Ein Tag in München

Day 20

We had about half a day to spend in the capital of Bavaria; we arrived at lunchtime and had a flight that evening back to Amsterdam.

We stepped out of the station and immediately saw a huge protest making its way through the streets, with multiple police officers accompanying it. After the protesters passed by, we trailed behind them to find a place for lunch.

Koningsdag

Day 12

April 27th marked Koningsdag, or King's Day. The monarch's birthday is a national holiday in the Netherlands, and changes with the head of state.

I went to the nearby Jumbo in the morning in hopes that there might be orange tompouce to be found. Sadly, there was not - as we already tried the original, I went for the lime and apple one. It was sadly not as good as the original.

We started our day late and just wandered around the streets of Amsterdam.






We got more frites at a street market - Joppie and Oorlog!

Museum day

Day 11

This post will be light on photos as we spent the majority of the day at museums, and two of the three did not allow photography.

We first went to the Anne Frank House. I have always loved reading about the Great Wars, and it felt haunting to see the effects on civilian lifestyle in person.

The next museum on the list was the Van Gogh Museum. It was satisfying to see so many of his paintings in one place, and especially seeing him find his style - many of his first paintings were markedly different.

Sadly, some of his most famous paintings are on display elsewhere; The Starry Night is at the MoMA, while Cafe Terrace at Night was in Otterlo.

Den Haag

Day 10

We started off the morning by heading my sister's place for breakfast. It called for a solo grocery visit where I managed to buy the correct type of butter. Success!

Tea, stroopwafels, and eggs Florentine.





After resting for way too long, we hopped on the train and headed to the Hague.

The weather began off quite sunny, but after walking around for awhile, the clouds took over. At this moment, we saw a cute cafe and decided to head inside. Talk about good timing; the minute we stepped in, the rain started pouring down.

Living like a local

Day 3

My favourite type of trip is actually going somewhere I've already been before; the feeling of being somewhere different yet familiar.

I often find that the first time I travel somewhere, there is an urgency to see all the sights, eat all the food, and power through a jam-packed day. The second visit is when the urgency disappears, and I can settle in and see all the spots that didn't make the cut the first time around, as well as revisit my favourite spots. I can sit down at a cafe to relax and not feel guilty that I'm wasting time, and I usually end up enjoying myself more.




Another one of my favourite things to do is check out the local supermarket. I find it endlessly intriguing to see what they sell, how they're set up, and trying interesting items.

That being said, I spent a very slow and relaxing day before gearing up for some solo travel around new cities.

We headed to the market area on our bicycles. For a relatively new learner, I actually love bicycling when there are separated lanes, and in Amsterdam, bicycles rule over cars, and even pedestrians. Nothing really beats Dutch cycling infrastructure.

I also discovered a few Dutch foods that I love; tompouce, which is like a mille-feuille but without those pesky other layers of pastry, and Heks Nkaas. This spread from the grocery store, paired with fresh bread from aforementioned store, made for the most delicious meal. Nothing beats just tearing apart a baguette and dipping it in Heks Nkaas... Words fail to describe how delicious this was.



After walking to the ferry to make sure I could navigate the path at 5am in the morning, we made our way home. A bottle of wine was awaiting us at the door; a thank you from the management for the noise from the filming happening next door.

We were pretty full so we ended up having a very late meal; Florence made her own version of Stamppot!

Amsterdam-Noord

I'll just preface this with the cold, hard facts: I didn't go to Red Light District nor did I indulge in any herbal plants. So let's see what else Amsterdam has to offer...

Day 1

The first stop of my trip was in Amsterdam, and I stayed with my sister in Amsterdam-Noord, which turned out to be a blessing.



My first day consisted of my groggily getting off the airplane and navigating our way through the station to pick up a transit card, and then weaving through the hordes of tourists with my luggage in order to get some frites. Upon my sister's recommendation, I tried the patatje oorlog, while she got the Mannekin Pis sauce.



We took the ferry to Amsterdam Noord, and settled in for a cup of tea and stroopwafels. The interior of her apartment was gorgeous, with plenty of natural light and endless greenery, evidently a new hobby of hers.

We caught up for a bit and then once her boyfriend was home, we all took a ride around the Noord.




We headed to De Ceuvel, a former shipyard that has been turned into a creative workspace, with the aim of giving a second life to the brownfield using sustainable technology.