Amsterdam 24

Monday 19th August

With a little feeling of deja vu, we headed down to Glasgow Airport to catch our flight to Amsterdam, this time round we were flying with EasyJet and their self-service check-in procedure went very well and the security process also went smoothly. and we were soon on our way. On landing at Schipol Airport, we boarded the Sprinter train into Amsterdam Central Station where we caught a number 22 bus to the Westcord Art Hotel, we were comfortable with this hotel as we had stayed there the last time. We visited in 2022, so it was the ideal choice for us again.

After checking in and after a wee rest we decided to stay fairly local and headed out to Westergas, a creative complex at the nearby Westerpark. Once the city’s gasworks, this collection of old industrial buildings is now home to a variety of bars, restaurants and entertainment venues, We stopped off at Brouwerij Troost for some local beers and food, it was a great place to start the trip off, the food and selection of beers were very good, I certainly would recommend to anyone visiting Amsterdam.

Tuesday 20th August

Unlike the last time we visited, when we walked all the way, ⁰we decided to use public transport to take us to our choice for breakfast in the famous Pancake Bakery, luckily we arrived after the crowds and got a table easily, the food when it arrived was spectacular and quickly became one of Jim’s favourite ways to have breakfast.

Fully fed and refreshed, we had a stroll around the shopping area looking for some souvenirs, unfortunately, it started to rain quite heavily so we took some shelter in the Beer Tasting Room In The Wildeman, which is a quirky bar in a former distillery stocking over 250 beers from throughout Europe, the same barman who served us the last time was in duty and quickly made us welcome, suggesting some very good beers for us, we settled on a beer from a brewery called Delirium and Jim was delighted by the glasses with their elephant designs.

We returned to the hotel in the late afternoon damp and bedraggled to dry off before heading out again to return to another of our favourites, Moeders. (Mothers), for some traditional Dutch food, Jim ordered the ‘Stamppot’ a real Dutch “stamppot” of mashed potatoes with vegetables served with a sausage a meatball & bacon and was not disappointed, I settled for Granny’s beef stew, again it was pretty special. The restaurant, staff and food could not be bettered, While in the restaurant we got into conversation with a couple of guys, one from Brazil and the other from Colombia who now lives in Melbourne, we all enjoyed each other’s company which led to a great night. We returned to the hotel tired but happy after a great day.

Wednesday 21st August

One of our reasons for coming to Amsterdam was to revisit STRAAT, so we took the bus into the central station to catch the ferry to NDSM, the old industrial shipbuilding area to the north of the city, it was exactly as we remembered, old machine shops and slipways, and old machinery. After a stroll around, we went into STRAAT, spending most of the day looking at the exhibits, many of which were new installations, this really is a special place for someone interested in urban art, and the cafe there is also pretty good. On leaving STRAAT, wandering around the exterior of the buildings, where almost every surface is a legal wall, helped pass some time before we stopped off for a late lunch before getting the ferry back across the river.

In the evening, after many attempts, we secured a booking for Hap-Hmm, a highly recommended restaurant, which has been around since 1935, specialising in authentic Dutch cuisine in a small operation from what was a family home. The food we both had was very good, and the service was excellent, however, the room was tightly packed, and the brisk service left us feeling a bit rushed. After visiting Mothers, we both felt that we preferred it as it has a more homely feel to it, with a more relaxed atmosphere with really friendly staff.

Thursday 22nd August

For a change of scene, we took a train from Centraal Station to Rotterdam, the journey in both directions was very interesting passing through places like Delft, Gouda, Harleem and the Hauge. Once in Rotterdam we made our way down to the waterfront, where we boarded a cruiser called the Abel Tasman for a cruise around the harbour. I was not surprised to see that it had changed greatly since my last visit over 50 years ago. After a quick lunch in a nice cafe, we boarded a vintage tram for a ride around the city, this was good, but not a patch on similar trams in Melbourne and Lisbon, and considerably more expensive. On our return to Amsterdam, we found ourselves in an Argentinian restaurant for a nice meal before returning home a wee bit tired, with over 24000 steps under our belt for the day.

Friday 23rd August

Museum Square was our first stop this morning, where we stopped off for our breakfast at one of the many coffee stalls, since we had previously visited the Van Gogh Museum and Moca, we gave them a miss, and on discovering the cost of admission to the Rijksmuseum, we decided to miss that out too, it is just too expensive. Leaving the museums behind we strolled through the part of the city that is full of antique shops and art galleries, with nothing much planned, we continued to stroll around the city, stopping off in a nice kebab shop for lunch. Eventually, we found ourselves outside the Wildeman Beer Hall just as the rain started so we entered to get some shelter and a couple of beers.

Our evening outing took us to a part of the city near the hotel where we found Braai, a really nice South African-themed restaurant and our meal there was very good indeed, a short walk from there took us to Cafe Checkpoint Charlie where we joined the crowds for a nightcap before heading back to the hotel.

Saturday 24th August

Making full use of our travel tickets, we ventured south of the city to visit Da Vinci Genius, an interactive sound and light show highlighting the history and works of Leonardo. This was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and we would highly recommend it. Once back in the city, we gravitated towards Irish Bar Slaite, for a spot of lunch washed down by a lovely pint of Guinness.

It had started to rain quite heavily in the afternoon, so rather wet and bedraggled we made our way to the Anne Frank House for our pre-booked tour, this was made a little difficult due to the tram system being disrupted. Our tour of the house started with an introductory talk about the history of the Frank family and their time in the house before we visited the rooms, the audio guide was excellent, explaining how the family hid from the German authorities for over 2 years. Much like our visit to Auschwitz last year, we both found this visit to be very thought-provoking. We then returned to the hotel to dry off and recharge our batteries.

For our last night in Amsterdam, we had a nice Chinese meal, before returning to the Wildeman for a couple of pints of our favourite beer, Delirium Nocturnam. Simon, the owner of the Wildeman, a really nice guy who we got on so well with, had kindly left 2 of the special glasses for us. This finished off another great trip away and we returned to the hotel happy, feeling that now we had seen all we wished for in Amsterdam.

Sunday 25th August

We had a longer lie-in this morning, then packed our luggage before checking out and heading into town for breakfast, it was nice sitting in the sunshine at the riverbank watching the world go by. All too soon it was time to board the train out to the airport, where we went through the usual procedures before waiting to board our flight to Glasgow.