How much sightseeing can a traveler do in 7 hours?
"Not Much" would be my usual answer. But this time we're faced with a dilemma with our first 2 nights of the trip: either stay in Amsterdam and take a day trip to Haarlem, or stay in Haarlem and take a day trip to Amsterdam. We chose the latter, mainly due to our preference for smaller cities and towns. So on Day 2 of our journey we made the best of a leisurely Sunday -- a concise tour of one of Europe's great cities.
10:25. Arrival at Amsterdam Centraal station on a local train. 7.5 Euros was a relatively cheap price for a whole day's (actually 24 hours') ride in the GVB network.
10:45. Tram #4 took us conveniently to the Dam Square. The locals must be in bed still as everyone on the square seemed to speak either Mandarin Chinese or Korean.
11:05. Just a short walk from Dam Square was my favorite spot in Amsterdam, an oasis of peace nestled in the heart of a bustling metropolis. While the main draw is the huddle of medieval architecture around a 14th Century courtyard, even more amazing was its ability to shield away all signs of urban life, being less than 50m away from the busy tram route of Spuistraat.
11:30. Wandered over to the famous floating flower market off Singel. Bulbs and seeds were off-limits for us as Canada Customs prohibits the import of live plants back to Canada. Of more interest to us was the historic district of Canal Rings, a UNESCO World Heritage in itself.
11:45. Gotta love Amsterdam for its abundance of great cheeses, especially when it costs nothing. There are enough free samples at place like Cheese & More to make a full lunch if you want. We came away with some handmade rosemary nougat for snacks, in addition to a stomach full of cheeses I'd never find in Canada.
12:00. Arriving on time for our lunch reservation at Gartine for one of the more sought after tables in town. This little eatery is getting quite famous for its simple, handcrafted slow food at reasonable prices, a rare find in expensive Amsterdam. How slow? All the vegetables and herbs directly come from the owners' organic garden and greenhouse in the outskirts of the city.
The interior was cozily claustrophobic and held only 8 tiny tables. Our original plan was to come for a late breakfast, but when we called a week ahead all that's left was one undersized table for lunch at 12:00.
Reducing the tempting seasonal lunch menu down to 2 items proved to be a challenge. I ended up ordering this organic green salad topped with a generous serving of Camembert, marinated green beans and, in an Indonesian-Dutch twist, delicious shredded coconut in sweet mild Sambal.
My wife ordered a fancy modern version of a timeless Dutch favorite: smoked mackerel on bread. Any experienced fishmonger knows how tricky mackerel preparation can be -- the Japanese even has the saying of "Saba no Ikigusare," that the mackerel start to spoil while it's still alive. The mackerel has to be fresh enough, and the smoking process thorough enough, to rid the meat of that strong repulsive smell. And this mackerel fillet was excellent -- smokey enough for the additional flavor and lightly done enough to retain that characteristic oiliness in the meat. We really enjoyed this sandwich.
The drinks were pretty creative too, especially the Lemon Iced Tea with Fresh Vanilla. We would have ordered the White Chocolate Cheesecake if we had just a bit more stomach room. Next time.
Bill for Two Persons
| Salad with Camembert and Sambal Coconut Shreds | 7.95 Euros |
| Smoked Mackerel Sandwich | 8.5 Euros |
| Lemon Iced Tea with Fresh Vanilla | 2.95 Euros |
| Raspberry Tea with Frozen Raspberries | 2.95 Euros |
| TOTAL before tips | 22.35 Euros (CAD$31.3) |
13:30. A few quick stops on Tram #2 took us to the Museum Quarter and Coster Diamond's flagship store. An earful of sales pitch for a free 20-minutes guided tour wasn't a bad trade off, if you're bringing a girl to see her best friend like I was.
14:00. Obligatory visit to the Rijksmuseum and its collection of Dutch masters, especially the Night Watch and the Milkmaid. Even after the 10-year-long renovations the museum remained large, rambling and notoriously difficult to navigate. Don't forget to bring your ING Direct bank card to get 50% off admissions.
16:00. We've finally arrived. I could skip the Rijksmuseum. I could skip Dam Square. But the beer enthusiast in me would never skip this true Amsterdam institution. We're talking 370 odd years of beer stains, vomit and cigar smoke that went into this legendary brown cafe. To this date Cafe Hoppe's floors are still covered in sawdust. Don't ask.
Not sure if the dark wooden barrels still hold Oranjebitter and Brandewijn, but you cannot ask for a more atmospheric place for a pint and maybe a jenever.
Food offerings consist mainly of typical Dutch pub grub like cheese platters, Bitterballen and Ossenworst. Not enough for a full meal (we had to grab some takeouts from our neighborhood Albert Heijn when we got back to Haarlem), but great snacks to round out a full day's sightseeing.
Bill for Two Persons
| Ossenworst | 6 Euros |
| Bitterballen | 5.5 Euros |
| Jenever | 3.2 Euros |
| Palm | 3.7 Euros |
| TOTAL before tips | 18.4 Euros (CAD$25.8) |
16:45. Still got time to stop by Bijenkorf at Dam Square for some shopping, or at least window shopping. Few Dutch people know that this Amsterdam institution is currently owned by Canadians. Hah!
17:27. Back at Amsterdam Centraal station in time for the next Intercity train back to Haarlem. I would have preferred about 3 days to fully appreciate such a great city, but all we had was 7 hours this time around. Heineken, Anne Frank and Van Gogh Museum will have to be left for a future visit.
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