Welcome again to “When Wine Calls”.
We have now arrived in Europe with our first stop on this leg of our “When Wine Calls” adventure being Amsterdam.
We were last in Amsterdam around 8 years ago when we brought our daughter over to London for a football camp and took the opportunity to fly to Amsterdam for a few days. We loved the city that time and so were really looking forward to having a longer stay this time to experience more of the local life as well as catch up on a few tourist locations that we had missed out on previously.
Based on our last experience we booked a fantastic hotel in walking distance from Amsterdam Centrale which enabled us to catch a train direct from Schiphol Airport into the centre of the city with a 5-minute walk to the hotel. The last time we were here we didn’t know where our hotel was located so when we arrived at the train station, we immediately went to the taxi line to be told very clearly that we had to walk to our hotel and pointing us in the direction that we had to go. Nothing more was said, only a look of disgust at us for even requesting a taxi ride. We learnt a valuable travel lesson that day, to always know where your hotel is in a city before arriving and make it as easy for you to get there as you can.
Our hotel room had this fantastic private balcony area with an outlook overlooking the city which we were able to enjoy each evening for happy hour with wine from the local wine shop near the hotel and cheese, freshly made hummus dip, olives, blueberries and raspberries all bought from the nearby local Nieuwmarkt markets that we were told about by our dinner hosts (read further to find out about our dinner at Martine and Olav’s house).
Amsterdam is a city that we personally love to explore on foot walking up and down each of the canals and laneways uncovering some wonderful little shops, unique homes and an abundance of eateries and cafes around each corner – note the cafes are very different from “coffee shops” in Amsterdam. Other tourists see the sights via the many canal boats, from large river boats to small self-drive vessels that can be hired but I am not sure they get to experience the real Amsterdam this way but useful if you only have a few days to explore the city or to help get your bearings in the maze of canals.
Interestingly, the day before we arrived, the city had suffered a major storm that had uprooted trees all along the canal and littered rubbish and branches everywhere. Some of the trees had landed on cars and vans while other large trees had fallen into the canals. It was a site we had not seen in Amsterdam previously and it was going to take some time to be cleaned up. For our stay the weather has been beautiful, sunny skies but not too hot for walking around, so we have been able to easily reach our 16,000 steps target each per day.
When we were last in Amsterdam, we stumbled on a little café/wine bar located on one of the canals with outdoor seating that we sat at for hours with wine in our hands, people watching as the tourist boats drifted by. It was a magical location and so we set out on Day 1 to find it as we only roughly knew the area it was in and hadn’t kept the name of it. After a few hours walking up and down several of the canals we recognised what we thought was the neighbourhood and eventually found the café although some minor changes to the façade had been done since we were last here to give us doubt initially.
It was great to be back here enjoying the ambience of this place and we ended up coming back a few times during our stay after each of our daily sightseeing walks.
We had also been given by a close friend (thanks Jane) the name of a unique cocktail bar called Tales & Spirits so we went in search to find it. The cocktails in this bar were amazing with each having a story of their own and the team so friendly. In talking to one of them we mentioned that we would be travelling to the south of Italy in a few weeks, and he told us that the staff member making our cocktails came from that region. Shortly after he came over to us and after we outlined our travels, wrote down the names of little restaurants and unique places we should visit in the villages we were going through which was quite special. If you visit Amsterdam and would like a unique experience, then check this place out.
On our last visit we had also wanted to visit Ann Frank’s House located in the centre of Amsterdam but when we arrived the queues were ridiculously long, and we had to abandon the idea. Pauline and I had last been there over 37 years ago when we first met and to be honest, I was not overly familiar with the story at that time so saw the visit as of little interest while Pauline, as I would later find out, had read the book at school, and had a real interest. We therefore both really wanted to go back to see this amazingly preserved home.
Fortunately, they have now changed the access arrangements and you can book tickets on-line approximately 6 weeks in advance with a designated time slot for the visit. This worked so smoothly on the day with no long queues to contend with and the crowd inside the house not excessive enabling you to walk around for hours in relative comfort. We had booked the programme add-on which entailed a detailed presentation into the history of the Frank family through the war periods and the house itself which really puts into perspective what you see on the tour – it is such a moving and heartfelt story but I will not spoil it here for those that are not familiar with it or want to visit but it is a must see for so many reasons if you come to Amsterdam.
For me it had similarities to the Churchill War Rooms that we visited in London for differing reasons and so poignant that I kick myself now for not being more aware all those years ago.
I have stated in earlier posts that on this adventure we wanted to experience more of life with the locals rather than playing tourist. In our research we uncovered an opportunity to dine with a local Amsterdam family in their house on one of the canals near our hotel, so we made the necessary arrangements.
n arrival we had expected that there would be a few other tourist couples there for dinner but to our surprise we were the only ones and our hosts, Martine and Olav had graciously decided to go ahead with the dinner with just the four of us. What a tremendous home cooked dinner it was with our hosts having run their own restaurant in Amsterdam for over 10 years previously before deciding they wanted to cook for guests in their home instead.
Martine and Olav have lived in the heart of Amsterdam for a good part of their lives, and it was fascinating to hear their perspective on life in Amsterdam, the city’s history, local events, and issues such as the background to the leaning buildings you see thoughout the city, and the current repair work to the canal walls that you see along many of the canals.
