Summer Sunlight

Tags

Amsterdam Blogs, holidays

Summer has arrived here, in full swing for the past two days. I’ve dug my flip flops out of hiding and remembered to slather on sunscreen, and Jesse and I have been doing our best to be outside a lot. Because really, it’s been a rotten spring. My poor parents had horrible weather for their visit, and even our friends last week had to wear jackets and carry umbrellas!

But summer is here (for now), and I’m enjoying it completely. I’ve made iced tea, we’ve eaten salads for dinner, and I already cut off a pair of pants into shorts. Because that’s what you do in summer.

It’s been fun watching Amsterdammers embrace the sunny weather. This city, though it be covered in rain and mist most of the year, is made for nice weather. It’s awash with cafe terraces, canal sides, benches, and green spots, all inviting you to sit…relax for awhile. As soon as the sun pops out everyone does their best to be outside. The number of boats on the canals has tripled, and the cafes have unfurled their outdoor tables and umbrellas. The same thing happens in Portland on a sunny day, but somehow Amsterdam embraces it in a different way. It’s all just a bit more…gezellig.

On our evening walks I’ve gotten a kick out of seeing people on every balcony, sitting on their front stoop, hanging out a window, or pulling a table outside for the family dinner. Beers are enjoyed on a canalside terrace while the sun slowly drops behind a building. The light lingers for a long time lately–it’s already past 10, and the sun is just now setting. The sky is lit with pink and orange, and it reflects off the canals as the smell of something grilled wafts by.

It’s summer in Amsterdam.

(These pictures are both from last summer, as I’ve been too enraptured by the sun the past few days to bother carrying my camera anywhere.)

Happy Queen’s Day!

Tags

Amsterdam Blogs, holidays, Netherlands

You know those days and moments that live up to all their expectations? Koninginnedag, Queen’s Day, was one of those times for me. The entire day was so fun and perfect, that even though my feet still hurt from walking, I still don’t want it to be over! Queen’s Day celebrates Queen Beatrix’s birthday on April 30 every year. Since orange is the color of the royal house, the entire country goes ‘oranje gekte,’ orange-crazy. The city was a swarming sea of people wearing orange–when I finally went to bed last night, I could still see it when I closed my eyes!

 

Here are a few of my favorite things about Queen’s Day.

1) Vrijmarkt: It’s the only day of the year when people can sell their stuff, yard-sale style. We actually got up early to catch the best of the markets before the partier tourists took over, which was so fun. You can sell anything, really. Furniture, clothing, antiques, baked good and drinks, even plants were for sale! Every single street in the city had blankets on the sidewalks with goods spread out on them. We walked all day, and still never saw all of them!

2) Baked goods and lemonade stands. At every stall in the vrijmarkt people were selling homemade baked good they’d made the night before. Cakes, brownies, cookies, cupcakes, and more, all lovingly decorated with orange frosting. And the kids’ lemonade stands were all pretty hard to resist, as well.

3) Orange. Everywhere. I’ve never seen so much bright orange in my life!

4) Everyone chips in to make the day fun, and everyone is in a great mood. The whole city pitches in! Amsterdammers themselves run contests and games, their kids play flute on the street corner to roaring applause, food is sold by everyone, and a smile or free orange hat is easy to find. The festive atmosphere is impossible to resist. It’s a day where the usual rules of living in a busy city (ignore everyone around you) are abandoned happily and everyone is your new best friend. Because when you’re all dressed head to toe in bright orange, who’s to say otherwise?

Until next year, Happy Queen’s Day!

An Easter Day in Amsterdam

Tags

Amsterdam Blogs, bikes, holidays

The sun peeked out of the clouds on Easter morning just in time for our bike ride through the canal belt. We headed to the Jordaan neighborhood where our friends were house-sitting a gorgeous apartment in the posh Nine Streets.
I spent all day pretending like I actually lived there, watching the tourists queue up for pannekoeken below. Suckers! (Actually, I’ve been to that pannekoeken place, and it was quite good.)

We gathered together a delicious Easter brunch, with snacks on the rooftop followed by more eating inside. Jesse recently went to Florence (I’m try to wrangle a blog out of him!) and brought back prosciutto. The strawberry jam is from De Laastse Kruimel, the cutest little sandwich shop/bakery tucked into a busy street here in Amsterdam. And the loaf is Paasbrood, or Easter bread, a special treat only for Eastertime, full of raisins and candied fruit, but striking the perfect balance of sweet and bready.

We also enjoyed coffee from Jesse’s new siphon filter, which I believe is one of the most pretentious ways to make coffee, ever. But because it looks so cool, and the coffee tastes damn good, I’ll happily be pretentious for it. Jesse found the siphon for a whopping €7.50 at a local antique shop (he scores the best finds! Remember this?), and has been jumping out of bed every morning since, declaring, “I’m making coffee!” Secretly I think he might be making other things, Breaking Bad-style.

