Amsterdam Adventures (Day Two)

The back entrance to the museum (the other one was closed)

Our second day in Amsterdam was just as busy as the first (and a little more chaotic). We got up and out a little earlier and set off for the Rijksmuseum, the national museum of the Netherlands, which happened to be located only about 8 minutes from the hostel. The museum is actually currently under renovation, which we thought was a real bummer, but after the experience, the three of us agreed that it ended up giving us a perfect amount to see without feeling overwhelmed.


Helen has taken many art history classes and I have taken none, and the truth is that I really have never had too much of an interest in art. However, I had a fabulous time because Helen and I decided to spice up our viewing experience by making up stories about the people in the paintings that we saw. Between our trying to decide what the person/people were thinking or feelings (or the circumstances leading up to the painting) and reading the accompanying sign, I noticed all sorts of things I'd never paid attention to before. It made the whole experience really neat.

Helen is taking notes about paintings she wants to research

Look closely at these paintings. We thought that expressions on their faces told an interesting story. See if you can come up with your own. 

Helen admires The Night Watch

After we left the museum we traveled on, stopping at various points to take some fun photos.

Sculture garden photos!

Having fun with some bizarre statues just outside a park

Tulip stand at the flower market

We wandered through a flower market (Holland is famous for its tulips) and then split up: Evan and I wandered through the famous flea market (Waterlooplein Markt) while Helen went to visit the Rembrant House. We reconvened to eat lunch about 45 minutes later, but had significantly more trouble with finding a place to eat than we had anticipated. We wanted to have famous Dutch pancakes, and finally, after about 45 minutes of aimless searching we found a place not too far from our hostel.

The restaurant was basically a diner, and we sat on the second floor which overlooked the street outside through really cool windows. The pancakes were absolutely delicious and totally worth the wait.

SO relieved to have menus in hand

The view of the rest of the restaurant from our seats at the 2nd floor counter

Dutch pancakes (left-right: cinnamon, bacon, and apple) before...

...and after

After scarfing down our meal, we charged off towards the hostel to get ready for our late afternoon/evening adventure... a fancy dinner as part of restaurant week! I will hold you in suspense to explain where we dined, but for now, I will explain the chaos of trying to get there.

Our reservation was for a table during the first seating, which began at 5:30pm. We thought we had everything under control. Evan had written down the directions from GoogleMaps and the restaurant was about 45 minutes (total travel time) outside the city center (we had a 30-minute bus ride and a 10 minute walk). The three of us had decided it would be nice to arrive in the area of the restaurant 45 minutes before our reservation because there appeared to be two parks in the vicinity, which we thought would be fun to explore. So we changed into nice clothes and went off to the bus stop.

On the bus

We found our stop, waited, and got on when it arrived. We paid the driver and asked him to confirm that the bus really did go to our stop (it did). So we sat. We took pictures, told funny stories, appreciated the flowers beginning to bloom outside our windows, and watched as we escaped the city and entered the countryside. Fun!

Then things started to get suspicious. There was an electronic sign on the bus that listed the four upcoming stops and we watched it closely (or at least, we thought we did). Somehow though, the time we were supposed to reach our destination came and went and there was no sign of the name we were looking for. Suddenly we had left the countryside and were turning into an industrial park, which we determined was a flower factory. There were all of these huge trucks and loading stations and we went around the whole vicinity. It was once we left the area and did not arrive at our stop that we finally decided to ask the driver. As he pulled up to a curbside, Evan approached and asked, "Excuse me, are we going to be getting to this stop soon?" and he held up the slip of paper with the name. The driver glanced at it, then looked back straight ahead and said, "No. We passed it 20 minutes ago" and started to close the bus doors.

Needless to say, we bolted off the bus and charged across the street to the stop for the bus that would take us 20 minutes back in the other direction. The major problem was that it was 5:15, we had a 6 minute wait, a 20 minute bus ride, and a 10 minute walk (and that was assuming we found where we needed to be right away). We also did not have the phone number. Uh-oh.

We tried not to panic and accepted that there was very little we could do. When we pulled into a bus depot, however, I had an idea. "Helen, Evan! What if we get off here and take a taxi to the restaurant?" I said, pointing to the sign that very clearly read "Taxi." We all exchanged looks and once again bolted off the bus. We took off running to find the taxi stand. We found one, explained the situation, jumped into the car, and took off! Let me just say, it was the best 9 euros that any of us have ever spent!

Six minutes later, at 5:37, we arrived in front of the door to our restaurant. Ladies and gents, we dined...

IN A WINDMILL!

It was SO cool! We paid the driver, lunged out of the taxi, took a moment to high five and compose ourselves and calmly stepped in the door. Fashionably late, but definitely still (close enough to) on time. Our coats were taken and we were escorted to our table.

