Amsterdam is Dope!!

Okay, okay, I know that was a cheesy way to get your attention, but now that you're here, let me tell you about my recent time in Amsterdam.
Amsterdam is a city of contradictions.  It is a beautiful city full of history; yet, very progressive in terms of its acceptance of vices that are forbidden in other countries.  Let's face it, everyone knows that Amsterdam has liberal laws regarding pot and prostitution but I was also quite astonished to see how westernized it is.  This was somewhat disappointing for me, because if I want to go to McDonald's or shop at an American retail chain, I would drive to Syracuse.  That said, I still loved Amsterdam and the Dutch lifestyle even if they do bow to American consumerism.

Memphis Hotel

We stayed at the Memphis Hotel which was a block away from the main area for shopping and eating.  It was also near the Central Park of Amsterdam called Vondelpark. This neighbourhood felt like the West Village in NYC - independent clothing designers, great restaurants, bakeries and beautiful architecture.  I prefer not to stay in areas that are saturated with tourists and Oud-Zuid met my expectations.  We found three darling restaurants that served fusion Dutch, Indonesian, Italian food that was scrumptious.

Three different views of Vondelpark

Restaurants

After a long flight, we didn't want to venture too far away from the hotel so we randomly chose a restaurant in our neighbourhood.  Either my instincts are really great or my luck is outstanding because I found the perfect restaurant.  Around the corner from the hotel, we saw a beautiful restaurant called Brasserie DeJoffers .  The menu looked very interesting so we decided to take a chance.  The patio was still open and heated which allowed us to savour a few more moments of early fall weather. Since this was my first time in Amsterdam, I was not aware of the generous food portions so I ordered an appetizer and entree and was too full to finish one of the most delicious Indonesian fusion meals known to humankind.  Mushroom soup is a staple in Amsterdam so we made sure that we ordered it.  However, this appetizer was a full bowl instead of a cup and we still had our main courses waiting for us.  Now, I have had mushroom soup in the past and let me tell you, Maven Joan makes a mean mushroom soup, but this soup was good enough to bathe in.  Someone should tell the patrons of the "coffee shops" in Old Town that this mushroom soup is the new drug and I NEED MY FIX!

My entree was Dutch sausage called ossenworst which is essentially beef tartare saturated with a mouth-watering peanut sauce.  Well, I thought the mushroom soup could not be topped but I was wrong.  Once that meat met my tastebuds, I was transformed into Rachel Ray:"Yummo!"  Where have I been all my life that I have not experienced such orgasmic food?  I never thought anything could compare with the tortellini and butter sauce in Bologna but this restaurant is worth a red-eye flight to Amsterdam for a weekend filled with noshing.

After riding our bikes around Amsterdam (more on my disasterous biking experience later), we decided to have lunch at a little cafe in our neighbourhood.  Downstairs housed a bakery with mouth-watering Dutch baked goods and upstairs was a trendy little restaurant that served food that was both intriguing and delicious.  Unfortunately, I cannot find the receipt and am unable to tell you the name of this place. However, if I stumble across it, I will gladly pass it on.

But if you find yourself in need of a good meal after visiting the museums, you will find such a place across the street from museum row at the corner of Willemsparkweg and Van Baerlestr called Small Talk.  Yes, the name is in English as are many establishments in Amsterdam.  The decor is not noteworthy but the food is devine.  What did we eat?  You guessed it:  mushroom soup and Indonesian sateh with peanut sauce and it was worth the trip from plate to mouth.  Did it compare with DeJoffers?  No, but it was definitely good.
There are Indonesian restaurants everywhere in Amsterdam but we chose to eat at Aneka Rasa which is located in Old Town.  We did not seek out this restaurant, rather, stumbled upon it while strolling through this bizarre little neighbourhood.  The menu seemed traditional enough so we decided to take a chance.  Another winner!  This restaurant offers traditional Ris Taffel which is similar to tapas.  A variety of little dishes are delivered and each one was distinctive and very savoury.  Once again, due to the amount of food, I could not finish my meal but I would definitely return here for the food, good service and interesting location.
The final restaurant worth mentioning is Restaurant De Knijp which is also located in the Oud Zuid neighbourhood.  There were a number of trendy restaurants on this street but this one was recommended by our concierge so we decided to try it.  Normally, I am hesitant to rely on a concierge because they usually recommend a restaurant that caters to tourists and I prefer a place that is frequented by the locals. But since our hotel was a boutique hotel and not located in a tourist trap neighbourhood, I trusted their advice. Restaurant De Knijp is a very hip restaurant that gets high marks for decor, ambiance, cool patrons, great service, and food that was equal to a religious experience.  The doctor ordered the daily special of three game meats and I chose the rabbit from the regular menu.  Since we had learned our lesson from previous restaurants, we chose not to order any starters even though the selection was very tempting.  The young lovebirds sitting next to us, must have heard us cooing about our food and said that this was their first time at this restaurant and they would return because of the great food.  Enough said.
So except for two meals eaten in Old Town, we preferred the restaurants in Oud Zuid, in fact, we preferred everything about Oud Zuid.
Cycling in Amsterdam:
Our hotel rented bikes to its guests.  We took this as a sign that if we were really going to experience Amsterdam life, we should do it on a bike.

