De Wallen and Old Town Amsterdam

We began our morning with breakfast in our hotel, which we would later regret when we started our Amsterdam Food Tour at 10:00. We took a short tram ride before taking a walk through De Wallen, better known as the Red Light District, where prostitution is legal. We wanted to avoid the seedier times, so we went early in the morning to get a glimpse of the famous windows with red curtains when the ladies of the evening were sleeping and now in their windows. We were amused at how corporate it was, with signs in various windows offering the spaces for rent.

Amsterdam Canals

Another tram ride took us near Cafe De Spiegel at Lijnbaansgracht 227, which was the starting point for our food tour. We were early so we hung out by the canals and waited for our guide.

Cafe De Spiegel

Soon Jelte, our Eating Europe guide, joined us and two other couples at the cafe. We entered the old Amsterdam cafe that has been owned by the same family for over a hundred years. It is one of Amsterdam's "brown cafes", named for their dark wood interiors. We introduced ourselves over some delicious Poffertjes, fluffy, spongy mini-pancakes topped with icing sugar and butter. These would be Becca's favorites of the tour and were a hit with the adults as well. Joining us on our tour was a couple from London, Ontario, a Frechman and his partner, a young lady from Peru.

The Seafood Shop

Following pancakes, we were off on our walking tour, with the next stop being a small seafood shop, known simply as "The Seafood Shop". Jelte explained to us the Dutch were quite literal in naming things. Amsterdam got its name, for example, due to a dam on the Amstel river. The seafood shop was a small take-away location. Jelte explained that take-aways were not licensed for diners, so you had to buy the food and then eat it outside. We took some photos inside the shop and then he brought the delicacies out and we ate them on the street corner like true residents of Amsterdam. First up was kibbeling, deep-fried cod that reminded us of our many doses of fried fish in Scotland. Then was the Amsterdam delicacy of fried herring, which Janie found too slimy. Things got worse for her as Jelte produced oysters next.

Glandorf and Thijs

The rain that had been threatening all morning arrived shortly after we finished our fish so pulled out our rain jackets and umbrellas and splashed our way to Bar Bitterbal. Here we enjoyed a classic Dutch treat, bitterballen, which are fried, breaded meatballs. We had veal bitterballen, cheese bitterballen and a curry version, along with a pint of Amstel. J. R. got to enjoy Becca's Amstel as well.

Next up was Glandorf and Thijs, a small wine shop selling Holland wines. We tasted a couple of the local wines with the help of the owner. Becca joined in the tasting here and rather enjoyed the white wine, but didn't care for the red. After looking around at the huge selection of wines, we wandered back out into the drizzle.

Slagerij De Leeuw

Jelte took us next to Slagerij De Leeuw, a high-quality butcher and deli where he picked up some sausages that we would enjoy later during our canal boat ride.

Patisserie Kuyt

Our final stop was Patisserie Kuyt, where the ladies were in heaven viewing all of the desserts at this famous sweet shop. We enjoyed a piece of cake before heading off for our canal tour.

Canal Cruise

The rain picked up again as we boarded the 100-year-old boat, but it was covered, so we stayed dry while Jelte gave us a history of the canal system and pointed out a variety of landmarks and attractions, including the famous leaning houses. He told us the story of how they occasionally dredged the canals and showed us photos of the number of bikes they pulled from the canal each year. Apparently a common thing for drunks to do late at night is to push unlocked bikes into the canals. There were bikes everywhere in Amsterdam and you had to be always vigilant when crossing the street because bike riders did not obey traffic signals. Apparently when bikes were being pushed into the canals, they were often stolen. As Jelte told us, there were three ways to get a bike in Amsterdam. Purchase and expensive one and a very good lock, purchase a cheaper one and wait for it to be stolen, or pay a bum $15 to steal one for you.

We drank more of the wine and enjoyed the sausages Jelte had picked up at the deli and talked with our fellow guests. Jelte gave Becca the rest of the white wine to take home and we would enjoy that in our hotel in the evening.

Amsterdam Mall

We ended the tour and said goodbye to our host and fellow guests and began our own walking tour since the rain had died down. We went back to the Bloemenmarkt to buy some tulip bulbs and Becca's wooden tulips and also to the Delftware shop to buy some souvenirs. Becca had spied a gelato shop the previous day so we stopped in for gelato and a toilet. Our plan next was to find a stroopwafflel shop, one that sold the actual delicacy and not the prepackaged kind that can be bought in the States.

Unfortunately the rain began in earnest again as we left the the shops so we ducked into a small shopping mall where we browsed while waiting out the storm. The skies cleared quickly and we found Van Wonderen Stroopwafel after some searching. A stroopwaffel is a pair of small thin waffles held together with caramel. We had ones topped with Oreos and Smarties and ate them as we walked to the next tram. They were very delicious and worth the walk in the rain.

Oude Kerk

We took a tram to Dam Square with the intent of seeing some attractions, but we ended up at the wrong tram stop because of the tram we were on, so we made a wrong turn and found ourselves not far from the train station. Since we were so close, we decided to go to the hotel and drop off our purchases and umbrellas since the weather had cleared. We also found the hidden business center on the third floor as we needed to print out new luggage tags for our cruise since Celebrity had upgraded our room just the day before.

After a quick stop at the hotel, we walked back into town. We walked past the Museum Ons Lieve Heer Op Solder, the site of a clandestine Catholic Church in the 1660s when Catholicism was outlawed in Holland. The "schuilkerk" was housed on the top three floors of a non-descript building. It was too late to go inside so we walked on to the Oude Kerk (Old Church), a circa 1305 structure which is Amsterdam's oldest building and is now an art gallery. The Old Church sits at the entrance to the Red Light District. Jelte had mused at the idea of men spending Saturday night in De Wallen and then Sunday morning confessing at the Oude Kerk.

Nieuwe Kerk

Then we visited the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), which despite its name, was built in the 15th century and the Royal Palace nearby. The palace sits on 13,659 wooden piles driven deep into the sand beneath the city. A statue of Atlas sits atop the building. Becca was more interested in the Magna Plaza across the street, a shopping center housed in a gothic-looking building.

Brouwerij 't IJ

Jelte had told Janie about a local brewery housed in an authentic Dutch windmill just outside town so we found a tram heading that way and rode it to near the brewery. Janie and J. R. each enjoyed a local brew inside the windmill. Becca sampled the drinks and found them "disgusting", which is a good sign as she heads off to college next year.

Grand Hotel Amrath

After our beers, it was time to return to our hotel. We rode the tram back to Centraal Station and stopped at Starbucks at the Doubletree hotel to satisfy Becca since she didn't enjoy the beer, and then returned to our hotel. We finished off the whiskey and rum and vodka from the mini-bar and ate some more cheese since none of us was hungry for a meal after our day of eating Amsterdam.