Amsterdam Revisited

Visit some of the local markets, walk along the canals, see the wonders in one of the many museums. In fall, on a rainy day, the smell of the rain mixing with autumn leaves reminds you of home.

Quick Tips:

Get outside the city and see more of the Netherlands. Trains are frequent to cities such as Utrecht, Haarlem and Rotterdam.

Best Way To Get Around:

In Amsterdam, trams are inexpensive and can get you around fairly quickly. Or, walk, and take in the beauty of the centuries-old architecture.

Hoi Tin is a bustling, busy spot on the Zeedijk, offering an extensive selection of dishes, mainly in the Cantonese style of cooking.

On a recent visit, my friend had Sweet Corn Soup for a starter, while I chose the Spring Rolls. The portion of soup was generous, steaming hot, and filled with corn and other vegetables. My spring rolls were crispy, filled with shredded vegetables and were served with a sort of soy dipping sauce. Jim had the Sweet and Sour Chicken for an entree: chunks of battered, deep-fried chicken with green peppers, onions and carrots in a tangy sweet/sour sauce. I tried the Prawns with Straw Mushrooms, which is large tender prawns and plenty of straw mushrooms in a delicate light sauce.

The service at Hoi Tin is brisk; not the type of place to linger over a romantic dinner. But, if you want good Chinese food at a good price, Hoi Tin is the place to try. Dim Sum is also served.

From Centraal Station, walk to over to Zeedijk and follow it until you reach Hoi Tin.

Wester Paviljoen is a large neighborhood cafe not far from the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. Three of us came here after our visit to the museum. Somewhat to my surprise, the menu was entirely in Dutch. Claudia, a "local", translated the menu for me, and gave the order to our server. The menu was quite comprehensive, offering everything from soups and sandwiches to pasta and fish entrees. After much translating on Claudia's part, I decided on the Roquefort Salad as a starter, with the vegetarian pasta special for an entree. The salad greens were crisp, and pieces of bacon and chunks of Rocquefort cheese combined for a taste delight. The pasta dish was fettuccini noodles in a white sauce with walnuts, mango chunks and beans. I know this sounds unusual, but it was fantastic! Claudia had it too, and we both loved it. My friend Jim had the biftek (beef steak), which came with a big helping of frites (fries). All our entrees were served with salads, which, following Claudia's lead, we ate at the end of our meals.

Even with all our food, numerous beverages, etc. our bill was only about 40 guilders each (or well under $20 US). This was the first time I'd visited a cafe in the Netherlands and it certainly won't be my last!

I visited the Albert Cuyp market for the first time on my trip to Amsterdam last weekend. What a feast of color, sights, smells and sounds! Admittedly, there is probably a lot more junk there for sale than anything you'd really want to buy, but for soaking up atmosphere, this is the place. Fresh fish dealers rub shoulders with people selling fresh cheese who are next to flower vendors that have a spot just down from the tacky leather goods stall. All manner of merchandise can be found: cell phone accessories, Christmas ornaments, jewelry, leather goods, produce and much more. The people-watching is great; I got the impression that most of the market-goers were there more to see and be seen than actually do too much shopping. I confess, though, I did make a purchase. I found a vendor selling all sorts of elaborate hair ornaments and bought a couple of those for myself. She was very quick to point out that they were priced to reflect their manufacture in France (are French barrettes really better?). My friends teased me and said they were probably really made in China!

Albert Cuyp market is open Monday through Saturday, 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM. From Centraal Station, take either the 4, 16, 24, or 25 tram and get off at Albert Cuypstraat.

Nirvana, a small cozy shop off busy Van Woustraat, has specialized in creating a unique line of hemp products for the past 25 years. They are the first and only company to make hemp wine, and produce the only hemp beer in Holland.

The hemp for these products is legally grown in Holland and no pesticides or insecticides are used on the plants. By legally grown, this means it does not contain THC, so the product line can be sold and shipped to virtually any country.

Nirvana's wholesale catalog states their hemp beer "has no secret ingredients: water, malt, hops, barley and hemp", and is also available in an alcohol-free version.

Hemp wine at Nirvana is available in red and white, and can be purchased by the bottle or case. Hemp wine "shooter" size bottles are also available.

Nirvana's line also includes a special tea, hemp ice tea, hemp vinegar, hemp elixer, a hemp liquer, and consumable hemp seeds.

The best way to reach Nirvana is to take the #4 tram and get off at Lutmastraat, then walk west one block to Toldwarstraat. Stop in and visit, chat with the friendly, knowledgeable staff.....and say hello to the pet iguana in the front window.

I collect Christmas ornaments, and always try to get ornaments on my travels. Each year, when I put up my tree and hang the ornaments, I remember the places I visited over the years, and relive the memorable moments of each trip. My Eiffel Tower ornament makes me think of Paris and walks along the Seine; the Belgian lace ornament reminds me of the beaty of Brugge; my cowbell ornament reminds me of the beautiful mountain scenery in Switzerland.......so many wonderful memories.

The Christmas Palace is a small shop near the Flower Market crammed with all sorts of ornaments, lights, gifts and candles to bring the holidays to your home. They offer small ornaments in Delft, wooden ornaments painted with replicas of Amsterdam canal houses, and other items typically Dutch. The owners of the shop happily package your purchases for travel; all my ornaments arrived home in one piece!

For those interested in slightly more risque items, the shop has small replicas of Red Light District houses (and occupants!), as well as a "well-endowed" Santa with his trousers down.....this is, after all, Amsterdam!

The Christmas Palace is located near the Flower Market on the Singel. Any of the trams stopping at Rokin - 16, 24, 25, 4, 9, 14, 20 - will get you there. Get off at Rokin, walk back to the Munt Tower and turn right on Singel. The shop is a few blocks down on your left.

Rotterdam is an hour away from Amsterdam by train, but far different in character. Since the city was virtually destroyed in World War II, both by bombing and by Nazi demolition teams, it is a very modern city. Arriving at Rotterdam's Centraal Station, you can see some of the striking modern architecture that forms the skyline. The building I found particularly fascinating is an apartment complex formed of large cubes set on their sides, giving you the impression that it is going to slide down and fall at your feet. Claudia, my informal tour guide for the day, said that the floors in the apartments are tilted; you have to have things bolted down and furniture specially made. No, thanks, I don't fancy sliding out of bed in the middle of the night!

Next we went off to the local library, where Claudia wanted to show me the CD library. Most of the libraries near my house also loan music, but I've never before seen such a collection as I did here. There are a number of computer terminals throughout the room; you go and type in the artist you're interested in, and the database pulls up the catalog numbers. You then can search through the CDs looking for those numbers. From just a short time looking around, it seems that all sorts of artists and types of music are available for loan. What a great library!

After finishing at the library, we walked to the Museum Biojmans Van Beuningen. On the way, we saw a number of policemen and a crowd gathered. Curious to know what was going on, we stopped to take a look.....and found ourselves just in time for the Sinterklaas Parade! In Holland, Santa arrives in November, assisted by his helper Pieter. St. Nicholas is dressed in bishop's robes, while Pieter is dressed in Spanish clothing. At this parade, Sinterklass had a number of Pieters helping, all of them with large gunny sacks full of candy and cookies for the parade-watchers. Munching on some delicious gingersnap cookies, we clapped and cheered along with everyone else when Sinterklass came into view.

Next we were off to the Museum Biojmans. There is renovation work being done, so many parts of the museum are not currently open to the public. Because of this, admission is free. We strolled through the galleries which had a nice representation of various artists, although Dutch artists certainly prevailed.