The doctor and I were amazed that an international city like Amsterdam has relatively little traffic.  This is due to the use of bikes.  There are designated bike lanes everywhere in Amsterdam and the rules must be learned or one is in deep trouble.  Our concierge told us to stay to the right but he did not elaborate.  Unfortunately, we learned the other rules the hard way.  For our first venture out into the streets of Amsterdam, we chose to ride around our quiet neighbourhood and through Vondelpark.  This park is just breathtaking and it was easy to learn how to ride safely in Amsterdam while gazing at the duck-filled ponds and grand homes that surround the park.  Here are some of the cycling rules we learned during our stay in Amsterdam:
Rule Number One: stay to the right.  One must ride on the right hand side of the bike path so those who are in a hurry (this applies to all residents of Amsterdam) can pass on the left.  The speeders will ring their bike bells and if you don't move quickly enough, will tell you to move.  Unlike rude North Americans, the Dutch will never raise their voices or scream obscenities at you (at least I don't think they were swearing at me!).
Rule Number Two:  don't walk in the bike lane.  You are asking for trouble if you do.  The bell will ring, you will be verbally notified and if that fails, you will be run over.  The Dutch mean business when it comes to cycling.
Rule Number Three: Don't follow the examples of Dutch riders when crossing the street.  They ride right through lights, traffic, barricades - essentially anything that could prevent them from getting from point A to point B in ten minutes.  We tried to follow one rider through a light and nearly lost our lives.  Thank goodness car traffic is light!
Rule Number Four: The Dutch know these streets and have been riding on them since they were children so don't think that you can behave in the same manner.  The Dutch will talk on the phone, hold an umbrella, and carry their children on their bikes while dodging traffic with seamless effort.  Tourists should not do any of this and should stop at all lights, look in all four directions before venturing out again.  I was not planning on talking on the phone, holding an umbrella or carting a small child on my bike but when I did stop at one point, I attempted to get back on my bike and ride away without looking in all four directions.  Before I knew it, the Dutch Lance Armstrong was on my right side and knocked me off my bike.  I fell into the street, cut my knee open, and developed an immediate fear of bike riding.  Although the Dutch are daredevil riders, they are also very kind.  Many people stopped to help me, including Lance, making sure I was okay before they continued on with their day.
Rule Number Five: Do not screw with these bikers!  Need I tell you why?

Museums:
Since I am a history teacher who specializes in the Holocaust, I seek out museums which have some connection to this topic.  Amsterdam did not disappoint since it was knee-deep in the Holocaust.  But since the Canadians and Dutch Resistance were instrumental in the survival of many Jews, Amsterdam has three very specific museums which focus on this:

Anne Frank House Museum

Dutch Resistance Museum

Jewish Historic Museum

Most people have heard of the Anne Frank museum but these other two museums are top notch and worth a visit. The information I received from these museums will form the foundation of the new unit I will teach about the Dutch Jews, Resistance, and the involvement of Canadian soldiers.
I also highly recommend the Portuguese Synagogue which is near the Jewish Historical Museum.  The Dutch Jews are primarily of Sephardi origin so their history and culture vary slightly from the Ashkenazim Jews of Eastern Europe.


Canals:
Amsterdam is known as a city of canals.  Its historical relevance as an international port and centre of finance and diamonds is reflected in the design of its clocks from the 16th century.  On top of these highly prized clocks, one can see Atlas holding up the world, indicating Amsterdam's importance during this time.            
Why is it importance that I mention this?  Because once again, I was embarrassed by a few American tourists who shared our transportation from the airport to the center of the city.  This is a sample of the conversation between these four individuals:
Man:  We just came from Paris and it was horrible.  No one would speak English to us.  They just hate Americans there.
Woman:  I know.  We hate Paris too.  They did the same thing to us.  They are so rude and hate Americans.  We tried to talk to people but no one would speak English to us.
Man:  (looking out window).  Hey, look at the river!
Need I say more?  For those of us who actually learn something about a country before we travel or attempt to speak the language where English is not universally used, this kind of behaviour is embarrassing.  We, along with the young woman from Britain (who was sitting next to us) smirked, and I bit my tongue preventing me from saying something to these ignoramuses.

