Before October 2008, Amsterdam was not even close to the top of the list of places I wanted to visit. It turned out I had no choice -enroute to Africa, it was Amsterdam or well, nowhere. How happy I am that it turned out that way! We had 2 full days there and I wish we had had longer.
The Dutch speak on average 3 languages per person. On average.
We stayed in a great guesthouse -Tulipa -run by a Brit and an Dutchman, Paula and Jan. Fantastic location and our room was lovely, with a small balcony overlooking one of the many canals.
Bikes are big. I had heard that but until I saw it, nothing prepared me for the fact that biking is the only way to go. People in Amsterdam (and other parts of Europe) view biking as a means of transportation, so they wear regular clothes, carry handbags/satchels, use leather saddlebags designed for the bike...usually an upright "old man's bike". When it rains, they cycle one-handed carrying an open umbrella. There is nothing sports-orientated about bicycling in Amsterdam -what a refreshing change!!
Amsterdam is a pretty city -charming, quaint, interesting, walkable, friendly. The Dutch people were overwhelmingly kind, hospitable, and couldn't do enough to help or show their pride in their lovely country.
We rented a tandem bike for a day -hilarious, and I highly recommend it. I went on the back, thinking I would just sit there and be spoilt. G figured it out after a few attempts at almost giving himself a hernia going up a tiny 10% incline, and then I was reprimanded. Don't sit on the back if you are going to be doing anything other than completely FLAT surfaces...pillion is no fun with even the smallest of hills -and if you're not well coordinated with your lead rider, well, get ready to laugh your head off! Oh, and have an arm out ready to stop your face making contact with the road. We covered more than 50% of the city on the bike, stopping enroute many times - the parks, the cafes etc. At some point I will list the places but it will take some time to find out where we went exactly - Dutch road names do not come to mind or roll off the tongue that readily...
We ate at a great restaurant -De Silveren Spiegel (The Silver Mirror) on our last night. It is small and elegant, and has beautiful silverware and china. It is very very old and the house is wonky and creaky -perfect. The napkin rings are these tiny, pretty silver affairs -and would have been the perfect tiara for Miau. After some deliberation, I decided not to pilfer one. I love Miau but knowing she wouldn't bail me out of prison, well, sod the tiara. The maitre d' was excellent (another one speaking numerous languages, all faultlessly and naturally) -he pointed out that the brussel sprouts were not actually from Brussels (oh excuse me), they were locally produced (as is all of their food by the way), and therefore he would refer to them as just sprouts. As someone who had recently biked on a bright orange tandem bike a la TOURIST and could only speak 1 language, who was I to argue.
Address: Kattengat 4-6 E-mail: restaurant@desilverenspiegel.com Telephone: (0)20 624 6589
The little stores are excellent -antiques, curios -you name it, they have it. We walked past numerous cooking schools (lucky Dutch people!). Old-fashioned pubs with cheeses and wines galore. Food stores. Tobacco (!) stores. Design stores.
We walked across the city to the Red Light District -have to say we were disappointed. Not that we're hardcore porn experts please -rather there was nothing "shocking" or even enlightening. It was packed of course -but most people seemed to be more interested in eating at the cheap pizza parlours than entering into any of the establishments for which the area is famous.
We spent one evening walking through town and I was in heaven as I could be a voyeur to my heart's content -with total impunity! Many of the houses have floor to ceiling windows, and the Dutch have no qualms about having supper, a party, playing the piano, or cooking in full view of walkers on the street. They have no window dressings, other than some decorative panels here and there, and don't seem to give a hoot about nosey people (me) staring at them. Same with the houseboats -these are no barge on the river boats -they are luxurious and comfy at the same time. Again, I was in voyeuristic nirvana...
There is a lot of design, fashion, arts in Amsterdam, and it rocks. Pictures to come later.
