Since we were going to the Netherlands to see the tulips, we figured we might as well finally see Amsterdam as well. It was one of the last major European cities that we hadn't been to yet (still to go: Barcelona).
Turns out, Amsterdam is really nice to wander around in. There are almost no cars (though you may get run over by somebody on a bike) and it's really pleasant strolling along the tree-lined canals and looking at all the tall, narrow, and crooked houses. This was more or less all we did in Amsterdam for the weekend - walk around.
Below are many pictures of the fun houses, houseboats, and tree-lined canals.
We must have really liked this particular view, below are 3 pictures taken from the same spot on different days and at different times:
This picture shows how the stairs to go into houses are all angled parallel to the street. Space is at a premium here - and on the inside of the houses, the staircases are the steepest I've ever seen in order to maximize space. They're basically ladders!
You can easily see houses are crooked when they're next to each other but many of them also lean forward, like this one. It's very hard to see, we couldn't get a good picture of it, but this house was really neat to walk by.
In the little boat in the forefront of the picture below is a guy dressed like a pirate. I'm not sure you'll see as many bachelor/bachelorette parties in any other city as you do in Amsterdam, for obvious reasons. It was fun seeing bachelor/ettes in different embarrassing or fun outfits throughout the city.
Seriously, you've never been anywhere where so many people are riding bikes! And just in the streets along the canals, not in bike lanes. And they seem to have no rules about right-of-way. We saw handfuls of cyclists come up to an intersection from different directions and nobody so much as thought to tap their brakes!
The orange boat here is one of the canal cruise boats. We considered going on one of these tours, but while they sound interesting and might be fun, they pack people like sardines into boats and I wasn't up for that. Plus I would have wanted more of an open-air boat than to be seeing everything through windows.
We had 3 nights in the city, and on the first evening we found this fun little bar called Arendsnest. It's maybe 10 minutes from the Centraal train station and it has 52 dutch beers on tap (plus more in bottles). They don't serve much food - just a small meat and cheese platter or a bowl of potato chips - so we only went here for a drink before dinner each night. In our 3 nights we managed to try 8 of the beers on tap and there were only a few I didn't much care for. I highly recommend a visit to this bar if you want to try some dutch beers. It's a very small space, as are all places in Amsterdam (did I mention the narrow houses??), but the beers are very reasonably priced and the service really fast and friendly. Below are some pictures of the bar from the street (it looks like nothing, it's the place with the red awning in the 2 pictures below), and a few of the inside.
After we hit Arendsnest each evening, we'd head somewhere for dinner. On the first night we had made reservations at La Maschera. I didn't take any pictures but it was possibly the best Italian food I've ever had. The owners are, of course, Italian, and they own a restaurant in Umbria in Italy. They ship all their food up from Italy and have the same menu at La Maschera in Amsterdam. Seriously, the best tiramisu I've ever had. Their menu is small, maybe 5-6 entrees, a few specials, and a few starters, and the space is also very small, 6-8 tables (have I mentioned the narrow houses? It's amazing what they fit into such narrow spaces though!), but you feel like you're just having a nice meal in an Italian family's home. And there were several vegetarian options on the menu, in case you're worried about that.
One the second night, we ate at Pesca. Again, sorry, I didn't take any pictures! But this restaurant was really different and fun. When you first arrive, you're given a welcome drink and you stand at a fish counter covered with different types of fresh fish and you place your order there. You can order any amount of fish, or as many different types of fish/seafood as you want. The person at the counter tells you how each is prepared and what they cost and then when you choose what you want he/she takes it straight to the kitchen. We chose tiger prawns sauteed in olive oil, a whole sea bass, and some monkfish in a blood orange puree. Then you move on to the bar where you order your wine/beer/water/whatever and you take it back to your table. You're given a buzzer and it goes off as each part of your food is ready. Everything is family-style and we quickly realized that it might work better to order many different things but in smaller portions to enjoy as tapas instead of just 2 bigger portions. P.S. The bread was also extremely fresh and delicious. We enjoyed everything about this restaurant and it was reasonably priced too.
Just getting all the meals out of the way now ... on our third night we ate at Black and Blue, which is a steakhouse. Also delicious. We were 3 for 3 in restaurant selection this trip. Below is a pic of our food there. Martin got steak but I of course got a salad. There were other things on the menu as well - chicken, pork, etc. This place was packed every night, which was why we chose it.
We really did do other things in Amsterdam besides walking and eating, but not much. We wandered through the "flower market", which I thought would have fresh flowers but it was actually just selling bulbs and seeds for flowers so you could plant your own. So it wasn't as pretty or special as we thought it would be. Below is a little shot of all the bulbs hanging from the ceiling in one of the shops. They also sold touristy kitsch at all these shops. And it was crowded. Maybe it was the fact that it was Easter break and tulip season, but Amsterdam was more crowded than we thought it'd be. We stuck to the less-crowded side of the city whenever we could.
We also visited the Anne Frank house. I didn't take any pictures of the inside so you'll have to go see it for yourself. While we've seen a lot of holocaust museums, concentration camps, and other holocaust-related sites, we've learned something new everywhere we've gone and each has a different story to tell. I'm pretty sure almost everybody has read Anne Frank's story and it's really powerful to be able to see where she and her family had hidden and to learn more about their fate and the people who had helped them.
I tried to get a picture of the outside of it but didn't realize I was including a big umbrella in my shot (below). The annex where Anne and her family spent two years in hiding is actually the bricked-up building right before the church with the huge line of people in front of it waiting to get in (tip: buy your tickets online beforehand and go early). So, it's not really anything special to look at from across the street.
The final thing you have to do in Amsterdam is visit the red light district. You're not allowed to take pictures of the women in the red windows, but I took a quick-and-blurry shot of the main street. Most of the women are in the small alleys off of this street but you can see a few red windows along it. Naturally, this is the most popular street in the city for tourists.
Found this amusing. They seem to only sell one thing?? And it was closed when we went by at 9pm! I'm guessing it's more of a morning thing?
And just a shot with the main church in the background in the evening. We tried to get into this church but there was a service going on. We tried to go into other churches too and struck out every time for various reasons. Next time!
