I AMsterdam

21 Dec 2019
And to begin our trip, we flew late Saturday night (got the exit row!) and arrived in Amsterdam around 2am.

22 Dec 2019
I had a leisurely breakfast in the cozy, well decorated bar/restaurant at my hostel. The table I chose was next to floor to ceiling glass windows overlooking the canal. I enjoyed a ham and cheese croissant with peppermint tea. I planned our itinerary for Amsterdam and once Mark woke up we got going.

We took a 30 minute walk through the cobblestoned streets and over multiple canals to get to Food Hallen, a famous food court in an old train service station. It did not disappoint. The place is hustling and bustling. There are tons of vendors all centered around one large bar with plenty of communal tables for everyone. Mark and I tried the sampler of bitterballen, which are basically deep fried dutch meatballs. We also sampled some cod bites because they smelled too delicious not to. We found a large table with an open spot for two near the back of the hall, so after enjoying our lunch (and me a foodhallen signature beer) we were tempted by the frozen yogurt stand that was in close proximity.

Twenty minutes later, with two full bellies, we walked to the bus. Buses here are insane. They have a large round service desk with an employee who'll sell you tickets right in the middle of the bus. Crazy! We went to De Goyer, the tallest windmill in Amsterdam. Boy was she beautiful. To top it off she overlooks a craft beer brewery. YAAAS! We did a tour and the most interesting bit I took away was that after they clean the mash out of the tanks they give it to the farmer who feeds it to his sheep who produces the milk that makes the cheese that the brewery then sells for snacks. Wicked right? Mark enjoyed the first beer ever brewed by brouwerij tij, and I tried the IJwit and an IPA with lychee. Of course we also had to try the cheese made from the mash eating sheep, however they sold out so we had to settle for cheese from non mash eating sheep. Boring.

Then we went to the canal to board a boat for the lover's festival of lights canal cruise. The ride took about an hour and a half and came with an audio guide. As we passed each light sculpture, we learned about the artist who designed it. All of the light displays were centered around the theme of "disruption". I mostly enjoyed looking at the house boats we passed along the canals, in addition to the houses lining the water because none of them had any window treatments!!

After, we went to De Floyeurn a highly recommended restaurant for Dutch cuisine. I feel like it was a modern spin on traditional dishes. We did the tasting menu (because the regular menu wasn't dutch) but the waitress wouldn't tell us what was on it (she said it was a surprise) Maybe one surprise is ok, but five courses worth? Ok, here goes nothing.