Going to the Netherlands

[livingdeb]

Next month, Robin and I are going to the Netherlands. We'll be staying in Amsterdam.

Temperatures average in the forties. December is also the rainiest month--it's drizzly rather than thunderstormy, though. The sun sets at 4:30 and rises at 8 am. I don't know why this isn't the tourist season.

It's fun to hear recommendations.

J.O. says they have great museums and food and his favorite coffee shop. (Some of the food is a cross between British and German food. But they are good at snacks and street food and they are good at adopting ideas from their immigrants.) He has also shown us beautiful pictures. He says to hang out in the museum district and stay far away from the red light district.

T.B. says it's totally flat and otherwise perfect for bicycling. Also, they make cheese and glass.

I've just started doing book research. I'm looking forward to the geography. It's full of canals; tall, skinny buildings; and special roadways and even traffic lights just for bicyclists. They have crepe-like pancakes. They have rice-tables--bowls of rice with lots of different foods to try mixed in. In December, they have oil balls (fried doughnuts). They have chocolate--not only is there hot chocolate and chocolate-filled balls of chocolate; there are even chocolate sprinkles for the breakfast bread.

I will dress warmly. I will eat more ham than usual, just like I did in Belgium. I will try to learn a little Dutch, which is almost exactly like Flemish, quite a bit like German, and somewhat like English. I will rent a bike. I will look at paintings of the Dutch masters.

I will not be visiting Anne Frank's attic. I will not be smoking pot. I will not be trying out or even ogling any ladies of the evening. I am not expecting to bring home any clogs. Or windmills.

It may seem strange that I am going here, but if you look at the patterns of my foreign travel, it fits right in. (I've also visited Belgium--with side trips into France and Germany, Switzerland--with a side trip into France, England--all London all the time, and now The Netherlands--bordering on Belgium, Germany, and the English channel.)

Comments

[texpenguin.livejournal.com]

I have a Dutch friend (married Todd's college roommate). I will ask her for recs for you!

[piefessor.livejournal.com]

If you don't want to smoke pot, you might not want to go to anyone's favorite coffee shop, as a "coffee shop" in the Netherlands is a cafe where they sell (and people smoke) pot and hash.

Don't miss the Van Gogh museum, and there's an awesome chocolate shop on the outskirts of the Red Light District, which is totally fine during daylight hours anyway. And Anne Frank's house is amazing!

[texpenguin.livejournal.com]

My friend's going to get back to me with some more ideas, but here's what she came up with off the top of her head. Look up their winter hours ahead of time.

de Zaanse Schans--not far from Amsterdam, an outdoor 'museum' of preserved historic houses and windmills

Openluchtmuseum--further from Amsterdam, but a much better open-air 'museum', more like a historic village, with re-enactors, period food and crafts, demonstrations, etc.

She also says you must eat at a Dutch pancake restaurant, which, conveniently, is also the most budget-friendly place to eat dinner. Yes, that's dinner. Dutch pancakes are baked full of meats, cheeses, veggies, etc, and are a dinner food.

Man, now I want to go to the Netherlands, too!!!

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

Cool, thanks!

You'll have to add this to your long list!

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

I do know about "coffee shops" there. I think J.O. was talking about a place with good coffee, though.

R. says every time he reads Anne Frank's writing, he can't help liking her, so it really is all too depressing. We won't be going there.

Thanks for the other recommendations, though!