It’s a beautiful day in Amsterdam! Woke up slow, which felt so amazing! No racing off to go here and there. We hopped on our bikes and rode into town for some breakfast.
I think I should mention how much better Zaq is on a bike than I am. We dubbed me as “extra”. I said “I am extra cautious” and Zaq said “you are definitely extra something” ha ha. It seemed so easy when I was a kid. To be fair, I don’t ride very much anymore and being around all the crazy traffic – cars, trams, motorcycles, pedestrians and other bicycles – going every which way. Makes me extremely nervous. 😳
If I manage to not eat it before we leave, I’ll be very impressed with myself!
For breakfast we went to De Bakkerswinkel. The food there was perfection! Apparently we weren’t the only ones who thought so, as we spied the gentlemen at the table next to us slyly pocket the bread leftover on his table. Which I thought was hilarious, because he paid for it, so he didn’t need to be sly. However, it is odd to put bread in your pocket. We grabbed some pastries to go after our meal of French toast, eggs and meatloaf, but we put them in our backpack.
Then we went on another Free Walking Tour, I highly recommend these! You get to see all the sights/monuments and learn more history, plus pick a locals brain about places to eat. As I’m sure you’ve figured out, Zaq and I love eating. 😀
We started the tour by the Dam, the central part of Amsterdam and where back in the beginnings of the city, ships would sail in to unload their goods to sell.
We got to see and learn a lot about the construction of Amsterdam. It started as a small Celtic city that was very convenient for fisherman and merchants. It was also a huge swampy area with a couple of rivers. After the defeat of the eastern Roman Empire by the Franks the area flourished and grew. It became a place of worldwide trade and home of the east India trading company. After the French came and took over they only allowed trade with French allies. The British ruled much of the world trade at the time as a result Amsterdam suffered. Modern day Amsterdam is known for its open mindedness and is still considered a center for cultural influence in Europe.
Afterward we stopped for lunch and got some savory crepes.
It was super close to Vondelpark, so we went to bike through there and see all the pretty green we could! It’s been something lacking in the past few European virtues we’ve been and we miss it!
After biking all over we we’re ready to relax. Zaq had a few bars he wanted to check out and we had time to kill before our dinner reservation at Moeders.
The first place we went is a good Bar know for their wide variety of Jenevre, an ancestor of modern gin and is produced in the Netherlands, where it is still extremely popular. It was called De Drie Fleschjes, in English The Three Bottles.
They fill a special glass, reserved for drinking Jenevre, to the brim on the counter, so it’s custom to bend over for the first sip.
After that, it’s down the hatch.
We then went over to In ‘t Aepjen, this bar was one of the original tavens sailors visited since 1475. However, it also draws attention due to the fact that a sailors from the Dutch East Trading company gave a monkey in lieu of payment for their drinks. Hence the wild monkey statue behind Zaq. One of only two wooden buildings remaining in Amsterdam after a great fire broke out in the early 1500s. The monkeys were all sent to the zoo after there were too many to have an enjoyable establishment (whatever number that is, somewhere around 10 apparently.) It became too crazy and flea ridden even for sailors of the time to have a drink.
It was amazing to sit in this historic building and take in all the details and see how truly old this Bar was; from the old timber of the ceiling to the centuries old alcohol bottles decorating the place.
We jumped on our bikes to head over to Moeders Restaurant and ordered the the classic Dutch Dinner for two.
It was servings of all the classic Dutch meals in one sitting. It was so delicious and I am sad to say we left a little potatoes, but we ate our hearts out.
The restaurant’s name translates to English as Mother’s. They have pictures all over the walls of mothers from the neighborhood and ones customers have brought in. It’s truly mothers home cooking vibe.
We were more than full and needed to ride some of it off before bed, and although we had walked/rode our bikes through the Red Light District during the day, we felt this was an experience we needed to do at night as well. Plus, we wanted to check out Red Light Secrets: The Museum of Prostitution.
It’s a crazy place filled to the brim with anything sexual. They have all these alley ways and that all the professional ladies work. For obvious reasons I have no other photos to share with you, the red light district is something you experience not capture.
~A&Z
A & Z 