Tulips and Windmills

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Day 3 April 17 Amsterdam
First full day in Amsterdam and I awoke not feeling well. Dang. We went down for breakfast but I hardly felt like eating anything. Enjoyed a pot of tea and toast. We delayed our days activity with Bill and Jane until 2pm and I took a nap. Thank goodness I felt better and so we met in the lobby at 2pmand walked over to the central train station where we would catch the #5 tram to the Rijksmuseum. A beautiful museum with a large collection of historic Dutch art. Outside the museum there are lovely gardens with tulips blooming!!! Yes, tulips are blooming. We have had several friends tell us that they came in the spring to see the tulips only to be disappointed. We stopped for a snack and water in the gardens as by now I was feeling better and we were hungry.

The Rijksmuseum is one of several that are in the museum square. Also the Van Gogh museum and the Concertgeouw hall. Inside the museum were works of art by famous Dutch painters. We spent only a couple of hours in there as it was closing at 5pm. The museum was really crowded with student groups and it was very difficult to view many of the art pieces. Our visit was enjoyable although short.

We wandered through the museum portico and up the street several blocks through an elite shopping district. We stopped at an art gallery to buy some note cards and asked the proprietor if she could recommend a restaurant for dinner between the shops and the concert hall. She suggested a restaurant on the corner called Red. We had looked at it as we were walking as the front door had a floor lamp on it. She offered to call and see if she could make us a reservation. The restaurant did not open until 6pm so we had 20 minutes to wait and there was a cold chill in the wind. We were miserable outside but were patiently waiting. Finally at 6 we walked in and were the first guests of the dinner service. Within a few minutes the place was packed. The waitress brought what we thought was the dinner menu. Turned out to be the extensive wine list. After a discussion with our friends, we selected an Argentinan Malbec that was really fantastic.

We then inquired on the dinner menu to which she responded "we serve 2 items, steak and lobster or a combo". That was it, no other options, so we ordered the steak and lobster combo. The perfectly cooked filet came with a wonderful ramekin of bearnaise sauce and the lobster with a butter/herb sauce. They also served a small Caesar salad and French fries with a small bowl of mayonnaise both to share (must be at European thing ... No ketchup). Evidently "Red" has been serving this limited menu for 8 years very successfully. I seriously doubt if such a restaurant would be successful in the states. It was really fun and we enjoyed our dinner.

Off we went to our evening activity. I bought tickets for us to a jazz club in the Concertgeouw hall. It was a cool jazz club with several small cocktail tables and a stage. The musicians entered the stage and began to play improv jazz. There was a pianist, a drummer, a large base player and a female that played both a soprano and alto saxophones. They were really excellent and played for an hour and half. After the concert we caught the #5 tram back to the central station. We decided to walk inside to get out of the evening chill and to see the interior architecture of the station. The Central train station was designed by the same architect as the Rijksmuseum. We continued our walk to the hotel and returned to our room. We enjoyed a cappuccino from the Nespresso machine before calling it a day. Good night.

Cycling in Amsterdam is a way of life and best way of transportation. Some would say that the only way to truly experience Amsterdam is by bike. There are dedicated bicycle paths throughout the city and very few hills to conquer. You take your life in your hands as the hundreds./thousand of cyclists own the roads. They seem to all have a bell they ring when they think you are in their way. A number of companies offer bicycle rentals for hire if you are adventurous and truly interested in the experience road chaos. Thing is, most families have 2 bicycles per person and only 1 car per family. Walking through the streets are just a hazard between the bicycles, motors scooters, cars and pedestrians. But certainly a true Amsterdam experience.

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