Five Days in Amsterdam, Two Days in Dordrecht

After a one hour flight from Copenhagen, J and I landed in Amsterdam and took the metro into the city.

Amsterdam is flat.

We checked into our apartment and walked to a nearby bar restaurant for dinner. Since we hadn’t eaten yet, the meal was especially delicious. I drank a dark Dutch beer called Fanny.

After dinner, we took a short walk around the neighborhood to get out first view of the canals and buy groceries for breakfast. For some odd reason, the supermarket didn’t accept credit cards.

image
Urban treehouse.
image
Ghost storefront.
image
A bike about to be absorbed by ivy.
image
Juicy.
image
Storm clouds.
image
Crossing our first Amsterdam canal.
image
Abandoned boat.
image
No parking.
image
Bull door.
image
Roses.
image
Pink door.
image
Trash polygon.
image
University expansion over canal.
image
Fire starting kit.

Tuesday we took an epic walk across much of the western side of town.

The morning was drizzly as we followed as many canals as we could, enjoying the variety of bridges, houseboats, leaning buildings, bicyclists, and the boat traffic in the canals. There were numerous ducklings and baby coots swimming around, and we made it a goal to spot nests. The coots built their nests in the open with twigs and trash. The babies looked like tiny, puffy condors.

We bought two day I AMsterdam cards near the central station. For 59€ each, it allowed free public transit, a free canal tour, and free access to most of the important museums in the city. They proved to be a great value.

image
Dutch cargo bike.
image
Hippy boat house.
image
Stretch banana.
image
Bridge name.
image
Houseboat and houses on the Amstel River.
image
Floating garden.
image
Don’t hate the playa.
image
Charging port.
image
Amazing cargo motorcycle.
image
Concrete bottom house boats.
image
One of many leaning buildings.
image
Objects in the mirror may appear more shattered than they appear.
image
Drawbridge.
image
Ball shredder.
image
Bulbs.
image
Bulbs!
image
Gabled canal houses.
image
Dredging barge.
image
Mad lion.
image
Barrier.
image
Massive amount of bikes.
image
Central Station.
image
Leaning.
image
Another bridge.
image
Shutters.
image
Colorful doorway.
image
Happy wheel.
image
Knob adjuster.
image
Ivy door.
image
Zombies can’t wait to get buzzed in.
image
Guitar pick logo container.
image
The overly elaborate crosswalk instructions at every intersection.
image
Glazed bricks.

On our walk home, we stopped for an early dinner at Wagamama. It was nice to have a big asian meal, but my ramen was lackluster.

The stands of the Albert Cuyp Market were packing up, and the street was empty. A scary amount of seagulls, pigeons, and great blue herons loitered everywhere or fought over scraps of discarded food.

image
Circle of life.
image
Closing time.
image
Discount fruit.
image
I have a bad feeling about this.
image
Mr. Stencil.
image
Jesus Christ!

We got an early start Wednesday by taking a tram to the zoo. It was packed with loud kids and even louder tweens. We walked through most of the exhibits quickly, though we thoroughly enjoyed the muggy butterfly room. A large variety of butterflies and moths freely fluttered around the plant filled greenhouse. Tiny frogs hid on the ground and near the man-made creek, making quite a din.

image
Ostriches.
image
Moth eye.
image
The cutest little frog.
image
Future vets of Amsterdam.
image
Horny.

Next, we visited the slickly-designed exhibits in the nearby Micropia. This science museum was all about microscopic life, and the highlights were a variety of controllable high-powered microscopes and two large cases full of decaying foods. This reminded me of the fifteen year old bagel I still have in a jar sitting on a shelf in my childhood room.

image
Lab.
image
Poops of the world and human digestive system.

After thoroughly washing our hands, we walked to the nearby botanical gardens. We enjoyed another room full of butterflies (and cocoons!) and a massive, three-zone greenhouse.

image
Glass wing.
image
Cocoons.
image
Inside the palm house.
image
Humid catwalk.
image
Rainforest J.

We ate lunch before checking out the Hermitage Amsterdam. This branch museum of the Hermitage Museum of Saint Petersburg, Russia, is located on the banks of the Amstel river in the former Amstelhof, a classical style building from 1681.

Our legs started feeling sore, so we took the tram to the nine streets area and went on a fairly forgettable, hour-long canal tour.

image
Drawn.
image
Watchmen.
image
Captain Stinky.
image
EYE Film.
image
Bridges from water level.
image
Two modes.

For dinner, we splurged on a rather amazing five course meal with beer pairings (129€ + tip). The meal consisted of an amuse bouche, three appetizer courses, main, and dessert. We only split beers on four of those, since we were already feeling lightheaded after the first serving.

image
Surf and turf appetizer.
image
Asparagus and saffron risotto.
image
Steak with stuff.
image
Dessert based on strawberry, rhubarb, and mint.

We ended up being the last people in the restaurant. After a pleasant conversation with the waitress and chef, we danced back to the tram.

Thursday, we explored the strange Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam building. We ate a snack lunch in the grass amongst kids playing soccer at recess.

image
Weeping.
image
Vaults over bike lanes.
image
America.

Next, we went to a photo exhibit visited two historic canal houses with large backyard gardens and carriage houses. I finally got to pat a cat, but he was too hot to care.

image
Courtyard garden.
image
Lamp and lady.
image
Dining room.
image
Flower girl.
image
It’s a living…[sad trombone sound]
image
Staircase.
image
Me in the infinite sun room.
image
Ornate headboard.
image
Another backyard garden.
image
Bush pussy.

