March 5, 2018 – mmm-yoso

It was an overcast as we headed out after our morning coffee. We had two full days in Amsterdam and since we had leftovers from our previous night's meal we didn't need to stop anywhere. We decided to take on a good chunk of the city during the morning.

One has to keep alert when walking the streets in this lovely city and not get sucked in by the lovely canals or the lovely houses that line them, all crowned with distinctive Dutch gables. You see, Amsterdam claims to be the most bicycle friendly capital city in the world, there are over a million bikes in the city. Most glide along quietly, so you should be aware. It's also easy to get distracted by various interesting sights as well.

Some of which are quite humorous……

We walked along the canals, making our was back along the path we took the previous night. It looked quite different during the day.

We made our way back to Amsterdam Centraal Station. The Missus wanted to take the walk outlines in Rick Steves pocket guide to Amsterdam. So we headed down Damrak. It's a bustling and busy street. Lots of tourist shops and other places.

One of the things I wanted to try in Amsterdam was Gouda cheese. We've never particularly enjoyed Gouda in the states, so we wanted to try some here. One of the first shops we came across is this location of the Amsterdam Cheese Company.

There weren't any customers in the store when we arrived….it was rather early in the morning. The young lady working here was amazing! She was quite knowledgeable, had us taste Gouda aged for different periods of time, and was just a joy. So, of course we ended up buying some Gouda. We would enjoy it in Paris.

After a brief stop for some coffee, we arrived at Dam Square. In the 13th century, a dam was built across the Amstel River to link together settlements on both sides of the river and create a village named…..you guessed it "Amstel-dam".

There's quite a bit to see here including the National Monument(above). This World War II monument is an obelisk like structure which has sculptures representing the suffering of war – there are two weeping dogs, representing suffering and loyalty. All topped with a sculpture of a woman with a child in her arms and doves flying around her representing victory, peace, and new life.

Across the way is the Royal Palace, which was once the Town Hall. The structure became the "Royal Palace" when Napolean installed his brother as King.

There's a shopping street which parallels the main avenue named Kalverstraat…..it's truly pedestrian…..folks need to walk their bicycles on this street.

Ducking down a side gate we came across what might be our favorite stop of the day; the Begijnhof. This wonderful Hofje ("Courtyard") dates back to the 14th century when it was built as living quarters for the pious Begijntjes a Catholic sisterhood, who lived a semi-monastic life dedicated to God, even though they took no vows like Nuns.

This beautiful and quiet courtyard is rung by lovely homes that still houses older single women, though the last Beguine died in 1971.

Off to the left we saw a simple black door. This is the entrance to Begjinhof Chapel. Often called the "Clandestine Church" this was built in 1680 by combining two residences. When Catholicism was banned in the 16th century all the churches had to be given up….which is what was done with the brick church across the way. Catholics had to worship in the privacy of their own homes. Eventually, the Protestant city council approved the building of this church….as long as the building did not look like a church.

The interior is Spartan and quiet. One could imagine needing to worship in silence in fear of prosecution.

Across the way is the former Catholic Church that became the English Reformed Church.

This church was built in 1420 for the Beguine to worship. It was converted during the Reformation.

It is said that many of the Pilgrim Fathers fleeing persecution in England made their way here before leaving to form a separate congregation in Leiden and eventually sailing to the New World in 1620. The only stained glass window in the church depicts the Pilgrims praying before boarding the Mayflower. It was a gift from Edward William Bok to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the departure of the Pilgrims.

The bible on the altar dates back to 1763.

We really enjoyed the quiet, which gave us time to really take in both churches.

We exited Begjinhof and headed right, to an area known as Spui.

We did a bit of window shopping…..some of the displays are quite amusing. I believe this one is from a Cheese/Gourmet Shop named De Mannen van Kaas.

Eventually we wandered our way to the Flower Market.

Full of bright colors.

And then a bit further, the very popular area known as Leidseplein.

We decided to head back to the apartment, have our leftovers for lunch….then it would be nap time.

We wove our way through the shopping area known as De 9 Straatjes (Nine little streets).

We stopped by several shops, people watched, and enjoyed some of the more entertaining window displays…..like this one….notice the mannequin giving you the one finger salute?

We stopped by the Marqt on Wolvenstraat; sort of like a cross between Trader Joe's, Sprouts, and Whole Foods and picked up some drinks and more Stroopwafels for the Missus.

After a filling lunch we had a nice restful nap and got up in time for….well, dinner of course!

I'd made reservations at a popular place that I'd read about named Restaurant Daalder. It was located just a few blocks away and the food seemed an interesting pseudo Modern Dutch cuisine.

We both liked the cozy, under-stated, unpretentious, almost bistro-like interior of the restaurant.

We went full speed ahead; the "Daalder" course tasting menu with one wine pairing (we've learned our lessons) and the foie gras supplement (of course). This came out to about 100 € each, very reasonable. Especially since we'd just come from Scandinavia!

The Amuse started with jamon in a roll made of airy-light meringue. The "rolls" were slightly sweet and savory and melted in your mouth.

Along with a foamy, almost yogurt, fruit compote. The lemon foam was quite good.

The first course was a Tuna Tartare, which totally reminded me of poke.

Topped with avocado and watermelon; this would have been passable if not for the bitter-salty-tar like kombu reduction which just killed the poor fish dish.

The next dish was interesting; a poached egg enrobed in cauliflower puree. There was a dusting of coffee powder on the dish which really blended in nicely; adding a layer of pleasant savory-bitterness to the dish. The egg was poached perfectly and there were tiny pieces of crouton on the bottom of the bowl to add a nice textural contrast.

The scallops were good; crisp exterior, cooked perfectly, nice and sweet.

The turbot was cooked perfectly, but the dish was again marred by that kombu "tar".

The duck was quite good; though not as tender and gamey as what we had at Arakataka.

We both enjoyed the pistachio crust and the earthy, but slightly sweet jus really did well paired with the duck.

We were glad to have the foie gras supplement. The duck livers on toast were quite good. Caramelized onions just goes so well with duck livers.

Our favorite item of the night was the foie gras. It was seared so perfectly, slightly crisp, with a creamy interior. The tart, yet slightly sweet lychee just went so well with this little morsel.