I strongly recommend taking a canal ride for three reasons:  It is very relaxing and you can see the beautiful Dutch architecture from one of the primary sources of transportation.  Also, you are experiencing the history of Amsterdam by using its original mode of travel.  Last, you can have a much better view of the extraordinary houseboats that line the edges of the canals.  These are year-round homes and each one is strangely beautiful in its own way and are so much a part of Amsterdam's funky style.  Some of the homes are quite modern and look like floating condos.  Yes, folks, only in Amsterdam.

Houseboat

Let's talk about Old Town:
I knew that at some point in my life, I would visit Amsterdam and see what all the fuss was about in Old Town. I was surprised at how civil it was despite the plethora of "coffee shops" and red lit rooms on the street level.

This neighbourhood is a maze of streets with narrow little buildings that house restaurants, bakeries (filled with chocolate covered waffles and pizza), shops with clothing by young designers, lovely family-owned apartments, and of course, pot cafes, and prostitutes.  There seemed to be no shame for these women who sat in rooms waiting for clients and for the men who negotiated prices before making their final selection.  It was just another day in Old Town. Families strolled by these establishments as if they were corner stores.  There were no drunken patrons or pot-induced craziness on the street.  Restaurants were full, coffee shops were attracting customers and families felt a sense of calm as they ventured out for a nightly stroll.  Although the new Dutch government is trying to curtail the pot and prostitution activity in this neighbourhood, it was obvious that the present government control seems to work well.  Very civilized indeed.

Shopping:
Shopping was a mixed blessing in Amsterdam.  There are a number of very talented Dutch designers on display in Oud Zuid and Old Town.  The traditional couture labels are present but unfortunately, there are also a number of American chain stores on the main pedestrian shopping area called Kalverstraat. This pedestrian-only street and its adjacent alleys and "Kalvertoren" shopping center feature a mix of chain clothing stores (Esprit, H&M, Mexx, WE, Zara), and many shoe stores.  For a moment, I forgot I was in Amsterdam and thought I was in the shoe capital - Madrid. The most shocking thing to me other than the presence of American stores was that most of the stores' signs are in English.  This also extends to restaurant signs.  Granted, the Dutch speak English well but the absence of Dutch on retail signage was disappointing.  But of course, for the American tourists on our bus, this would be their idea of  heaven.
There are two upscale shopping experiences in this area that are worth a visit:  deBijenkorf, a posh department store that resembles Bergdorf Goodman or if you're Canadian, Holt Renfrew.  The other is a shopping mall Magna Plaza, inserted in an old building which is a must to see.

Magna Plaza

Have I mentioned in the past how much I love the markets in Europe?  I don't care if they're selling junk, I love the whole experience associated with markets.  I seek them out in every city and find something unique and captivating in each one.  Amsterdam's markets did not disappoint me.  The flower markets filled with colours I have never seen, fabric shops with beautiful faux furs and silk and yes, the junk - I bought the son a WW2 gas mask.  I don't know what he'll do with it, but you just can't find junk this good in North America.

I wish we had more time in Amsterdam.  There were so many things I missed.  But I hope to return someday and eat my little heart out at DeJoffers and try the chocolate covered waffles.  Amsterdam's charm is overshadowed by its reputation as a haven for liberal sex and drugs.  There is so much more to this city of ris taffel, mushroom soup, bikes, and "rivers".



Places of Interest:

Restaurants
Small Talk
Willemsparkweg 1
Amsterdam
020-6620029

Brasserie DeJoffers
Willemsparkweg 163
1071 GZ Amsterdam
020-6730360
www.brasseriedejoffers.nl/home

Aneka Rasa
Warmoesstraat 25-29
1012 HV Amsterdam
020-6261560
www.finerestaurant.nl

Restaurant De Knijp
Van Baerlestraat 134
1071 BD Amsterdam
Tel +3120 671 42 48|
ddeknijp@diningcity.com

Restaurant Het Melkmeisje


Hotel
Memphis EMB Hotel
De Lairessestraat 87
1071 NX Amsterdam
Tel: +31 (0)20 673 31 41
Fax: +31 (0)20 673 73 12
Email: memphis@embhotels.nl
www.embhotels.nl/en/memphis-hotel/algemeen/home-memphis-hotel.html
Does not offer a complimentary breakfast