Our last full day in Amsterdam started the same as the others, in our cozy nook at Coffee Tales. It really was a lovely little spot. The fresh baked pastries are one of my favourite things in Europe. Our plan for the day was the Rijksmuseum. We had saved it for last as today had the worst predicted weather of the trip. Unfortunately our planning wasn’t perfect. We had free tickets with the city card, but I forgot we still had to reserve a time slot. When we arrived, the next options were for early afternoon.
This was Amsterdam however, so its not like we didn’t have options. The city card let us also visit the near by MOCO Gallery. Usually I am not a big fan of modern/contemporary art, it’s just not my thing. But the Gallery was in a delightful older house and it has a Bansky Exhibit. Not an official authorized one, but they had collected various authenticated pieces. There were a few interesting artists, some that I just didn’t get, but a successful pick.
After the gallery, we walked around the grounds of the Rijksmuseum a little, and had a coffee at a fancy little cafe. A bit too fancy for me, they would have charged €2.50 just for a refill on my hot water! The original tea was only €3.50!
The rain finally came along, but luckily so did our time slot for the Rijksmuseum. I really enjoyed it, though I’m not really an art person. I enjoy museums like this for the history. Seeing the paintings by the Old Masters, and statues and items made hundreds of years ago, it fascinates me. Add in a gorgeous old building and I am happy for a few hours.
My mother is a huge fan of the famous Nightwatch painting by Rembrandt. She had been quite excited for me that I was going to see it. And I saw, most of it. There is currently a massive multi-year restoration project on going of the painting. On the plus side, instead of hauling it off to a lab somewhere, they glassed off the section it is in and have the restorers working in full view of the public. It was interesting to see them at work, they are on the stage of removing the old dirty varnish. It’s quite a painstaking process and will be years before it is fully finished.
My friend and I rendezvoused in the little cafe for a drink and to rest our aching feet. I had a little pick me up of some bread, which again was just amazing with the fresh butter. Then, at closing time, we headed out for a walk back towards our hotel and dinner. I had recommended we go back to the A van Wees tasting room for dinner, which my friend enthusiastically agreed too. Luckily the weather was a little better because the only seats available were outside! It wasn’t too bad while the sun was out, and we eventually moved inside for dessert when it got cool.
With our dessert we also ordered a flight of Genever to split. Much smaller glasses this time! The younger spirits were more like the gin I am used to, with juniper added. The older ones are aged in barrels and a bit more like whiskey, which I am not usually a fan of. They were a smoother drink to sip, which I did appreciate. My ice cream came with home made brandied raisins, which I asked for on the side. I’m not a raisin fan, luckily they went quite well with the apple pie across the table from me!
Our final evening would not be complete without a stop for our nightcaps at Kramer’s Cafe. We had to say goodbye to Jean-Pierre and have one more taste of their liquors. They had excellent gin there for sure. It was to be an early evening again, our flight wasn’t too bad, we had just enough time to grab a To Go drink on the way to the train (guess where!) before heading off to the airport. It is really nice that Schipol Airport is so close to the city, and so easy to get to with the trains.
With a mid day flight, we arrived back in Canada at mid day, but ready for bed and then right back to normal life. Though I had a bottle of Genever from duty free, so I’ll need to get some tonic.
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