doing that draws you in.



  We always donate some loose change to those we like, and ignore the ones that are boring.  Hey, what you appreciate appreciates you know.

  We soon entered into Amsterdam's huge plaza that was large enough to have a National Monument and to host a Sand Soccer tournament, which it actually was doing at the time.  I was immediately drawn to the soccer and stood watching but was soon sitting in the stands for free and watching the game.  We had practically front row seats and I think that's one reason I really enjoyed it so much as we watched the action, including the random balls that would shoot off out into one of the massive buildings lining the plaza every so often - hah!

 

  Once we had our fill of soccer and we had checked out the National monument (above pic near middle, white tall structure in front of the Grand Hotel), we headed to a 29/30 place, Wynand Fockink.  I've never been to a place like this.  They didn't serve any type of liquor you've ever seen or any sort of wine at all.  They only had 1 beer.  What they DID have was some very unique and home-made liquors.

  Every drink was poured into a glass like the one above.  You choose from a selection of about 100 different kinds.  When poured, it isn't done to the level you see above, but to the level you see below - near overflowing.  Every person that orders a drink must perform the "drink off the top" before picking up their glass or suffer disastrous spilling.  It was funny to watch people try to pick up their glass at which point the bartender would quickly stop them and teach them to do the sip.

 

  We tried various kinds, chilling outside while enjoying them.  In the end, we liked the Cafe one as well as a special one that some of the locals had taught me about, A Walk In The Forest, as our two favorites.  We purchased a full bottle of each for around $40 total to bring back to the states to enjoy and possibly share some with those lucky enough to ask/find out about or be introduced to them ;)

  Moving on, we went to a special cafe, In De Wildeman, that specialized in Dutch beer.  I only noticed on the ratings that it talked about beer so when I asked the bartender if they had any Belgian beer you would have thought that the world was going to end.  A couple dudes in the background did a "oooooo" noise, and the bartender stopped what he was doing and set it down, giving me a look, and saying "we only serve DUTCH beer..".  OooKaaay.. that's what I wanted to hear, I was just testing you, so what are my options.  He proceeded to give me a detailed description of all 15 beers listed on the chart above the door.  After a couple minutes I stopped him and asked for the number 7.  He asked me if I was sure and then said that there were some other great beers I could miss out on.  I assured him that I would be trying more than one and I saw the wave of relief flash over his face as his genuine concern for my Dutch beer tasting experience shined through.

  The beer was good!!  I tried a couple different kinds, letting the bartender finish the list, and was happy that the Dutch make such great brews.  Besides a couple outliers in Prague, I hadn't had anything comparable since Ireland.  Walking towards our restaurant we had picked out for some food, we passed a hopping Cafe and decided to stop in and check it out.  Cool bartenders, cool candles, a great beer, and amazing spicy peanuts.

  We moved on to a couple other excellently rated places and I soon found out of the Dutch pride in their beer.  I dropped the B questions by accident again (Belgian beer?) and got a similar reaction as the other bar - "Belgian beer?? NO, DUTCH BEER ONLY."  I came to realize the pride that the Dutch have in their beer and it was cool to see someone/a whole people even that are so proud of something that they are good at.  You'd almost think they would fight to the death to defend their beer, and they very well might if it ever somehow came down to it... 

  We ended up at a cafe on the west side of town called 't Arendsnest.  Another great beer, and an interesting conversation struck up with the Americans beside us.  One guy had been with Shell for about 30 years and travels around a ton for them as well as having lived in Amsterdam for 6 years on an assignment.  The other 2 guys were businessmen and it was interesting talking about their businesses and Amsterdam which all 3 of them loved.  They were waiting for their table of 3 next door for food, so we decided to see if we could get a table for 2 easy enough. 

  Walking next door, we entered the pretty sweet looking place and asked for a table.  The girl said there was nothing available.  I told her "only for two, please?".  She said one minute, walked away, came back and told us to come with her.   We waited for a bit in a cool waiting area and soon had our table for two.   We got to choose which way or in which fashion we wanted to enjoy and eat our dinner -

  We ended up doing the Belgian Baroque, where dishes are all shared.  You pick a few starters, a few main courses, a couple desserts and the portion sizes are a bit smaller.  Delicious!

  After our meal we joined the 3 guys at their table and chit chatted a bit.  Afterwords, outside, one of the gave me a special Padron, which he said was his favorite type of cigar and a limited edition.  I like Padron's and was 1st introduced to them by Josh Mueller, and I was excited to try this "specialty".  I stowed it away for later and brought out my mini-cubans that I had with me, which suited the moment better.

