Amsterdam | three days
Before you go:
Pre-book museum tickets, Rijksmuseum (no specific date/time) www.rijksmuseum.nl/ and Van Gough Museum (booked by date/on the hour) www.vangoghmuseum.nl/
The earlier you go, the better, as they get crowded. I'd say don't go later than 11 am on a summer day.
-- ARRIVAL --
Landed in the afternoon, and after a very close connection at LHR so our luggage didn't make it on the plane. So note to self to always carry AT LEAST a toothbrush in your carry-on and other clothes if you don't want to go to dinner in the outfit you just spent the last 18 hours in.
Our AirBnB apartment was in a great neighborhood off of Utrechtsestrat - definitely worth a visit to stroll the street. Great shops, many restaurants and cute bars.
While waiting for our luggage, we went out to explore the neighborhood between Frederiksplein and Rembrantsplein, and stopped in to make dinner reservations for the next night at Tempo Doeloe Indonesian restaurant. Knowing we wanted to do a rijsttafel (Indonesian rice table dinner), this particular restaurant was on my list and conveniently down the street from the apartment. Which was a good thing. More on this experience later.
Too early for dinner so we scored an awesome snack at a beautiful market called Marqt marqt.com (PS no cash accepted) with healthy take out food, a huge cheese counter, beautiful produce, fish and meats. Underground on the Utrechtsestrat just off the Rembrantsplein. We had an Israeli couscous, cucumber and goat cheese salad and haricot verts, hazelnuts, petit point/peas with orange zest on top. Washed it down with a passion fruit/mango smoothie and sat in the sun on the Rembrantsplein to watch the freaks.
Walked some canals, napped off the jet lag, and went back out for dinner at 9 pm at Buffet van Odette (Prinsengracht 598) buffet-amsterdam.nl. This is a darling little cafe, and is completely misleading because there is NO buffet involved. I had read reviews and one mentioned a grumpy waitress...well I think we got her, she was definitely all-business in a uncharacteristically Dutch way. But fortunately, as the evening went on she completely warmed up to us and by the end insisted that we try the sticky toffee cake. I was sort of amused because this is neither a Dutch specialty NOR a seasonal treat. But it was damn good and a great way to seal the deal on a good nights sleep after a long day (or more?!) of travel.
-- DAY 2 --
Hit the canals around 9 am for a stroll through De Pijp for breakfast at Bakers & Roasters (Eerste Jacob van Campenstraat 54) bakersandroasters.com. This place is not Dutch but still delicious. We had the Kiwi pie, Huevos Rancheros and green jasmine tea. From what I could tell it was run by mostly Australians and New Zealanders, and started filling up by 10 am on a weekday so I imagine it can be very crowded on weekends.
Our plan was to walk to Museumplein for Van Gough Museum and Rijksmuseum. We had 11 am entrance tickets for the Van Gough Museum, which I was really looking forward to. Sadly it was a little different than I remembered, and several of his most famous paintings were not on display. I remember distinctly a wall of Starry Nights on the top floor, all hung in progression so you could see how the final composition evolved. It was blocked off, maybe to have another exhibit hung there? I peeked through the drape but couldn't tell.
Didn't make Rijksmuseum. Went home to nap.
Back out for lunch at Albery Cuyp Market albertcuypmarkt.nl. Typical Euro street market with junky stuff, hippie clothes and some good looking street food like prof pancakes and herring. You can skip this one and be completely ok.
Walked the length of the street and ended at the Heineken experience, which looked like a big, tacky American attraction. Walked up to Nine Streets which are basically boutique shopping. Back along the canal to the Rembrantsplein which may be the Dutch equivalent of Times Square. Sat at the Amstel bar on the corner and watched stoners bum matches for their massive spleefs and some Brazilian kids do capoeira to music for money. Good people watching, but I'd recommend stopping at a cafe/bar along one of the main canals, like the big Grosch one, for a more pleasant (less smokey) scene of Amsterdam.
Home for a rest and back out to Tempo Doeloe tempodoeloerestaurant.nl for 8 pm dinner. Great experience. Seems like a more traditional rice table and many Americans but also Dutch too - we saw a family (birthday?) party of probably twelve, plus many pairs of business and first-date-looking Dutch people dining. Giving four stars because this is my first rice table and I have nothing to compare it to.
Waitstaff was excellent - friendly and patient, and food was interesting and very good. We counted 28 dishes in all including the fried banana dessert (seriously, the best vanilla ice cream I have ever had).
We were really freaked out about the heat level and asked our waiter for mild - but would recommend to go medium because there was literally no heat in any dish. Unique flavors yes, but we all agreed that we would have liked it spicier.
Think twice about letting the waiter talk you into the +++hot meat dish. It is paralyzing and we watched a teenage boy ruin himself by trying it. The waiter admitted to us that it's a bit of a tourist stunt, but insisted that Dutch people come in and order/consume a full dish of it. If you do go for it, be sure to listen and follow the waiters instructions carefully (VERY SMALL BITE OF MEAT WITH RICE) and ask for "the antidote" and they will bring you a glass of passionfruit juice. For some reason they didn't offer this to us. Maybe we didn't look like sissies? But everyone else received it and I could tell they were relieved.
Restaurant was near our apartment so I stopped in the night before to make a reservation, which I am glad to have done, seeing many people turned away or told that the wait was 1+ hours. Because the restaurant is small and there are so many dishes, it really does take a long time to dine there. Plus the whole Tony Bourdain thing (I am a sucker for him so I admit that's why I went) makes it a very popular restaurant.
Rolled back to the apartment. Really glad it was only two blocks away after 28 dishes and fried bananas.
-- DAY 3 --
Woke up ready to hit the Rijksmuseum before our flight to Rome.
Stopped at the inconspicuous little Broodbakker Simon Meijssen (Nieuwe Vijzelstraat 5) simonmeijssen.nl for a quick breakfast of the most amazing ham and gouda croissants, and sat to eat them in the Weteringplantsoen, contemplating whether to walk back and get a few more.
Rijksmuseum is just awesome and recently renovated, reopening in 2013 to reflect its dedication to the "Dutchness of Dutchness." So many important paintings to see there. Go early, as with all famous museums, they fill up quickly and have many annoying tour groups clogging the view. And, they have one of the best museum plans/maps I have ever seen. I love the Dutch.
We have a little obsession with lunches at museum cafes, and the one at the Rijksmuseum is not a disappointment. We intended to stop in for tea but saw the beautiful entrees coming out of the kitchen and decided to stay for lunch. Much of the seating is at communal tables, so you have to be ok with strangers dipping in on your conversation, but the food is worth any potential invasion of privacy. Someone got the pastrami, and they said it was the best they've ever had. Leave it to the Dutch to make something as gross as pastrami into a delicious masterpiece. Finish with some mint tea. You will know why when you see it.
Headed to the airport after that, wishing we had eaten more gouda and knowing we'd be back someday to do just that.
