Diane's Vintage Zest!: Amsterdam

Let's get on with the travel adventures!

*Update: See the whole trip here!*

Day 4 (Sunday, 4/14)

Sights: Molen van Sloten, Keukenhoff, Heineken Experience
Eats: de Patatzaak, Kantjil & the Tijger

On our last day in Amsterdam, we knew that we were going to see the tulips in Keukenhoff. We woke up in time for the 9 am shuttle, but ended up finding out that we needed to exchange one of our museum passes for a ticket prior to boarding. There were only tickets left in the last shuttle of the day at 1 pm, so we were lucky to even get on! In the meantime, we had about 2.5 hours to kill, and we already had a looong list of things to do before leaving at 9 am the next morning by train. Even with our long schedule we wouldn't even be able to see the Rijksmuseum. I was secretly hoping that we could see it the following morning, even for just an hour, although it would put us on a later train, which my ultra-punctual guy would dislike.

Anyways, I reshuffled our schedule and decided to go to Molen can Sloten next, the only working windmill within Amsterdam's city limits. It was such a great tour, and we were the only ones there. We highly recommend visiting here!

First, we walked through an area that showed different professions that relied on windmills with different antique tools. Then we went a guided tour with the miller (who is really in charge of making sure the water levels in sections of Amsterdam don't rise too high), who kept joking with us. He was pretty funny, so at the top of the windmill when he pointed at a shop below where there is a man who "makes the best potato in Amsterdam," we figured that he was kidding again. We were in a big hurry, but since it was literally right next door, we stopped in. I was a bit disappointed to find out that the potatoes were just fries, which I knew that I'd get in Belgium, but since we were hungry, we decided to share some fries for our breakfast while waiting for the bus. :)

We literally ran to catch the bus back into town, just in case we were late to our 12:30 pm Keukenhoff shuttle boarding time. On the way, I snapped a picture of this while catching my breath. :) Renegade knitters in Amsterdam!

At the bus stop, my guy told me that I would love the fries, having already snuck a few on the run to the bus stop. He was sooo right! They must have been doubled fried, because were nice and crispy on the outside, and almost creamy on the inside. The thickness was right in the middle, not a skinny shoestring or a thick steak fry. It was salted just a bit, which is rare for Europeans to add salt to their fries. They were so good with and without ketchup, which is pretty hard for a fry to accomplish, in my opinion. Of course, they were gone before we even got on the bus, partially because we waited so long for it to arrive.

We finally boarded the shuttle with a guy who spoke at least 5 different languages. It always amazes me how people can speak so many languages so well! On the bus, I snapped a picture of one of the fields of flowers.

I was sad to leave Paris, but super excited to catch up with my man and his sister in Amsterdam. We were all coming from different countries to meet up, me from France, my guy from the U.S., and his sister from Italy. We were all excited to see each other and visit Amsterdam for the very first time. :)

Here's the first part of that journey!

*Update: See the whole trip here!*

Day 1 (Thursday, 4/11)

Sights: Train station
Eats: Il Panorama

I had a 7:22am train to catch from Gare du Nord, but my friend had an even earlier plane! We parted ways very early in the morning. I met my aunt for just a little bit while I packed, and then we stopped to get one last pastry from Du Pain des Idees.

The rest of the day was a mess. First, I forgot my converter in the flat, which I realized only after it was too late to turn back. I hadn't factored in how long of a walk it would be to Gare du Nord and I ended up having to leave my aunt behind to run and make my train just 1 minute before it departed. I entered on a train car towards the beginning and had to haul all of my stuff through four different passenger cars. Whew!

Then, I got off at Antwerp because I heard "Antwerpen Centraal" called over the loudspeaker in Dutch, which I mistakenly heard as "Amsterdaam Centraal." No one near me on the train spoke English and there wasn't a route map anywhere to confirm. I asked a lady who had just entered the train by pointing to the station and asking "Amsterdaam Centraal?" and she nodded yes. She motioned that she was sitting in my seat for the next leg, so I promptly got my suitcase and left the train. Then, I confirmed with a girl by pointing at the platform I was standing on and asking "Amsterdaam Centraal?" again, to which I received a nodding of yes again. I was ready to head up the escalator, when I saw the sign for the station reading "Antwerpen Centraal." I started to run to the train when I realized where I was. The girl came towards me and said "Train to Amsterdaam Centraal. Not station." Well, yes I figured that out already! So I hauled my stuff back onto the train late again. I motioned to another late passenger "Amsterdaam Centraal?" and she responded "Yes, we will reach Amsterdam after a few stops." English! She told me that there would be 3 more stops before mine, so I could finally relax. Well, after I hauled my stuff back to my original seat, I relaxed. By the way, that first lady sitting in my seat was actually across the aisle from me, so her misleading answer almost stranded me in Antwerp!

When I finally got to Amsterdam, I turned around to see a beautiful train station! Definitely rivals Gare du Nord in the style category, but not size for sure. I love the wind direction indicator!