Tuesday, September 7, 2010

8-29-2010 Eating in Amsterdam

We are sitting in a coffee shop in Amsterdam, with the sun streaming through the tall windows; my shoes and pants are soaked from the short walk here. Had we waited 15 minutes, we could have walked here in relative dryness. Our umbrellas are thoroughly traumatized from having been turned inside out by the wind several times... Ah well, you know the old saying, if you don't like the weather, wait 10 minutes?


The weather has been downright autumn-y, not at all like late august. Blustery cold winds and drizzle, and what we used to call in Oregon, "sun breaks"' when the sun finds a slot through the clouds to hit wet streets and send light streaming through cafe windows. In such weather, it is a natural place to be, eating Dutch comfort food or the excellent lattes found at many cafes. (I'm not talking about those famous coffee shops where one can buy legal marijuana: you always know when you have passed one from the tell-tale fragrant smoke wafting from the open door!).

We have had a good time the last few days, exploring the old city with tree lined canals and narrow brick streets. The Jordaan is a beautiful old neighborhood with lots of little shops and restaurants, antique stores and art galleries. Most of the houses are very narrow and tall, and date from the 17' and 1800's, with some dated even earlier. In the photo to the right, the middle house has a date of 1642!

Amsterdam is a beautiful old city built around a semicircle of four concentric canals. It's perfect for walking around and admiring the old houses that line the canals and the old canal boats that have been converted to homes and moored by the banks. It's not the easiest place to drive a car (or park it!) because of the narrow roads and bridges, so the the quintessential Dutch way of getting from one place to another is by bicycle.

During the morning rush hour, whole fleets of bicycles zoom by on their way to work or to drop children off at school. Walking in Amsterdam, one must always be aware of the bicycles. More than a few times, I have had to suddenly jump out of the way of a bike racing past. If you have small passengers, no problem, just load them into a bike like this one!

It can be a little disorienting to look up at the houses due to the fact that many are leaning every which way like cartoon houses (no, I haven't been breathing the smoke from one of those funny coffee shops!). Some lean left or right from the sinking of the foundations into the soft ground. Many houses are purposely built with a slight lean towards the street as if leaning into a headwind. The facades have large glass windows that let in lots of light, perfect for catching the sun.

Because houses in the old days were taxed based on frontage, the Dutch built their houses narrow but tall. One of the narrowest in Amsterdam is a little less than 6 feet wide! With limited floor space, narrow spiral staircases were put in or narrow stair cases that are so steep they are almost like ladders. In order to bring furniture in, they needed to bring it in through the window, by means of a hoist - if you look at the tops of the facades you will see a hook where they would attach the pulley. With the front of the building leaning out at an angle, it made it easier to move stuff in without damaging the facade or goods.

One of the things we always look for when we are here are Dutch pannekoeken - otherwise known as pancakes. However, these pancakes are the size of a plate, a bit thicker than a French crepe and topped with either sweet or savory toppings baked into it, such as ham and cheese.

After a pancake, you need to save room for poffertje! These round, pancake like treats are usually covered in a liberal layer of powdered sugar and butter, 20 to a serving.

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