The view from our table

 The menu was set (which we knew ahead of time), and when I looked at it, I thought about the fact that I probably should have been nervous. Instead I was excited and ready for a challenge (as if getting there hadn't been a challenge enough). On the menu was duck leg, duck liver, skrei, seaweed, and about 15 things that I didn't understand. Our dinner:

No memory of what this was. It was meant to cleanse our palates.  There was something with caramelized carrots 

Helen's and my appetizer: Rillette of duck leg, beetroot, black lentils, mayonnaise of Vadouvan (I have no idea what that means), and espuma of duck liver 

Evan's appetizer: Caviar of eggplant with creme fraiche and preserved "Ratte" potato. Wait, actually it may have been Cream of Jerusalem artichoke with poached quail egg and duxelle (obviously I still have no idea what he ate)

Between the first and second course. Helen's question: "Wait, do we drink this like a  shot?" (Just FYI, we didn't)

Helen's and my main course:
Skrei with poulpo, cream of white beans, cucumber with wakame, leek and spring onions

Evan's main course: Crispy goat cheese with truffle and beetroot 

The most amazing dessert I have EVER eaten: pineapple, passion fruit, with white chocolate and [the BEST homemade] pistachio icecream

The portions were small in size, but I have not been so full in ages. We took more than 2 hours to complete the meal and thoroughly enjoyed the variety of textures, tastes, and smells of our food (and also enjoyed being waited on by so many different servers). It was fancy, but not so fancy that we felt uncomfortable. The staff was pleasant, made many jokes, and explained each dish that we were served. Evan understood most of what they were saying (since he is a chef), but Helen and I mostly just nodded along and offered some, "Oh! Hmmm. How interesting"'s. I ate all of everything I was served (except I left one bit of poulpo--which I later learned is octopus--and not because it was bad, but just because I was stuffed).

View from our table in the other direction after the sun had set outside

Evan shows off his special water-pouring skills

Strange picture of me because of the light, but I will share it anyway. SO FUN!

We left the meal satisfied, happy, grateful, and with a renewed appreciation for food. It suddenly seemed silly the way that we usually treat meals: at least personally, eating is something that I do three or four times a day because I have to. Sure, there are tons of foods I enjoy eating, but even when I am taking my time I'm usually done in 30 minutes and have not really actually tasted anything I was eating after the first bite. I've made a pledge to change the way I eat (and do many other parts of my "daily routine"), but I will come back to that in my next post.

As we wandered in the direction of the bus stop, we passed the park that we had wanted to explore had we gotten to the area earlier. Sure it was late (around 8:30pm) and completely dark outside, but we decided to walk through anyway. As we hurried along the path, I commented on how beautiful the waterfront was and then Evan suddenly said, "Slow down." Helen and I stopped. "When is the next time we are going to be right here?" he asked. Of course we had to admit, probably never.

The lights reflecting on a giant lake

The conversation that followed was incredibly meaningful and is one that I probably will always remember. The three of us considered the fast pace at which we live our lives and reflected on the fact that our time in Denmark is now more than half over and has completely flown by. We talked about mindfulness and about friendships and time and space and distance and growing up and getting older and about what changes and how to hold on to what is most important. Some of our conversation took place by a lake (seen above) and the rest took place on a playground! We had a hilarious time trying to use self timer to take a few photos (the results are below) and savored the moment for everything that it was.

Evan, Helen, me

View from a bridge as we left the park 

We eventually found our way to the bus station and went back to the hostel. We wandered around the area a little more and finalized plans for the next day. 

Carefully checking which bus to take home. As exciting as the  trip to the restaurant had been, we were looking forward to a more relaxing ride back to the hostel.

That night as I fell asleep, I appreciated (even more than usual) the opportunities I have in my life. In many ways I think I do a good job of remaining aware and being grateful, but even so, I find myself rushing around to fit everything in. There is something so profound about taking time to notice the seemingly mundane things that happen each day, and realizing that there are always ways to make seemingly meaningless routines meaningful: 

I considered that we could have rushed through the park to the bus stop and made it home an hour sooner. We could have walked by the playground and commented on how fun those used to be when we were kids. Instead we took our time, stood by the lake, slid on the slide, and sat on the bridge. I'm a happier, more aware, and grateful person with a cool memory to show for it. 

Day Two Highlights:

Evan: Dinner experience; seeing the paintings of the interiors of the churches; socializing with the other guests in the hostel

Sara: Finding the pancake place after endless searching; walk and talk in the park; being adventurous in my eating; (a bonus 4th highlight: appreciating the art and making up fun stories)

Helen: Eating the fish at the meal (and loving it!); visiting the Rembrant house; seeing The Night Watch; (bonus 4th highlight: success of arriving at the restaurant)