We took the tram to the central station and walked across the pedestrian bridges to Science Center NEMO. The building and the hands-on science exhibits inside feel straight out of the 90s, but it was fun to watch kids having fun. J and I tried a few of the experiments and got plenty of germs on our hands.

The stepped roof of NEMO is a free public park. It offers one of the better views of the city, but since the buildings and geography are flat, it’s not that interesting of a view. It is a fine place to eat apples, however.

image
Pedestrian bridge to NEMO.
image
Floating trash coot nest.
image
Baby coot and mother.

From behind the massive central station, we took a free pedestrian and bike ferry across the harbor to EYE FILM. This angular building looks like it plopped down from the future. The interior is equally beautiful.

We thoroughly enjoyed the William Kentridge motion artwork exhibit, then went to a 6:45 showing of Blade Runner: the Final Cut.

I had never seen this version before, and on the big screen it was amazing. Spoiler alert: The Blade Runner is a replicant too.

image
Pumping a flooded construction site.
image
Waiting is the hardest part.
image
Modern man.

On Friday, we took a tram to the end of the line at IJburg. We wandered around the new residential neighborhoods built on reclaimed land, bought ice cream cones, patted a silky cat, and rode the tram back to the central station.

From there, we walked back home through the Red Light District and got weirded out by the bikini-clad prostitutes smiling from behind the alley windows.

image
Beachside strut.
image
A rare grassy field.
image
Growth and moss.
image
Ducks on poles.
image
Banana man.
image
Boat people.
image
Hooker.
image
Golden slot.
image
J crossing another bridge.
image
Another trash nest.
image
Spike barrier.
image
Scroungers.
image
Don’t hate the playa round 2, electric green boogaloo.

We made pasta and broccoli for dinner and watched the sun set from our window overlooking a duck-filled canal.

On Saturday morning, we took the metro to the central station and bought intercity train tickets to Dordrecht, Netherlands (16€ each).

After checking a sign on the train platform, I walked back to J and was surprised to recognize a friend since elementary school.

He was traveling with his mother, a teacher, and a group of students from my former high school. They had just arrived in Amsterdam.

I had hoped I would run into someone I knew on this trip. If any factor had been different, I would have missed him too. We only had a few minutes to chat before our train left. And in our haste, the photo of us was out of focus. We also looked very old.

I wonder how many times chance has conspired against me bumping into Christopher Walken or seeing Selena Gomez stuffed into a bikini and walking in front of me while “The Heart Wants What I Wants” plays from the outdoor speakers of a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf?

After an hour and half, we arrived at the small Dordrecht station. We took a short bus ride to our destination.

Villa Augustus is one of the coolest hotels I’ve ever stayed at. The rooms are in an over one-hundred year old brick water tower. A massive fruit and vegetable garden provides some of the ingredients for the restaurant and market. Our room overlooked the garden.

The other side of the hotel has a small orchard, woods, reflecting pond, and maze-like hedge, and access to the harbor.

image
Villa Augustus.
image
View of the garden.
image
The crying game.
image
Broccoli.
image
Harvest line.
image
Aphid infested artichokes.
image
Peppers.
image
Lady fennel.
image
Nice hedgework.
image
Pot.

We enjoyed a fresh lunch and slow service on the restaurant patio. A credit card processing error made our meal free.

In our room, we took a nap to the sound of the fan. We went back to the restaurant for dinner: steak and vegetables, pizza, and Trappist beer. Our card was processed properly.

image
Squash blossom pizza with anchovies and herbed cream cheese.

On Sunday morning, we walked into Dordecht town and explored the empty streets. The buildings and canals were like smaller and more charming versions of Amsterdam.

Our only human interaction involved nodding hello to a policeman and having a conversation with the two bakers who sold us a load of raisin-loaded soda bread.

image
Historic mill.
image
Ladybug mosaic.
image
Drawn.
image
Old gate.
image
Astro pole.
image
Tiled edges.
image
Delicate bridge.
image
Overbearing awnings.
image
Bear on a boat.
image
Luxury.
image
Empty shopping street on a Sunday morning.
image
Passthrough to a canal.
image
Lady amongst the bricks.
image
Street blocking carnival.
image
Beach babes.
image
Another empty street.
image
Window butt.
image
Canal.
image
Pretty canal houses with backyards.
image
DAF.

Around lunch time, it started drizzling.

That evening, we ate dinner at the restaurant again and split a pint of rhubarb sorbet made from their own rhubarb.

Oh my, that sorbet was good. I can still imagine the sweet oxalic acid grit on my teeth.

image
Villa Augusta’s path to the water.
image
The market entrance.
image
Our second and last sunset.

Monday morning, we packed our bags and ate breakfast at the restaurant.

J splurged on the delicious-looking buffet, but I decided I couldn’t eat enough to justify the cost. Instead, I ate my a la carte items and was ready to hightail it out of there.

At the station, we bought onward tickets to Belgium for another 16€ each and boarded the train.

As the beautiful, flat farmland whizzed by outside the train car, I realized how pissed I am at America’s crappy infrastructure. I don’t like driving in cars, and I especially dislike the idea of owning one.

The past few days had been a seamless experience of riding clean trains of all sorts, walking, and biking on dedicated city-wide lanes. It’s a pleasure, I’ll be sad to leave behind.

June 29th, 2015. Categories / Amsterdam

News Menu

About Categories Archives