Amsterdam-Day 2- Did You Know Rembrandt Was His First Name?!

So, apparently Europeans aren’t quite as up and at ‘em on a gray, chilly Saturday morning as tourists are—who would’ve thought?  We got out early this morning, planning to grab some breakfast and be at the Rijkmuseum before it opened at 9 to avoid any potential lines since apparently these can be brutal (they don’t take reservations).  It was very quiet on the streets which was really lovely; we wandered up toward the museum stopping at Village Bagels for what was a semi-decent bagel actually outside of NY.

Arriving at the Rijk, we realized the nightmare lines really must not be applicable at opening, or that we did this trip perfectly since it’s far from high tourist season. Either way we walked right in, scanned our museumkaarts and started moving through the big museum.  It’s in a beautiful building and I have to say I was impressed by the flow and setup of many of the exhibits in addition to being awed by the historic building.  Some of the highlights included the library, the hall of honor where they showcase some of the most famous Dutch works, Rembrandt’s NightWatch, the ship models room, and the famous Van Gogh self portrait.

Continuing our cultural streak, we walked through museumplein and grabbed a quick bite at the café at the Concertgebouw (their major concert hall).  Great space; did some people watching and ate a light lunch and were back out to conquer more art.

We had reservations at the Van Gogh museum, so that coupled with the MuseumKaarts enabled us to jump a huge line and walk right in (in case I haven’t made this clear, the ease at which these two things let you do museums here is unbelievable). The Van Gogh museum was good, if more crowded than some of the other sites we’ve spent time in.  The first floor took you through his self-portraits and timeline, the second floor dealt a lot with inspiration and his circle, the third floor was more about him developing his technique, the fourth was the latter part of his life and  correspondence/personal life.  A good retrospective and we were surprised by some of the works that we had never seen before—particularly liked his orchard series and didn’t realize he had done a grouping of Japanese inspired paintings either! It is funny though when you got a museum about an artist and you know there are so many major works that are held at other museums in the world, make sense but definitely gives you pause I think!

Leaving museumplein, we walked through the Albert Cuyp Market. It’s your typical touristy market, but there were definitely some highlights and when you got about a block off the actual market, there were really cool bread shops, clothing stores, etc.  One of the things we had learned in our research was that there is a strong Indonesian population and heritage in Amsterdam—in the spirit of that, I came across a terrific international store (Tjin’s) that was right off the market so decided to stop by. While we couldn’t take home their homemade sambal since it was not in a strong container (bummer!), we did find one that sounded interesting that was from a Dutch producer so brought that home as one of our foodie souvenirs.

Continuing the walk down the Market street, we stopped for 2 quick snacks—mini pancakes called porffiges (like Swedish ebelskivvers but not filled) and a hot stroopwaffel.  Delicious and the perfect pick-me-up in the midst of the light drizzle we had all day.

We walked along the Amstel River a bit until we reached the last stop of the day, the Hermitage. Yes, your confusion is warranted, we are not in Russia, but they have a branch here which was doing an exhibit we were excited for- dining with the tsars.  A light retrospective on the social side of the Tsars based around the collections of china on display. Fun to read about etiquette and just see some of the splendor in person!  The other half of the Hermitage has a portrait gallery display, which focuses on the power players in Amsterdam’s history and really just tries to provide some groundwork of the history.

Crossing back over the Amstel, we saw the famous Magere Brug (bridge) and made it back to our hotel in time to rest up prior to dinner. After a day full of being on our feet, we were pretty excited about our dinner in the Waldorf at Librije Zusje. This was our big dinner of the trip and it was absolutely worth it—a fairly small dining room with an absolutely delicious menu, we actually decided to order a la carte instead of the set tasting so we could try more. I won’t bore you with too many foodie details, but we started off with several small bites that were phenomenal then had an incredible meal including grilled langoustines, venison, deconstructed apple pie, etc—you get the picture but I can’t express how delighted our taste buds were! 

Amsterdam-Day 1- Hit the Ground Running/Walking/Boating (we didn't actually run)

And we're off! We've decided to break up our slightly ridiculous trip into the 2 distinct sections of Amsterdam and South Africa since it's hard to find a strong common thread aside from Dutch colonial involvement. So part one: Amsterdam!

We left on a 6pm flight from DC on Thursday and arrived around 7am on Friday morning; quite a strong tail wind so we made great time!  Grabbed our 2 checked bags (insert horrified looks here) and jumped on the Sprinter train, transferred to the tram, and walked a few short blocks to the lovely Waldorf. Despite an easy journey, we were still extremely excited about arriving at the hotel as it's one of the reasons we were so excited about taking this weekend in Amsterdam. It's a new property in the Hilton portfolio that just opened midway through last year.  The coolest part about it is that it's actually 6 converted row homes on a prestigious canal so the character is unparalleled. They were able to use many original elements from these homes as well, including marble floors, a magnificent staircase etc. All the charm of the old world but with a high-end modern feel; the perfect combination and totally sets the relaxing tone of the vacation.

