Amsterdam Day 2
Our first full day in Amsterdam! We planned for no plans. We spent the day just walking and exploring, popping into various shops, cafés and taking lots of photos. I continue to be amazed by how stunning this city is and love the general vibe. I continue to be blown away by the abundance of bikes in this city.
Areas Visited
We primarily spent our time in De Pijp and Jordaan.
Coffee
Morning Coffee: Scandinavian Embassy. An adorable little café near the Saraphatipark. Stay tuned as we plan to return for the delicious looking cinnamon rolls.
Afternoon Coffee: Screaming Bean Coffee. Their batch brew today was an Ethiopian bean and was the perfect afternoon pick me up. While we didn’t get any pastries, they had a variety of vegan options that looked fabulous.
Food
Piccolino. Found this little Italian place for a pizza, beer and a little people watching (my takeaway is that the Dutch are very tall and extremely confident on their bicycles.) Piccolino was amongst a few blocks of restaurants and shops. We had a great little rest, and the pizza was delicious.
Cafe de Baron. This little corner café was just a few steps from our Air BnB. We stopped in for a beer, some bitterballen and some writing. La Chouffe was my beer of choice for this outing. Their menu had English translations for each item but the Bitterballen indicated “non-translatable Dutch snack” which absolutely tickled me. We absolutely loved this spot, sitting at a little corner café, having a drink and writing together was just an absolute delight.
De Pizzabakkers. More pizza! We are suckers for good pizza; it’s an easy, shareable meal that we both enjoy. We paired this with a glass of bubbly and thoroughly enjoyed a late evening dinner at their outdoor seating.
Experiences/Sites
Canals. Canals. Canals. I am obsessed with the canals. Every time I thought I had seen and photographed the prettiest one, we came upon the next one that was just as gorgeous. I am so excited to explore them when we go on our canal tour.
De Negen Straatjes. We had a brief stroll through this area of shopping, popping into a few boutiques. We discovered that Allbirds had a storefront, and I quickly converted my husband over to a pair of their wool runners.
The Apple Store. My husband is a huge Apple enthusiast, so stopping at local locations is always a must. The Amsterdam location is in the historic Hirsch building; the outer facade has been maintained while the inside has been renovated with the iconic Apple look. I snagged a new watch strap for myself and had a great chat with one of the employees who helped us with our purchase.
Photo 1: Reguliersgracht Canal
Photo 2: Screaming Bean Coffee
Photo 3: De Baron Bitterballen
Photo 4: Hoards of Bicycles