Day 16: Amsterdam

Day 16:  Amsterdam

QOTD:  It feels a bit like Iceland

Weather: Overcast all day and light rain at times, clearing a bit around 8pm

Breakfast today: pancakes! They are thin, crepe-like, with fruit/curd layered inside: apples and raisins for THB and lemon curd and fresh lemons to squeeze on top for DB, with coffee and water: $32

From there we go to visit a friend of a friend who lives on the outskirts of town. She’s a former stage manager and costume designer from Croatia, has lived in Amsterdam for 20+ years, and now makes bags and unique wraps. THB has an elderberry quaff, very refreshing.

Snjez

Snjez

And, back to the museum district for a walk through the Rijksmuesum; like Van Abbemuseum yesterday, it is free on our H70 hosts’ cards, and like many of the museums we have visited, been renovated while retaining the old building. We see the Night Watch, which some say should be title more accurately the Day Watch. It is HUGE! If you get paid by the square meter, Rembrandt asked quite a pretty guilder.

 

rotate left

rotate right, tulip holder

It’s is not that crowded, you can get quite close to the paintings, which is nice. Most of the work doesn’t do much for THB, at least during renovation it seems like the paintings have been restored to gleam rather than look old and yellowed or darkish.

Lunch in the café is shared meat and cheese platter, a huge amount of very good food (extra dry cheddar, blue of some sort, chorizo, prosciutto) and two lousy breads from a well-respected bakery, a bitter lemon, $30.

Next door: a giant cappuccino, mini espresso

Well, nobody was there...

Stroll about town in a very slight sprinkling (so slight that THB doesn’t put on a jacket), meandering until THB conks out and we head to H70 for a long rest before dinner.

THB believe there is somewhere else where couples leave locks...Paris?

And on a chain to the right, same-same

One of many grills and steakhouse, all over town, not just in tourist areas

Dinnner is at Blauw, at the end of Vondelpark, another 20+ minute tram ride. We have the rijsstafel, at another Mark Bittman recommendation. It is a lot of little dishes, many of them good to pretty good. While it is a good meal, THB and DB agree: it’s a once-every-40-years thing. With two glasses of wine and two draft brewskies, $100. 

Before

After

 

 

 

 And, one last short video: