Dutch mayonaisse

The morning was a full kaleidoscope of Amsterdam weather. Dark ominous clouds, following by a thunderstorm, resplendent with the full array of lightning and pouring rain. The previous days have been warm and sunny-perfect for further exploration. We are still astounded by the breadth of entertainment available from our apartment. From the window we can see 3 bar/café/restaurants. On the corner is another bar that even has padded platforms for you to lounge about on. One block away is Haarlemmer Dijk where there are supermarkets and every type of specialty store. A wonderful florist-with a fine selection of glassware. Walking or even better cycling here is superb.

Café Thijssen is a local brown bar. It is in the Jordaan district and is 3 minutes walk away. There are seats inside, outside and in the strip between the roads. We began with an excellent latte. We decided to walk to the Rijksmuseum, which is to the south of the city. We walked along the Prinsengracht canal, the same as where we are absed. This is a long canal. The Prinsengracht, Keizersgracht and Herengracht have all been included as world heritage sites. The Rijksmuseum is in a Neo Gothic 1876 designed building-currently being restored. We are fortunate that as well as the standing exhibition, there is a Degas exhibition of self portraits influenced by Rembrandt. There was also an exhibition by Dick Bruna a Dutch graphic designer and illustrator who used pen, ink and collage for his book designs. The Degas etchings and paintings were beautiful-much more intimate than any other work we have seen of his. The Dutch masters really knew it all about light, composition and form. If you need to understand the use of light, spend a few hours here and you will be better informed. The museum was busy but not intolerably so. The queues can be quite something to get into the major galleries. The Anne Frank House always has block long queues. The highlights of course include The Rembrandt Nightwatch and Vermeer’s The Kitchen Maid. There was some extraordinary cabinetwork on display, and an amazing dollhouse, as well as the Delft ceramics.

For lunch we found a shop a block from the Rijksmuseum which is part bottle shop, part deli, part corner shop. The sandwiches were all made with fresh bread and produce and there was an abundance of different cheeses. The shop had a wall of Australian and New Zealand wines to compliment the wines of Spain, Italy, France and Germany. You could even buy your muesli and fruit here. It is always appreciated how you can find good food everywhere.   

On the way to Vondel Park we found ourselves in the very upmarket retail district on Van Baekerstraat. Here is the Concertgebouw, the Neo Dutch Renaissance concert hall. The buildings in this area alert you to the riches that have passed through Amsterdam. All the major international and luxury brands are located here. And one brilliant cigar store, with the best selection of cigars, cutters, holders and humidors you could imagine.


Vondel Park is something to behold. Built along an English park style in 1865 it is immense. Over 100 species of plants and 120 species of trees. Vondel Park is surrounded by free standing and enormous terrace houses, many with their own access to the waterways. The day was warm and sunny and the park was filled with a coterie of people from Dutch mums and children, cyclists, sunbathers, runners, and of course students lounging and smoking. There are numerous restaurants and cafes inside the park to sit, read and while away an afternoon. The Eye Film Institute is at 3 Vondel Park. They are showing a Jack Nicholson retrospective over a month. The cinema is everything a cinema should be. It also houses the largest collection of films in the Netherlands.

We staggered the long walk back with stops at brown bars and Hofjes to quieten the screaming feet. And a stop at Shirdak. Shirdak was recommended by a friend. The proprietor works collaboratively with Central Asian nomad culture and sells a variety of hand made clothing and design ware on a free trade basis. The pieces on display were quite magical, although I was vetoed from a quite superlative hat purchase.

 

On the others side of the design fence we found Moooi. The Moooi store was a haven of contemporary Dutch design and featured an array of lighting, furniture and design ware.

And last but not least, we found a restaurant called Toscanini, housed in a building that had previously been a coach house a wheelchair manufacturer and a warehouse. It is incredibly popular and we were able to get a booking for 10pm. The restaurant is on Lindengracht that is all of 5 minutes walk from our apartment. The luxury of walking to restaurants and bars is still fresh. The restaurant had an open kitchen and again charming and friendly waiters. We were surrounded by the beautiful. The food and wine were a perfect end to the day.