We stuffed ourselves on coffee, paasbrood, a delicious frittatta, and excellent conversation, until we could barely teeter our bikes home.

A vrolijk paasdaag (happy easter-day)!

Valentine’s Day Take Two

Tags

Amsterdam Blogs, holidays

In my last post I mentioned that we had tried to visit a sauna for Valentine’s Day and found it closed. On Friday we tried again, with great success! Sauna Deco is in the Jordaan neighborhood, in a totally typical house on the Herengracht canal. From the outside it looks completely normal:

Inside, however, is a world of art deco decoration and flourishes, a small slice of Paris in the 20s. Gray stones, golden brass metalwork, and flowery stained glass windows flow into every room, a feast for the eyes. {Photos below from SaunaDeco.nl}

For a small price we got full reign of the spa, including the showers, dry saunas, foot baths, a cold plunge pool, garden patios, and a steam sauna with sinus-clearing menthol and eucalyptus. After relaxing to our heart’s content we sat in big chairs in the lounge to relax some more.

It’s European, so… no swimsuits allowed. Which was actually fine. Everyone wore towels or robes in between rooms, and in the saunas it’s so steamy you couldn’t see anything if you tried. And who’s trying? You’re too focused on the delicious-scented air, the warm steam, and all the stress leaving your body. The clients were a range of young and old, men and women, couple and singles. All so very focused on themselves to not care a whit who you are.

We took full advantage of the place, topping off our day with freshly squeezed orange juice (an Amsterdam specialty) from the cafe. When we finally tore ourselves away I felt refreshed, relaxed, and eucalyptus-scented. Oh happy day. Can this be every week, and not just on Valentine’s Day? I need to push around some budget numbers…

If you go: Sauna Deco, Herengracht 115, http://www.saunadeco.nl

A Portland to Amsterdam Story, with Chocolate

Tags

Amsterdam Blogs, holidays, restaurants

We had big plans for Valentine’s Day. No champagne and extravagant dinner, but instead a few hours of relaxing at a fancy-but-affordable spa, right downtown. It was going to be beautiful… until it was closed.

Luckily Amsterdam had more in store for us than a sad, cold walk home. We wandered around, soaking in the city, the melting ice on the canals, happy to be holding hands and enjoying life with each other. Eventually we made our way to the Nine Streets, and then to a tiny street behind those streets, the so-called “10th Street.” There, with bikes propped near the windows, a chocolate store beckoned us.

Chocolátl. It’s a beautiful little store. Clean white cabinets hold shelf after shelf of gourmet chocolate, sourced from all over. It’s an around the world in 80 bites dream, from Venezuela to Belgium to Missouri to a gorilla refuge in the Congo.

Then we saw this nestled in the corner:

Do you see it? It’s a poster of the Bridges of Portland, Oregon, sometimes known as Bridge City. When asked, the owner said, why, yes, he is from Portland! And we all marveled and made small noises of astonishment at the wide small-ness of the world, and the chances of finding someone from your home town, so far away from home.

Erik, the owner, and his wife have lived in Amsterdam for about three years now, and their store opened in December 2010. We chatted about Portland, about Amsterdam, about chocolate and more, and then he brought us our orders: two “shots” of smooth silky melted chocolate mixed with milk. Pure deliciousness. We relaxed at a long wooden table in the corner while another woman chatted with folks she had apparently just met. Chocolate brings people together.

Portland has it’s own similar shop, Cacao, but personally, I like Chocolátl better, if only for the encyclopedic passion Erik has for his treasure-filled store, and his happiness to share samples with you. We missed the sauna, but a Valentine’s Day date in a cozy chocolate store couldn’t have been planned more perfectly.

Check out a cute video of Chocolátl here. Find them on Facebook here. And best of all, visit them at Hazenstraat 25-A, Amsterdam.  Valentine’s Day not required.

And It’s 2012!

Tags

Amsterdam Blogs, holidays

It’s a brand new year! And our adopted city welcome it with a whole of night of fireworks and celebrating.

We started with toasting bubbly by candlelight, then moved outside to join the other revelers. The entire city was a fireworks zone, anyone shooting them off anywhere, the loud pops erupting from all corners. Some areas were mutually declared “blast zones,” where no one walked. Empty champagne bottles were used to prop up bottle rockets as they waited to explode. Bars and clubs were bursting, people streaming into the night and filling up every square inch of the city. Amsterdam is quite the tourist destination for a new year’s celebration!

We ended up near Dam Square at midnight. I’m not quite sure when midnight happened (no countdown! That doesn’t seem right) but the fireworks got a bit more intense, and people started kissing, so we went along with it. New Year’s will never be my favorite holiday, but on the stroke of midnight I can’t help feel overwhelmed by it all!

