After a lovely morning eating cake and wandering the canals of Amsterdam, we head down to the Heineken Brewery.
We went all out and bought the VIP tickets – it allowed us access to the exclusive rooftop where we got beer, burgers and a view over Amsterdam.
After a cruise on a canal boat, we found ourselves back near Dam Square. We got all too excited about finding our countries on the wall of a travel agent:
Somehow we were still hungry, so it was time for some more Dutch food – their famous hand cut frites, from Vlaams Frites Huis -serving since 1957. Topped with spicy, creamy Dutch mayo, they were super crisp and oily.
We spent a few hours wandering, dodging the hundreds and thousands of cyclists, the streets ringing with the ding-ding of vintage bicycle bells. It’s an amazing cycling city here, with cyclists taking top spot in the transport hierarchy.
We started to make our way down south – I had heard good things about De Ysbreeker, a cafe on the canal in the south of the city. The sun was slowly setting, which threw a beautiful glow over the canal.
We got to De Ysbreeker, and promptly ordered a seafood platter, wine, and for me – a kids strawberry milk. It wasn’t really intentional – I asked to try something new, something Dutch, and something interesting. The waitress sold me when she told me this was pink – but when it came out, it was clearly for kids. I don’t care – we cheersed anyway with expensive Pinot Grigio and a pink Dutch kids drink.
The sun was almost down, and after a long day it was time to wander back home.
The sun set, and I got caught up for a while wandering the city, taking photographs of quiet, charming Amsterdam at night. The canals and tunnels were all lit up with lanterns, and the bridges and walkways illuminated sporadically by the bike lights as cyclists zoomed past. There is a lot of public art here, and a lot of prettiness.
