Saturday in Amsterdam

I got to sleep in for the first time probably since before I had kids and decided today I would do as much exploring of the city as I could in the afternoon. The Park Hotel is right in the middle of all the action and everything is so easy to walk to within 5-10 minutes. I went through the Reijks museum, which was literally next door to the hotel and is the entry way to the whole Museumplein, which is a huge green area that is dedicated to all the local museums (Van Gogh and many others). Many people were in line for the museums so I decided to browse outside instead. Plenty of fun things to see: Heineken brewery, cool buildings, art supply stores, and of course a true "American" hot dog stand. lol

ArtZuid was also cool - a series of sculpture gardens, fountains and beautiful restored houses all within a few city blocks. I even got to see a bride and groom take their wedding photos while I was there. :) There were lots of tourists from everywhere around the world, milling around and taking pictures. i took note of all the interesting clothing styles I was seeing. Some were European - clearly wearing a combo of 80's/90's era clothing with scarves and lots of layered sweaters and tight jeans and bright statement pants: pink, red, salmon, blue and green. Others were from Asia with sunhats, black sunglasses, backpacks, cameras and black jackets. The Americans were wearing cargo shorts, A&F polo shirts, columbia jackets, and white tennis shoes. My favorite was a European couple riding a tandem bike. The man had a gray suit, nice scarf and shiny brown Italian leather shoes. The woman was wearing a stylish purple dress with a big flowing skirt and pearls. They looked like they were right out of a classic 1940's movie.

I love that there are so many little shops and restaurants in the narrow Dutch buildings that are jammed next to each other throughout the city. Each street is unique and has its own character. Each one is lined with a million bikes. Unlike newer cities, there is not a distinct architectural difference between buildings on one street versus another. With exception of the museum district, they are mostly the charming historical stone and brick buildings that you think of when you think of Holland.

There is a really cool street market that takes up about 10-15 city blocks on Albert Cuyp Straat. They sell everything from clothing, scarves and jewelry (all neon) to flowers, fresh fish, cheese wheels, olives, fresh waffles, mixed nuts, fruits/veggies, and bike tires. It's a really popular place to go and I spent a lot of time there this afternoon. For 2.50 Euros, you can get almost any kind of fresh made treat.

I also went to the local grocery store called Dirk to grab a salad and a chocolate croissant. Unlike US markets, dairy products are kept on the shelves, not in the refrigerator. I also thought the refrigerators were interesting. The glass is so clear you almost can't tell that there are doors there.

After a good 6 hours of hiking around the city, I decided to get a burger and fries a local outdoor cafe. The burger came out on top of a piece of toast with curry sauce and banana peppers. It was unusual, but very tasty! You never know just what you will get here. Followed it up with handmade pistachio ice cream from a  tiny store on Leidsestraat in the shopping district. Perfect ending to a great day!

Two pointers for travelers going to Amsterdam:
1) Take lots of cash. Mastercard is not widely accepted (Visa is in some places) and their credit card machines sometimes have issues with American cards because they don't have a microchip in them like European cards do. You'll have to pay in cash at any street vendor or market, as well as taxis and trams.

2) Know where the bike lanes are and watch out for bikers at all times. Bicyclists are very fast here and they do not stop for you. In order of priority on the street it goes: Bicycles, people, cars. I saw several unaware tourists start walking into bike lanes without looking and almost get run down.