The Netherlands, 10/22 – 10/29

Wow I’m terribly behind and this will be even longer and more boring than usual if I write everything.  So I’ll just do major entries by cities!?

First, Amsterdam and short day trips around the Netherlands with Luca. Mostly we drank a LOT of beer, many whiskys, and ate out basically every meal — pretty much NEVER Dutch food unless I insisted and mostly as a snack. 😂 

The very positive thing of my son being unemployed is that we spent pretty much all the time together. He picked me up from the airport, went around with me, and took me to my train station when leaving. Of course I could not help crying when I left, but I do miss my baby!

To start, I took KLM again but this time economy. Quite the difference from business class except that I was able to use Luca’s CapOne card to get into a lounge. (Swisport, not even close to the fabulous KLM one last time but I had eaten and didn’t need more food nor drink though they had both. No views or private bathroom, but the chairs were comfy and I had free WiFi. All good.) And crazily the CHEAP seats on my flight were only half full — the biz class and even premium economy were full (people just have toooo many points these days) —so I ended up with an entire 3-person row to myself with a window and aisle. I mean it’s not as comfy to sleep across two seatbelts as it is to stretch out in an individual pod but it wasn’t bad. In fact I slept only 2 hours and I think I adjusted better this time because once I got back to Luca’s at 8 am I HAD to sleep— we chatted, I unpacked, then I slept until about 1 (and he took a nap too since waking up at 7 is no longer in his repertoire).  I pretty much adjusted to his time with that!  (Up at 10-11, awake until 1-2am. As he says, his “transition” to not working has not been difficult). And the box I checked to bring Luca 18 rolls of Charmin arrived safely!! 

I had made no real plans, except to hang with Luca (and Evi when possible — we only saw her Friday and Monday nights after work since she had weekend plans). So we took a bunch of day trips and wandered  back to a few places I missed last time or wanted to revisit. 

It turns out my trip coincided with a huge EDM music fest (just heard from Karen that Brian was there DJing! Sadly we had no idea he was in town). So despite it being a work day, people were out and about and we walked quite a bit to the center to the “Negen Straatjes” (9 little streets) and stopped for several hours in a beer place to get out of the rain. There was a large table next to us of young men who had clearly been drinking for some time (it was only 330 when we arrived) and oddly alternated speaking Dutch and German to each another. Luca was convinced they were there for a bachelor party and friends from various times/places of the groom-to-be’s life were together to celebrate. We outlasted the bachelor party dudes and later met Gianmarco and Bianca, a cute young couple who had only just met themselves! She lives in AMS but recently moved from her native Brazil, via Portugal. (BTW she said she cannot understand Portugal Portuguese so I feel better about not understanding anything they say). Gianmarco instead was a pilot from Peru and came in just for the EDM fest. They were very cute but unfortunately Gianmarco took the photos, which he was going to share via Instagram, but neither Luca nor I use it. We finished the night with more (whisky) drinking and some eating at a place close to Luca’s … the Labyrinth which I remembered from my last visit for their fancy drinks, Afro-Caribbean food and cool vibe. 

I was shockingly not terribly hung over the next morning and my one leftover AMS to-do was to bike de Noord (north of Amsterdam centraal, used to be industrial and farming though now is a popular area for new restaurants and apartments as the 5 minute ferry rides are free and often). So we checked the week’s weather and Friday was supposedly the only day with no rain, even though it was VERY windy (like 17 mph constantly and 35 mph gusts — oh and spoiler, it rained!), but we optimistically went. 

The biking against wind gusts and in rain was hard but I think I was most stressed biking up from Luca’s in the pretty intense pedestrian, car, and mostly other biking traffic. Plus I really don’t read the road “signs” (they’re on the ground) correctly… one time I was convinced we had right of way and sorta freaked out a Dutch woman who had passed me but stopped for a light as I was going to cruise into traffic. Oh and my bike was really fucking heavy. But at least it fit. Once in de Noord it was more peaceful to ride although that’s when we or the wind shifted so it was hard riding at times. 

This was one day we had a boring Dutch sandwich for lunch (brootje though my Duolingo says boterhamen) .. but we made up for it by stopping at a place for fancy cheese and wine. I was very full after all that cheese! We had to ask for extra bread.

We managed to ferry and bike back to Luca’s AND meet Evi for yet another beer and after, some Korean food (and soju) for dinner. I really wanted something light after all that cheese and I also insisted we take a tram as the forecast was more wind and rain and the thought of biking in the dark and likely slightly drunk in bad weather was enough for me to beg off. 

We went to Utrecht, famous (to me) for their “fish doorbell” — you really need to look it up if you don’t know what I’m talking about. 

