The next day, Saturday, we ate an early breakfast and rented bikes to see the sandy dunes of Kennemerland National Park and the beaches of the North Sea. The sandy dunes are nothing like anything I’ve seen before and it was not what I expected to see. (Unfortunately, I didn’t take any photos of the landscape that we biked through). On our bike to the beach, we passed Highland cattle and the ruins of a 13th-century castle built by William I van Brederode. Theresa and Abigail were more excited about the highland cattle, and I was more excited about the beach- I guess it’s obvious who is from California and who is from Texas. 🙂 After our bike ride, we stopped at a farmer’s market and bought slices of freshly baked lemon poppyseed bread and banana walnut bread. This bike ride was my favorite part of the whole trip- I enjoyed breathing in the fresh air from the countryside and seeing the nature of the Netherlands like a local.
The 16-mile bike ride was tiring, and we rested on the short train ride to Amsterdam. Walking through the city center for the first time, I was overwhelmed by the number of bikers. If it wasn’t for Theresa holding me back, I would have gotten hit by a bicycle more than once.
Our first stop in Amsterdam was for Dutch fries at Manneken Pis. Like Brussels, Amsterdam claims to serve the best fries. Our Uber driver from the airport said the fries are prepared the same way as the Belgians and the difference lies in the sauces. I tried the peanut sauce, and it reminded me of pad Thai. As we walked throughout the city, I noticed that many restaurants have South Asia-influenced dishes. I wonder if this is a lasting effect of the Dutch East India Company in the 1600s.
We checked into our hostel in the museum district and walked to Saturday Vigil Mass at The Krijtberg, a Roman Catholic Church entrusted to the Jesuit Order. The music was beautiful, and the organ elevated the reverence and beauty of the Mass.
After Mass, we went to the Moco Museum. Many people recommended this museum of modern and contemporary art, but I did not particularly enjoy it. Art is a form of free speech, and every piece in this museum seemed to comment on something wrong with society or politics. Maybe I don’t know how to appreciate modern art because I quickly got bored. It was cool to see NFTs for the first time and we enjoyed taking photos in the museum, but the Moco is not something I would recommend for a weekend trip to Amsterdam.
The weather on Sunday was just as inconsistent as Friday in Haarlem. Every couple of hours, the weather altered from being sunny, rainy, cloudy, and windy. We spent the morning meandering across bridges and canals in the Nine Streets District (De 9 Straatjes) and stepped inside the trendy shops and cozy cafes when the rain began. For breakfast, we tried raditional Dutch pancakes, pannekoeks, which are slightly thicker than crepes with sweet or savoring toppings that resemble pizza (much better than the fried balls of stew called bitterballens we had at dinner yesterday).
If I ever go back to Amsterdam, I would like to tour the Anne Frank House, where Anne Frank and her family lived in hiding for two years. Tickets for this museum house sell out quickly, and there were no tickets remaining for the month of April when we checked. We did see the Anne Frank House from the outside as we walked to Dam Square.
In the afternoon, we went to the Van Gogh Museum. I liked this museum much more than the Moco museum. Most of his iconic works, such as The Potato Eaters, Almond Blossoms, and Sunflowers, were on display. My favorite interactive activity in the museum was a small screen that magnified one of his portraits. It was incredible to see how his combination of colors and brushstrokes that when zoomed out, complemented each other to form a human face.
We walked around Vondelpark in the evening, grabbed a quick dinner, and relaxed in a piano bar- the best way to end a long weekend trip with good friends.
Dutch foods I did not have time to taste:
- Erwtensoep– split pea soup (the national soup of the Netherlands)
- Stamppot– sausage with mashed veggies and potatoes
- Herring or Kibbeling (deep-fried white fish)
- Stroopwaffles– caramel waffle cookies, often eaten after softening the cookie over a steamy mug of coffee
- Speculaas– spiced shortbread cookie with almonds
Thank you again for reading! My friend from college is visiting me this week and we are exploring some new places in Europe. 🙂
kira vesta 
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