Exploring Amsterdam

Thursday - Our first full day in Amsterdam

Today is our official first day.  We are starting with a city walking tour lead by Viking. We saw some of the areas that we had already explored on our own and new areas along with explanations from our guide.  It’s amazing the history and how old everything is here.

As you explore the city, that is build on canals, you start to notice that buildings are leaning. Living in the Bay Area, especially Redwood Shores, you can understand that over centuries, contents can shift over time lol. They are trying to shore up areas and buildings that need support because there have been collapses. The other thing you will start to notice how wide or narrow a building front is, especially the windows. At one time, the property taxes were based on how many windows you had and it was easy to verify from the street.

We learned what the Amsterdam flag three XXX’s represents, and it’s not what people think because of the infamous red light district. They’re actually representative of St. Andrew’s three crosses, one of Jesus’ apostle, who was crucified on an X-shaped cross. We were also told that they represent fire, floods, and the black plague, but I just read that might not be true either (although plausible). You can find the symbol/crest all over Amsterdam.

We also walked by the flower market that had many stalls that you can buy fresh flowers and bulbs of many different types of flowers to grow on your own. If you want to take a chance to bring some home for your own garden, just make sure you look for ones that are approved to be imported to the United States.

Once we were done with the first tour, we went back to our room to rest up a bit before our second tour call Taste of Amsterdam. More walking and pointing out different things along the way. We also experienced the above ground Metro and the Underground Metro to get around the city. It was a nice introduction to show how easy it was to navigate and will take advantage tomorrow before we leave.

The first stop was Henri Willig Cheese, cheese tasting room. A very popular type of cheese produced in the Netherlands is Gouda. They make many different kinds with different flavor profiles. We tasted plain, pesto (that gets its green color from spinach) and a more aged gouda so the flavor is more developed. There might have been another or two that was flavored with different spices, but those were the three I sampled.

Second stop was Hulscher’s where we offered Jenever or sometimes called Dutch Gin. There is Young Jenever and Aged Jenever, a juniper flavored liqueur, with a distilling tradition that goes back centuries. You fill the glass to the brim so you are forced to slurp the first sip. Mom and I skip this one. The other thing we did tried was another Dutch traditional food called Van Dobbin Bitterballen, with mustard. They are small balls with a diameter of about 2 inches covered with tasty breadcrumbs. In the inside they consist of savory rather thick hash filled with thin slices of pork or beef. I did try one and it was ok to me. Don’t need to try again lol.

The last stop was my favorite because it was Porffertjes (pronounced poff-er-jes), that are Dutch mini pancakes that are small, fluffy yeasted treats made in a special cast iron pan. Covered with powder sugar and butter, yummm. Really could have had a second helping of those, lol. Another day of walking, taking the Metro above and below ground and wandering around the city.

Calling it a night with one more day in Amsterdam before we board the ship in the afternoon.

20,125 Steps, 9.45 Miles