Day 10: Amsterdam

Day 10:  Amsterdam

QOTD:  Damn, I lost over a 100 pounds so far, how bad was the food in Reykjavik?

Well, THB and DB triangulate and figure the scale is making us lighter by 6-7 pounds

Later this same day, we’re pretty sure we put the weight back on.

Weather: It’s near 90 and humid, again today

 

THB thinks this is the moon, it has been a long time since he saw it

Headlines:

·        THB and DB visit the Farmers Market

·        THB and DB go on a 5 hour food tour, which includes a 1 hour canal tour, some alcohol and series of excellent “tastes” of the Jordaan

·        THB and DB visit the train station to figure out how to use the tram and train systems (and find out “your card doesn’t work in our town, chump”

·        THB and DB skp the planned dinner from the Farmes Market and dine on bread, cheese, drams of wine, and a few pieces of licorice

THB is up early and thus you, the loyal follower, get to see the moon and sunrise in Europe, a first on the trip for THB (DB sleeps in, so she still has this surprise coming.

 

It must be the moon, right?

Breakfast of coffee and toast at the apartment, followed by rhubarb muffin and a snail at the market, followed by (for DB, some granola), $5. At the Farmers Market, only a few minutes away, we stroll through probably 20 food booths and what looks like 50 other booths in the process of setting up. Select ravioli, four types of mushrooms, a baguette, olives, parmesan, strawberries, and salad stuff, approximately what we would pay at our local markets. Stop at a small market to get Orangina, granola, and milk (DB gets help on what milk to pick, we end up with half milk). $15 (it’s a huge bag of granola, huge).

At 9:50, we are a few blocks away at the foot of Prinsengracht (gracht = canal), and meet our guide, Chris. While she’s Dutch, she has also lived in quite a few other places, many Spanish speaking. At 10, the tour is supposed to start yet there is only one other couple, from France (it is his birthday). At 10:10 or so, 5 30-ish women from Toronto arrive. We start the tour at Café Paeneiland, where the last couple arrivesat 10:20 (it doesn’t help, they eat just as much as the rest of us, even though we got a head start). He’s from Austin, she lived in the Ukraine and is now Israeli and they live together in Israel (needless to say, she’s got some major news to follow and does so on her i-phone throughout the day; either that or she’s calculating an up-to-the-minute calorie count, which is harder to keep track of).

At the Café our day starts with a giant piece of excellent apple cake with whipped cream on the side and a shared latte and water. Chris gives us the history of what we’re eating (basically, something they’ve been doing in this location for around 365 years (not days, years). Bill Clinton has been here; we explain to Chris that Bill has wolfed down calories all over the known world, it’s tough to get somewhere before him.

From there it’s just a few paces to Swieti Sranang, a Surinamese take-away spot (a former colony, of course, of The Netherlands). Broodje pom (spicy chicken/mash sandwich) and baka bana (fried plantain with satay sauce).  

Another 10 minutes or so walking (something has to be done to stretch out the day between “tastes”) we arrive at Butcher Louman. They’ve been at it for around 150 years (not days or weeks). A slice of ossenworst (raw, smoked beef sausage, and a bit “soft”) and one of grilledworst, both eaten by THB with mustard. 

And, he was yipping for his treat

Herring done right! A relatively new place, Meer Dan Vis is very new (in this decade) and they source herring the old fashioned way, they go and talk to the guys fishing. Along with the herring comes onions and sweet pickles. Just to round out the stop, we get fried cod (think the “fish” of fish and chips), very very good.

Chris the guide taking a group photo for the web

Chris the Texan taking a pic of the Toronto 5

At Het Oud-hollandasch Snoepwinkeltje (why doesn’t spell check think that’s right, THB copied it right from the handout() we try three different versions of licorice and get a to-go bag.

In front of the Hotel Pulitzer, we board a salon boat (which must mean you sit inside, which is a blessing because it is broiling out) and take a one hour spin of the canals highlighted by a) a fight between our captain and another boat coming towards us over a right-of-way in a slim tunnel and b) a delivery of the hot food that we are having as our second course.

If we're really  lucky,m there's a video of our balls being delivered

Give way I tell you, give way!

The first course: three different types of Dutch cheeses and some fig bread complemented by champagne (THB is thirsty, so along with water he has two glasses of bubbly). The hot second course is bitterballen (yep, breaded and fried meat mash) with sliced meatballs with some 8% local brew. THB only has one glass of beer.

Wrapping up the day, we deplane and take a slow stroll (nobody can do more, it is hot and we are feeling the need for a nap) to Café de Prins for a large plate of small pancakes accompanied by powdered sugar, butter (melting fast) and maple syrup, plus a lot of water with gas and without.

Total for the day: $100pp for the tour (including the canal boat), $7 tip for Tony the boat driver and $25 for Chris. They have these tours in London, Rome (the Israelis have been on that one, twice, once in the morning and once at night…impossible if it was the same day) and Prague. This tour started up a few months ago. THB gives it two tums up and a rousing Oy Oy Oy cheer. 

Back to the apartment to detox and spec out the rest of the week. We can’t figure out the tram and train situation, so we strap on our pants (they won’t really stay up without serious help) and head to get some info at Centraal Staton, back where we arrived yesterday (yesterday? We’ve done so much, eaten so much, sweated so much, can it only be 30 hours since we’ve been in Amsterdam?). And, in the same period, the Dutch are trying to figure out how to respond to the thugs in Ukraine and Russia. Russia turns out to be The Netherlands third largest trading partner. They know who did the deed, they don’t know what to do about.

Oh yeak, THB and DB go to the train station. Amsterdam (and maybe all of the country) have converted to a new “clipper card” type situation, with several twists. When you get on a train or tram, you tap in. If you don’t have 20E on your card, you can’t get on the train (legally?). If you have less than 10E, you get one more tram ride. If you get on the train or tram and tap in, the system docks your card 20E so if you are planning to go less than that, you better remember to tap out. That’s a big penalty for a $1.50 tram ride.

 

Bike garage outside Centraal Station

Then, just in case you have forgotten THB in Copenhagen, at the train station they a) don’t take Visa unless it has a chip on it and b) they don’t take AMEX at all even though THB has an AMEX with a chip. In other words, you gotta pay cash for your cards (including $7.50 just to buy “the card”) and it doesn’t make sense to put train money on it in case you forgot to tap out. We fork out 55E for two cards (no senior discount, sorry, even though there is one you don’t qualify unless you order one two weeks in advance…TAKE THAT you old tourists!) and some tram money, and vow to each other that until death do us part we will tap out at the end of every ride (at our age, can we remember that we need to remember to tap out…what is “tap out”).

The nice young woman (every nice young woman we meet here seems to be on her way to the US) explains all this to us, including the schedules for the three trains we are planning to take (in other words, it is very very hard to find the schedule yourself, she, we think, has memorized it). Oh, and to make us feel better, she says that pretty much any non-European tourist is stuck paying cash, and she gives us some idea of where the closest ATM is (ING).

Phew, back to the apartment for a light meal of bread, cheese, olives, parmesan, a bi of wine, a bunch more water, and a plan to save the ravioli and four types of mushroom for tomorrow night (Honey, do I tap out before I get the mushrooms sautéing and the water boiling or after?). 

More shots of the apartment:

 

Shots from around town: 

Some of the Toronto Five and unusual building

This car drove up, two women and a bike sticking out of the trunk

The bike left behind, the two women drove off (bike was locked throughout the maneuver)

The mayor lives here

or here?

or maybe here?

Drinking in uniform