For a city renowned for its dip into sin, we were there for the pastries and coffee drinks…an antidote to the cold November days along the canals. With Heineken being the local beer broadcast everywhere, and me not a fan, I opted more often for an extra slice of cake.
We walked all over bridges and past bikes on our way to the rings that held the Anne Frank House–a walk through its museum, the most moving experience I’ve had in a while–and back into the district where it feels like all of Europe is on spring break buying cheap t-shirts and gawking at the few bars that sell hash.
I marveled in the architecture, the townhouses canted forward so as to hoist cargo upward on their rooftop hooks. All of a piece, it feels like a set, yet remains clearly a livable city. Our dinner at an Indonesian restaurant–given their legacy as the Dutch East Indies–completed the unexpected path we wound through a fine trading town. I Amsterdam!
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- A fluffy coffee drink pile high with cream
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- Amsterdam blossoms with its flower markets all year round
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- A lovely slice of apple cake with cream
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- A more sedate coffee, dignified, to have with cake