It’s also a university town and, according to Luca, was (is?) the wealthiest town in the Netherlands.

Luca wanted to try a well rated new place for napolitano pizza (the host spoke better Italian to Luca than English) and even though I was soon to head to Italy I was fine with pizza. Food was good and since Luca’s soccer team was playing (coincidentally with Napoli but we didn’t tell the waiter that and sadly Inter lost), afterwards we had to find a sports bar to watch the game and drink more beer. Of course we met the one other Italian (fortunately Inter) fan, Franco, a 27 yo Milanese who has been traveling the world on his own but is still obsessed with the soccer team.  There was also a Georgian (Atlanta not former USSR) dad there with his son, on his first trip to Europe. They mostly hung outside at the water edge since their game had already played (I think!?). And since I was drinking Heineken at a sports bar, I did insist that we get an order of bitterballen, the classic Dutch fried bar food. 

Utrecht is very cute with a shopping district and, unlike AMS which just moors boats at canal level, Utrecht has restaurants and such at the water level. A bit like Chicago’s river walk. So both the sports bar and later, a whisky bar that we visited, were at the water level and cool that way. 

On Day 4, we headed to The Hague (literally the Hedge in English. You gotta wonder.)  Luca thought their food in general Is more international and better so we had Indonesian for lunch (though I got a boring soup — seriously we were eating and drinking way too much and Luca had to finish mine after his large spicy plate of stuff). We got tix to their  well known Mauritshuis museum, which is mostly famous for Vermeer’s girl with the pearl earring.  

Luca and I decided we don’t really love the Dutch masters, except Van Gogh (me) but he had to go to France to paint and isn’t considered one of the masters (wrong era). Rembrandt and Rubens aren’t bad and I like some Vermeers, but Frans Hals and many others just show the “warts and all” in their portraits and I hate to say it but people look UGLY. I do like their still lifes (sp?) that are mostly flowers (bright on a dark background—the Dutch do love their “blomen”).  

We capped off the evening with a very nice Belgian dinner at a cute little spot Luca found. And then we returned to Amsterdam.

On Monday Luca had made dinner reservations with Evi so we strolled around local areas — and I returned to the Albert Cuyp street market which is open every day.

My last time was even worse —everyone was closing early in a torrential downpour except there was a line at the stroopwaffel truck, which I, at that time, refused to get. But this time I had to cross it off my list, so we waited in an even longer line (40 mins!) with wind and some rain. Oh well. We chatted. And shared a single stroopwaffel. Frankly, neither of us loved it but we’re not huge sweet eaters. It wasn’t bad.

We of course went for beers and later met Evi for cool whisky drinks (which she sneakily paid for) and a delicious meal at another Belgian restaurant. A three course meal and delicious though I didn’t take any photos (plus two bottles of wine!? Wow there was a lot of drinking going on). Anyway it at least included vegetables.

On Day 6, we strolled to and around the Jordaan area, then grabbed a train to Haarlem, only about 20 minutes from AMS centraal station.

In fact going home, we just took a bus! A lot of AMS workers live in Haarlem because it’s cheaper, cleaner and just easier to live there especially if you’re raising a family. Although it’s a town in its own right.

We were walking down a street just after elementary school ended and saw several grandparents and nannies picking up kids so maybe people do live there but work in AMS. 

We did go to one church in the Netherlands and it was in Haarlem. Compared to typical Catholic Churches, it’s a little plain inside (and you have to pay unlike in France and Italy!), but it was nice enough.

When we got back to Amsterdam, Luca had reserved us a spot at a sake bar / Japanese restaurant and it was all good. We were sorta running late so Luca biked me which still cracks me up. He has a newer bike, thankfully a better, safer one, but it’s still a challenge to balance and not hit anything (person, bike, random pole) when sitting on back! I still think the harder job is biking in all the bike traffic with an extra 120+ lbs on back but he keeps saying he carries heavier, less balanced people and makes it work.

That’s it for the Netherlands! Although we rarely ate Dutch food, we did have several ham and cheese croissants for Dutch breakfasts and I insisted on getting another herring sandwich in Haarlem which Luca had never had (he tried a bite of mine) .. and some “Dutch” fries with mayo.

On Day 7, Luca biked me (harder with my huge backpack and other bags), but only a short distance to a closer station so I could get to Centraal, then leave for Paris. I’ll miss my baby but he and Evi were leaving for China the next day.

Lots of travels to catch up on and I’m three cities beyond … but hopefully those go quicker!!! It’s almost 2 am in Florence so I’m finally posting this without a final proof and going to sleep!