We were sad to leave the amazing chalet and fresh snow in Nendaz but were excited to head to Amsterdam to ring in the New Year with Molly and Shaun. Unfortunately, we had a very early flight (wake up call at 4:30 AM) but still had an eventful first day, thanks to several cups of coffee throughout! We rented an apartment in the Jordaan area and were able to meet the owner, get the key and drop off our luggage before heading out to explore. Molly and Shaun had never been here and although this was our third time in less than two years, there's always something new to see! Our first mission was breakfast and assessing our plans for the day. We didn't get very far before spotting another cute place and stopping for more coffee and a sweet treat - there are so many great cafes here! After we were sufficiently full and caffeinated we ended up shopping at several fun boutiques in the Nine Streets and Jordaan areas. We even picked up some little Dutch shoes at a vintage store (for display, not for wearing). Then we made our way to Dam Square and the fabulous de Bijenkorf department store. Shaun and Matt made out like bandits and surprisingly Molly and I left empty-handed!
 |
| Our apartment |
After a morning of eating and shopping we headed back to the apartment to relax and unpack before heading out to find some more food and drink. We started by grabbing some Italian bites at Mazzos (pizza, salad & wine), followed by more wine and Spanish pinxtos at Olivia's (they must of had nearly 20 different pinxto options to choose from and the server described each one - we each chose a few to share). After filling our bellies we took a stroll through the famous red light district to do some more "window shopping" before heading to a final bar of the day (we found a place with window seats on a busy street which allowed for seriously good people watching).
We started day two with some famous Dutch pancakes for breakfast. These are not like American pancakes - instead they are like a cross between crepes and pizza, and tend to be more savory than sweet (think large, thin pancakes with meat and cheese cooked into them). Yum.
We then joined a walking tour to get our bearings in the city and learn a little bit about the history. Unfortunately it was cold and quite windy so we only lasted through the first half of the tour before we decided to break away and find someplace warm to take a break. Afterward we visited the Heineken Experience to see how the famous beer is made and to try a few samples of the golden beverage.
On Tuesday we grabbed a quick breakfast at a small neighborhood cafe and did some looky-lou shopping in the "luxury" shopping avenues, P.C Hooftstraat and Van Baerlestraat before heading to Museumplein with the intention of visiting the Van Gogh museum. When we arrived we found a 2-hour line so we took a pass. Instead we pre-purchased tickets to the Reijksmuseum for New Year's Day (and we were able to get online tickets to the Van Gogh museum for New Year's Day too, so no waiting for us). We started our NYE celebrations early by heading to the swanky Conservatorium hotel bar and splitting a bottle of Champagne ("only champagne" for New Year's Eve). We then headed to Haarlem street to wander the independent boutiques and have some lunch.
We amped up the cultural dial by checking out the Rembrandt House in the afternoon, the actual house where Rembrandt painted many of his masterpieces (it was even decorated in period furnishings and there was a free audio guide).
Afterwards we dialed the cultural dial back down as we walked through the red light district back to the apartment where we ate our New Year's Eve dinner (we picked up Algerian take-away as we couldn't find any restaurants with open reservations). After dinner we headed out enjoy the celebrations. It was raining and hard to find a bar that was (a) open, and (b) not too crowded. Slim pickings, unfortunately! After walking around for a bit we ended up at a wine bar we had previously visited, but we couldn't stay long as it closed at 11PM. So we had to kill an hour before the local fireworks display and ended up at the Pulitzer Bar at the boutique Pulitzer Hotel. We were surprised to find it was all decked out for NYE with tinsel and balloons and we felt a little silly as it was somewhat kitschy, but our choices were limited so we stayed for a drink. The free Ollieballen were a nice touch ("Dutch doughnuts). Mmmmmm!
At midnight we watched a neighborhood fireworks show put on by a local resident (who has been sponsoring a show for the last few years). It was impressive and more than just a guy with a pile of fireworks and a book of matches (it was set up by some sort of professional fireworks company). All over the city fireworks were going off at midnight - loud and sparkly. Some didn't seem all that safe and we were right next to residential canal houses that date back several hundred years! We kept thinking something was going to burst into flames.
Most places are closed on New Year's Day, so we took it easy by visiting the Reijksmuseum and Van Gogh museum. They were both interesting and big - we could have spent all day in both (if we had the stamina). Later we took a canal boat tour of the city, taking in a different view of the city (from sea level). We had dinner at an Indonesian restaurant where we had a rice table (our table was covered in a bunch of small plates of food - all very tasty). Overall it was a great New Year's break - it makes going back to the "real world" extremely difficult.
 |
| Aftermath of local fireworks |
 |
| The art gurus (ha ha) |
No comments:
Post a Comment