  We headed home for the night!

  The next day was pretty rainy and we didn't get out till around 3pm because we just relaxed inside.  We headed off to check out a couple places that the guys from the night before recommended!  We played checkers to a stalemate (yeah, what?!) and ended up eventually back at the cafe with the small upstairs area, we played some games of chess and had a special dessert.  Soon, Francis, an older lady who claimed to tell fortunes with mathematics sat down with us to tell us our futures and things about us while it continued to rain endlessly outside.



  We then headed out in the rain and checked out Amsterdam some more =)

  In the morning we were up and ready to rock our bikes!

  We exited the flat and asked OK where are we going to get bikes at?  Looking literally to our right was a bike rental place directly next door to our place.  Score!  Soon we were off -

We headed to the Bolhoed, an awesome vegetarian restaurant listed on CitySpy maps and had an awesome meal - the vegetable Keish was excellent, and the soup was also noteworthy.

  We spotted a houseboat that allowed you to go on and check it out so we were soon aboard and down in the boat seeing whats up with the houseboat thing.  Apparently they are attached to the city sewage system as well as the electrical.  The boats cost on average 150-200k, about the same as the surrounding houses, but the maintenance costs are much higher.  It was nice inside.  Sawyer would love it.

  The ride to the park was fun


 
  Once there we picked out a great bench to sit and enjoy the environment.  This little bird with crazy feet soon was at Our feet checking us out -

  We were outside one of the museums Candace wanted to check out and enjoyed their gardens area -

  We hung out here for a bit before heading inside.


   My favorites were the paintings of a Naval battle between ships with cannons and such.  Very cool.  Also we saw some other cool stuff like these paintings that were excellent at depicting a 3d environment.  Looking at them on the computer almost makes you think they are mirrors reflecting something behind the cameraman -



  The museums close at 5 so we had to head out to the Hard Rock Amsterdam =)  Pretty cool, they even had tables around the back that were on a "dock" on the canal side.  Unfortunately, the wait was 1.5 hours so we headed outside and watched/played chess on the floor against some locals.



  We were defeated by a bum.  Haha, but no big deal, after all we are just amateurs and started playing more last week and he PROBABLY plays a bit more than we do.  It was different playing together as a couple against someone and kind of fun despite our loss.  We took comfort in the fact that the next game he played was over before we had even used the restroom and had gotten our bikes unlocked to leave the area =)

  Off we were biking towards our dinner cruise through the canals of Amsterdam!



  On the boat we were CRUISIN -



  The cruise included infinite wine and cheese & snacks.  It was cool going through water tunnels -



The sun kept going down -



And soon was down all the way as our tour guide chatted on in English, Dutch, and Spanish.



  We learned a few interesting things about Amsterdam.  One being that the taxes on housing was/is done based on frontage, not interior space.  They would make their houses thin in front and wider in the back to pay less.  One house, the thinnest in the city, is only as wide as a stairway on the front!  Our guide said it widens a BIT on the inside, but not much.  Its for sale too for a bit over 200k =)

  After a bit we docked and it was time for a land tour!  We had no idea this was part of the trip, but went along with it as our tour guide showed us some cool landmarks -



  And took us through an unexpected tour of the Red Light District.  Remember now, Amsterdam is one of the few cities in the world where Prostitution is legal.  They can't sell their goods on the streets, but they can through windows that are visible in the streets.  Buyers can walk through this area, which our tour took us through, and pick out what see and like, paying anywhere from $35 to $80+.  The ladies don't have "pimps", but pay their taxes and simply purchase "window time" from the landlords of the building.  When a room in in use, the blinds are simply drawn across for the 20 minute session -



  Back on the boat we continued our nighttime boatcruise -



  And had a pic taken off the back of the boat of us -

  Candace is not flicking anyone off, but just holding her wine glass ;)

  After the cruise we hung out with a couple couples and I talked to one guy about representing his business in America and making millions.  We were soon off to a hookah lounge we wanted to check out, then grabbed some late night food and headed home.

  Up in the morning, after our final breakfast in The Netherlands, Amsterdam we returned our bikes, hopped on the train to Brussles in Belgium for a fine afternoon and lunch, had dinner in Frankfurt Germany, then took our overnight train to Interlaken (yeah we're back!!), Switzerland for breakfast.  Candace wrote Brussels and Frankfurt and we plan to post them tomorrow!

  Here is the train station at Amsterdam, the coolest looking building for a train station we have seen yet.


  Also, here is the interesting "clock" that didn't tell time, but instead just moved back and forth, perhaps measuring the wind direction??


JJ&CJ