We quickly unpacked a few things and set off to explore the city.  I think we both had expectations that we would like Amsterdam, but I have to say we've fallen completely head over heels for the city.  The character of the architecture & canals, the friendly people, the cool but not pretentious culture... the entire city center genuinely feels like a big neighborhood. Oh and the biking stereotype is genuinely not an exaggeration; there are SO many bikes here everywhere you look. A dream come true...

Since we were a bit tired we decided to start the day off with a boat tour of the canals. While not something we typically do in cities, it just seemed so appropriate and a relaxing way to start the day that we headed over to one a few blocks away and jumped on board.  Not super informative, but they pointed out key buildings and bridges along the way and had a few fun facts like the hooks that are on the fronts of the houses at the top: they're furniture hooks since the houses are so narrow and the staircases so tight that they have to move furniture in through the windows.

Aside from almost falling asleep a few times on the boat tour (it was warm and we hadn't slept much), we decided to refuel and went to an amazing frites place called Vlaams Friethuis Vleminickx.  After much debate over sauce options, we asked the frymaster what his favorite combo was and ended up with Spicy Mayo/Peanut Sauce. A.mazing.  It was a bit chilly out, so we lucked out actually and there was a bar directly across the street that lets you bring your fries inside as long as you order a drink- sold!  To top off our frites lunch, we had our first stroppwaffel-- a thinly pressed sandwich cookie with a layer of caramel in between.  We went to Lanskroon, an old family-run bakery we heard about before coming here.

Then we walked over to the Begijnhof; a charming little square with the oldest house in Amsterdam.  The background on the square is that beguins were pious, single Catholic women who performed good works but didn't want to live in a convent/take vows (early 15th century).

Wandering the canals and all of the tiny, charming streets was really great despite the fact that it's a little cold.  Everything is just so picturesque and as long as you watch out for bikers, very relaxing.  The city actually seems much more compact than it appears on a map-- we're continually surprised that we're already at our destination! We passed by the House at the Three Canals, a unique cross-section where each side of the end house actually faces a different canal.

Walking through the Oudemanhuispoort Book Market, we went over to the Rembrandthuis. A quick pause at the museum for a piece of advice-- we decided to buy a Museumkaart, which gives you access to a long list of museums. Really only makes sense if you're going to 4 or more but since our main activity while we're here is exactly that, we figured it was worthwhile. There's a separate line at each of the museum entrances for Kaart holders, so you can skip a lot of the super long lines that happen here.  Back to Rembrandthuis: it was a small museum with reconstructed rooms. None of his works are there, but still fun to stroll through it and see the studio space, etc.

Then we went down and saw the Waag, the old weight house by the port. A cool exterior but the inside is actually now a restaurant. Then we were kind of in the red light district, which funny enough is where the old church is. Our trip through the red light district was uneventful minus some groups of really drunk 20 year olds.  The Old Church was beautiful; the scale of it was really impressive as it was huge and we noted the individual gravemarkers in the floor as giving this church particular character.

The Royal Palace was our next step which actually is a still-used state building.  Fortunately it was open on our day, though it would have been nice to have been welcomed by the royal family with a ball in our honor of course.... next time.  The incredible hall was our favorite part with inlaid maps on the floor of the world and constellations. With soaring ceilings, chandeliers, and a beautiful carving of Atlas above one end, it was really quite breathtaking. The other rooms off the hall were ornate as well, but it was interesting to see they definitely still used some of them based on things like phones in the office spaces, etc which we assume are used for visiting foreign dignitaries.

We had reservations at the Anne Frank House at 3:40. Another pause for a recommendation-- in addition to the MuseumKarrt some of the museums allow reservations. Do it. The Anne Frank line was unbelievably long and it was cold; we were so appreciative of having a time slot. And luckily we had a little time before our appointment so we stopped for a beer ('t IJ) and a hot chocolate. We zipped right into the Anne Frank House, literally no wait, I can't stress this enough. It's a powerful walk through the family and does a great job of putting their story into broader context.  Obviously really impactful to be in the actual space, climbing the loft after stepping through the moveable bookcase. I think overall we were really moved by the videos and stories communicated throughout the exhibits and I am so glad we prioritized this as one of our must-dos while in Amsterdam. Really touching.

Back on the tram since our energy levels were getting low and it was freezing.  Took a short nap and headed out to Restaurant De Kas for dinner.  A quick tram ride dropped us at the beautiful greenhouse in a park that houses the restaurant. With a focus on sustainability and fresh, local foods, dinner was exactly what the doctor ordered: chicory soup, haddock with fennel salad, cod with vegetables, and a frozen pistachio nougat concoction. We split a wine pairing so we wouldn't fall asleep in our soup (our waiter promised to pick us up if need be) and just relaxed.  The never-ending day was great and we were totally fine with it being that way--a great first day on an incredible trip!