We started our second day in Amsterdam at a local coffee house (not shop - only the “shops” sell pot). Anyway, we then hopped the Number 9 until it met up with the Number 3, which we took to the Van Gogh museum. We had purchased tickets online the night before and went to the front of the line, getting in before everyone else- it was great!
And the exhibition was also great! There were over 200 of his paintings there - some nothing much to speak of, while others were mesmerizing. I really love his work. There we met Anna Marie - an old friend of Joanie’s from her Chula Vista days. Anna Marie moved back to Amsterdam many years ago and it was the first time she and Joanie had seen each other in years. She was very nice and after the Van Gogh Museum, she volunteered to show us some more sights.
It was a casual, easy going afternoon. We took another tram to the Liendseplein - a “hopping” area of Amsterdam where we had lunch at another sidewalk café. Here we sampled Bitteballs - a meat “croquette” - little balls made of meat and flour and ragu, then fried in bread crumbs. They are a finger food… you dip them in mustard and enjoy - and we did. Then we went walking, by the canals, flower and cheese stores and throughout a cute little neighborhood known as the 9 Streets. After stopping for some lemonade and carrot cake (it was a fairly hot day - definitely hot by Amsterdam’s standards) we parted with Anna Marie, and returned to our guest suite where we took a little nap.
After our short nap and passing some time hanging around our Amsterdam home - we again took the Number 9 to Rembrandt Square (only about halfway to downtown) and had a great Indonesian dinner - coconut rice, satays, egg rolls, etc. Again, this was a sidewalk café on the very active square. After dinner, we needed to get rid of the leftover pot from the previous night. We went into another coffee shop on Rembrandt square and were able to purchase a small pipe for 5 Euros. We were going to sit at the coffee shop and I was going to take one final hit before giving my remainders to some “lucky” person… when we saw people smoking in the square itself. There were several policemen nearby, and I went up to one asking him what the law was. Indeed, smoking in public is okay - it’s only when you get out of hand that the police step in. So, we found a bench in the park and I took one more hit. It was surreal doing this right in the middle of the square. I found it awkward being so cavalier about this - but “when in Rome”. Even Joanie decided to partake in the “when in Rome” spirit and took a hit as well. Again, we both felt it, but very mildly - which is all we intended to do. I then gave my leftovers and our newly purchased pipe to these three guys that were already smoking - from a large bong- on a nearby bench. Another fun European experience for the books.
We then hopped on the tram for the short ride home, and called it a night- again arriving home just as it got dark - around 11pm.
Amsterdam was an amazing place. Everyone spoke very good English, with hardly noticeable accents. The town seems pretty young and is definitely a town on the move - with the constant availability of trams and buses and bicycles. Man, the bicycles are everywhere!!! I mean, you really have to be careful not to be hit by one - but it truly is an amazing site to see this towns reliance on bikes - it makes so much sense and was great to see. I have a pretty good collection of bicycle photos to share someday.
A fun and memorable time - our two days in Amsterdam.
