Spreek je Dutch?

Welcome to the land of cheese and “coffee shops.”

We arrived Thursday morning to Amsterdam, where our first lesson was that the taxis, although beautiful new Teslas, are not the most efficient or affordable way of getting around. After a 75 euro ride to our hotel (we’re pretty sure Vlad ripped us off), we purchased a 48 hour tram pass and got scootin’.

After a 4:00am wakeup call and 2 hour flight, we were hungry. It was 9:30am in Amsterdam, so naturally, PANCAKES. We walked up a few streets near the Museumplein and stumbled upon a cute breakfast nook that was teaming with locals. We sat in a corner by the window next to a group of young Dutch girls who appeared to be celebrating something. The coffee was hot and the Dutch pancakes smelled amazing. Outside bikes swooshed passed us on the streets and side walks with the same sort of nonchalant ease as walkers in New York City would have. We spent the rest of the day wandering around the city trying to get our bearings, which usually comes easy to Sarah, but Amsterdam seems to be her Kryptonite.

After a much needed mid-day snooze, we got ready to go to dinner at a restaurant we found listed as one of the best up and coming restaurants in Amsterdam. This city has a lively Asian food scene, so when we found Dum Dum Palace to be a bumpin’ restaurant and bar, we knew we struck gold. Prior to dinner we had a few drinks at the hotel bar, where we met Martin, a nice British man who ended up joining us for dumplings and pork buns. When dinner was finished, we wandered through the city center in search of an authentic Amsterdam aperitif. This lead us the one of the infamous “coffee shops.” …When in Rome right? Or in our case Amsterdam.

Today we decided to embrace our inner tourist and go to the “I Amsterdam” sign in front of the Rijksmuseum. While the sign was buzzing with everyone trying to get their iconic photo, it’s beauty falls short in comparison to it’s backdrop. The breathtaking design of the gothic castle that houses the collections of artists like Rembrandt and Vermeer soon became our shelter from the deluge that began while taking photos on the sign.

We meandered through the galleries for about an hour, enough culture for Sarah for the rest of the year, and then continued on our journey to find the best pancakes in Holland. Turns out, the answer to that question was Pancakes, literally. We had lunch at the delicious and aptly named Pancakes.Amsterdam, indulging in both a sweet and savory Dutch pancake (think deconstructed crepe). As if we weren’t already full from lunch, we took it upon ourselves to go cheese tasting at a local cheese shop, and partake in a classic Dutch tradition of “fries in a cone.”

So full that we could barely make it to the tram station, we headed back to our hotel to rest and mentally prepare for dinner.

More to come tomorrow on our last full day in then Dam. As always, thank you for following us as we Karpe Diem…

XOXO,

T&S

 

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