Amsterdam Revisited

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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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.