A quick and tasty 30 (awake) hours in Amsterdam

My December tag along trip with Steve to Delft was sandwiched between an evening in Amsterdam upon our arrival to the Netherlands, and a day-long visit before our departure to Istanbul. Bad planning – what were we thinking? You can’t possibly see even a fraction of all that Amsterdam has to offer in this paltry amount of time. Nevertheless, we managed to squeeze in some fun stuff and get a sense of the city. We’ll be back!

Wow, look at all the bikes!

I knew that Amsterdam had off-the-charts bicycle commuter numbers but when it finally registered that I needed to watch out for bikes, not cars, it become real to me. It would be so cool to cycle everywhere year round and have the necessary infrastructure to do it. I was especially in awe of the tricked out bikes with windshields, double child seats and trunk space. They were like the mini-vans of the bike world. You rock, Amsterdam!

Great food, super friendly staff

We didn’t have many dining experiences, but there wasn’t a dud in the trio we tried:

Café Papeneiland
http://www.papeneiland.nl/en/about.html

Jet lagged and wandering, we came across this little 2-story bar (I thought it was 3-stoy—you’ll have to watch the video below to see yet another embarrassing example of my abysmal sense of direction) that turned out to be a real gem. The barkeep greeted us warmly upon our arrival and joked that he had no room for us despite a few visibly empty tables. The place is all warm wood, vintage photos and art, and looks as though it’s been there forever. We sat upstairs, which felt more like someone’s living room than a bar. After a couple of pints, we asked our friendly barkeep about a dinner recommendation. He asked us a few preference questions and steered us to a delicious choice.

De Eetkamer van de Jordaan
http://www.diningcity.net/eetkamer/engels/index.html

This Dutch-Indonesian restaurant (recommended by the Papeneiland barkeep) was the perfect spot for a late night dinner. We didn’t have reservations, but were able to get a table. Our waiter was extremely friendly and helped us choose our dishes from the multi-choice menu. Steve had the Wild trio, which consisted of a deer stake, saddle of hare, and wild boar. I had the complete Indonesian sate, which included several meat and veggie dishes that were all tasty. The homemade mayonnaise was a silky treat. The photo below tells you we did not leave hungry.

Gandhi Indian Restaurant
http://www.indianrestaurantgandhi.com

A quick Internet search for a restaurant nearby on our last night in Amsterdam, led us to choose this little hole-in-the wall place. Don’t let the somewhat sketchy looking entrance inhibit you or the “Hot/Cold Whirlpool Private Sauna” place in the same building turn you away. This was outstanding Indian food.

We chose set menus called Shahi Thali and Mumtaz Thali that included tandoori chicken, korma, masala and warm, delightfully chewy naan bread.

House of Bols – Museum? Bar? Marketing genius!

http://www.houseofbols.com

The House of Bols bills itself as a “cocktail and genever experience.” Genever is a juniper- flavoured Dutch spirit similar to gin and Lucas Bols is the oldest distilled spirit brand dating back to 1575.

So, what is the House of Bols? It’s an interactive series of exhibits that walk the visitor through a bit of the history of Lucas Bols, some of the dynamics behind how we experience taste and flavour as well as the manufacturing process of spirits.

It’s also a bar (and bartending school) that features sharply dressed bartenders who mix cocktails with expert flourish.

Exhibits are divided into different rooms and areas, through doors and around corners. The dim, mood-lit, mirrored space feels a bit like an adult funhouse.

After the educational exhibits, visitors spill into the glitzy Mirror Bar where you’re invited to use computer kioks that ask a series of questions to determine the perfect cocktail for you. You then take the recipe it spits out to the bartenders for your customized drink.

There’s also a flair bartending booth where you can try channeling your best Tom Cruise (a la the movie Cocktail) while juggling pretend liquor bottles. Check out our video below to see how spectacularly bad Steve was at it (I was too). It’s further marketing genius that you can upload a branded video of your performance on your smartphone to share on social media.

At an admission price of 14.50 €, which includes a cocktail and two additional shots from a vast array of flavoured Bols liqueurs, it’s a pretty good value for an hour or two of genuine fun.

We attended the “experience” in the early evening prior to going to dinner and did not reserve tickets. We were fine, but a crowd was forming at the entrance upon our leaving. If you go, you might want to book ahead or avoid going during prime time.

Vondelpark Run – The Central Park of Amsterdam

By lucky accident, Vondelpark turned out to be very close to where we were staying. The morning of our departure, we went for a lovely run around the park and then into an adjacent posh residential neighbourhood.

The park is apparently a hotbed of activity in high season and boasts more yearly visitors per square metre than New York City’s Central Park despite being a fraction of the size. It was about a 3-kilometre run around the park’s perimeter.

In December on a Sunday morning, the park was active but in no way crowded. It’s a very pleasant green space with lots of trees, a pond, an amphitheater and a nice running trail. I’m sure it’s even lovelier in warmer months.

A final fun fact: According to Wikipedia (so it MUST be fact), there was a plan afoot in 2008 to officially sanction adults having sex in the park as long as they did not do it near the playground and it was at night. These plans were quashed, however when police pointed out that such behaviour would be illegal. Ahhh … Amsterdam.

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