Both of them had also been in a band in the past, so I encouraged Olav at the end of the evening to play a new tune he was working on with his guitar that along with other musical instruments took pride of place in their loungeroom. It was a memorable evening and just the type of experience we were hoping to have on this trip – thank you so much again Martine and Olav.
The next day we had booked a bike ride into the countryside, and it proved interesting to say the least. We met the guide outside Amsterdam Centrale and along with a family also from Australia and a guy from LA we caught a local train a couple of stations north to Zaadaam where we collected the bikes from a multi storey bike storage building not unlike car parks we have in Australia. The trip was scheduled to go for around 5 hours and with Pauline hadn’t not ridden on a bike for some time I was a little apprehensive that she would survive the journey. When we arrived to collect the bikes, Pauline took one look and turned around and told me that I had said that the bikes would be electric and that was the only reason she had agreed to go. My response was that I couldn’t remember saying that but we were here now so we may as well give it a go. All went well until towards the back end of the ride when a car came around a corner and frightened Pauline who immediately reacted and fell off her bike and into the garden adjacent to the road in full view of the other riders. I thought to myself that that would be the end of Pauline’s bike exploits, but she brushed herself off and got back on the bike and made it through the rest of the tour without incident except for a bruised bottom. I promised to check the tour details when we get back to Australia about the electric bike but hopefully it will be forgotten about by then.
On the bike tour we got the opportunity to see up close and personal an original windmill and to climb inside (up a precarious ladder as you will see) and up to the turret to see the inner workings of these fascinating pieces of engineering that were used for all sorts of purposes in those days, in particular wood milling prior to the invention of steam engines. We had the windmill to ourselves so we could take our time as they moved the sails to show it in operation – a real highlight of the tour for me.
The nearby village of Zaanse Schans is now mainly a tourist town these days with many windmills erected on the site along with cheese making and clog manufacturing to enable tourists to see how these activities were at the heart of life in the past in the Netherlands. Our ride through the countryside enabled us to see life in what we would call semi-rural villages in comparison to the city as well as the network of open canals that stop the area flooding. We also experienced the extensive smell of numerous large chocolate factories based in the area that I would not rave about. The tour was well worth the pain of riding a push bike for so many hours – a great afternoon out of the city.
Prior to leaving Australia we had researched restaurants in Amsterdam and in particular Dutch food restaurants and had booked a restaurant called “The Pantry” which was located on one of the outer canals about 25 minutes’ walk from our hotel. We were unsure what to expect but this place turned out to be fantastic. The restaurant itself is intimatewith seating for only about 30 people with the décor all Dutch memorabilia. While we were at the restaurant there were always people lined up outside waiting for a table which is a good reflection of its reputation.
The owners are the nicest people you could meet and really love what they are doing with the food fantastic – for me the chocolate combination dessert with chocolate ice-cream, chocolate mousse, lavishes of cream and eggnog was simply to die for. We had a great night talking to the owners who also gave us the location of the best seafood shop just outside Amsterdam where the fishing boats come in. We could not fit in a visit this time but will put it on the list for our next trip.
On our last day in Amsterdam, we had booked a visit to Van Gough Museum although we did not realise how early we had made the tour time – 10.15am. In Amsterdam, even on a workday few of the locals are around on the streets in summer until around 10am as they are out until late at night. It was too early for us also, so we stopped at a café while walking there for cappuccinos to get ourselves moving – the cappuccinos in Amsterdam are nothing like in Australia being in smaller cups and no chocolate, yes you read right no chocolate!
Van Gough Museum is a wonderful museum to visit, you can immerse yourself in the experience for hours as the exhibits trace his life and works spread over many floors. Like our visit to Ann Frank’s House the use of scheduled visit times controls the crowds so you can really enjoy the journey at your leisure, and it was great to wonder around the museum for many hours.
Pauline, of course, couldn’t resist purchasing items based around the magnificent painting “The Blossoming Almond Tree” (her favourite) from the gift shop to take home.
Some of you who have visited Amsterdam may be whether we also went to the Rijksmuseum Museum (shown in the background), which is nearby, and the answer is no we didn’t.
We had seen this spectacular museum on our last visit, but our personal favourite is the Van Gough Museum. If you are planning to visit Amsterdam yourselves then you may want to visit both but make sure you pre-book and secure a specific timeslot otherwise you will most likely be disappointed.
We had come to our last day in Amsterdam, and we really wanted to find a local restaurant with outside seating that we could have a casual meal, people watch, drink wine, and soak up Amsterdam as the sun was setting. Restaurants like this are located all throughout Amsterdam and is a tremendous way of engaging with the locals. We picked a tapas restaurant and bar which provided a lot of entertainment for the evening with a Spanish wine with a great label beng a great end to our visit.
Well, what a great 5 nights in Amsterdam – this city is so fascinating to explore and absorb yourself in their way of life. We will always look forward to coming back and each time feel more and more relaxed here. Today, though, we are back on the plane as we fly to Italy setting down first in Bologna, the home of “I will let you guess!”. I hope you can continue to join us as we tour romantic Italy over the next few weeks – until then we will finish our chardonnay at the airport and head to the gate as “Italy is Calling Us”
I hope that “Wine is Calling You“ somewhere while you are reading about our adventures.
Bruce & Pauline
When Wine Calls 
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