Today is quiet, with the detritus of fireworks littering every street corner. Everyone takes this day to rest, prepare, and wonder what will come of this bright and shiny new year.

Merry Christmas to All

Tags

Amsterdam Blogs, embroidery, holidays

Merry Christmas! Today is what the Dutch call Tweede Kerstdag, or Second Christmas, which they use to celebrate with the other side of the family. Smart and practical, these Dutch. We are using it to celebrate with our friend Sarah this afternoon.

Our real Christmas yesterday was spent Skyping far away family members, making ourselves delicious food, watching copious amounts of Christmas movies, and taking a walk through the city with a thermos of hot chocolate. It was a little bittersweet to be just the two of us, without any family around. You can try your best to make a day festive and bright, but without the right people it’s just not the same.

Since I was really hoping for a white Christmas to cover the city, I spent the day embroidering my wishes and making my own snowflakes. I used Appleton crewel wool, the kind that really pops out–I love the texture!

Though it was a quiet Christmas celebration, it was still full of happiness and thanks and warm feelings. It’s something special to be able to take a Christmas walk around your neighborhood and see houseboats parked on canals, antique chairs waiting by the water, bridges festooned with lights, and 17th century buildings lining the streets. I consider myself pretty lucky this year.

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

-Dr. Seuss

Een Bosje

Tags

Amsterdam Blogs, art, books, holidays

“One bunch, please,” I pointed to a cheery cluster of Christmas-red tulips at the flower stall. “Een bos, alstublieft,” I tried it in Dutch.

“Bosje,” she corrected me. “Klein (small)!” She used the diminutive, saying something like “little bunch.” Picking up the red blooms she asked, “Een cadeautje?” (Is it a gift?)

“Nee,” I said. No, the flowers were for me, my own home. She would have wrapped them in pretty paper if they were meant for someone else, but instead they get something simple to protect them from the wind on my ride home.

Even in winter flower stalls are open and busy on Amsterdam’s canals, keeping Dutch homes stocked with colorful blooms at all times. A house is not a home without flowers, they say. I’ve fallen for this tradition since it’s an easy way to brighten up our little apartment, and I have a horrible track record of keeping plants alive. At 3 or 4 euros per bosje, how can I resist?

Other things making me happy this week are little tea lights in jars scattered around our apartment, flickering against the dark. And this book of illustrated maps by Lena Corwin. I’ve been coveting this for awhile, and when I admitted it to my sister, she went and bought it for me. I’m such a lucky girl! The book has 20 maps of cities in the US, and 20 worldwide. This has become my new travel checklist, though I hardly need another one. I’ve already been to 19 of the cities, mostly in the US, but that’s not bad out of 40. Antwerp, Copenhagen, Prague, Portland, Denver, and San Francisco all show up in the book, but Amsterdam is mysteriously missing. Perhaps I’ll have to draw my own.

Cologne’s Christmas Markets, and What We Ate There

Tags

beer, christmas, Day Trip, Germany, holidays

We’re back from our visit to the Cologne Christmas markets! Our goals for the trip were: eating, drinking, and feeling festive, and I think we really knocked ’em outta the park.

First, a few words on Cologne, or Köln. The city was pretty much decimated during WWII, and was rebuilt in the nouveau concrete style. Miraculously the giant Cologne Cathedral was hit but didn’t collapse in the air raids, and is now the rightful pride and joy of the city. It’s massive. Coming out of the main train station a traveler is likely to run smack into the back of another traveler. Then they’ll see the looming cathedral in front of them and stop in awe, causing the next traveler to repeat the same smack. It stops you in your tracks, towering above the city in Gothic glory.

The second thing Köln is known for is its local beer, Kölsch. It’s clear, bright, and hoppy, but not as bitter as a regular lager. It’s also warm-fermented, which is unique. I fell in love with the style from tasting Double Mountain Brewery’s version in Oregon, so it was an exciting moment to try the real thing!

The real reason we came was for the Christmas Markets, of course. The city has over eight, and we made it to a solid five, all of which had a different theme. One was nestled under the Cathedral, one was decorated with Brothers’ Grimm fairy tales, one had elves everywhere, and one was even on a boat! We spent our time wandering, people-watching, sipping drinks, gazing at goodies and eating said goodies.

The best part about a Christmas market are the warm drinks designed to fend off the cold. Germany’s specialty is glühwein, a hot spiced wine that comes in colorful mugs. You pay a deposit for the mug, so you’re welcome to keep it when you’re done (We came home with two!). All that wine-drinking demands some food, so of course we had to eat a lot. Sausages, poppyseed cake, gingerbread, noodles with sauerkraut, pretzels, candied almonds, and bread were purchased and consumed with glee. My favorite? Hot potato cakes with applesauce.

There’s something about a group of people bundling up and facing the cold to be festive that I love. We string up lights, we brew hot drinks and fry food, we offer our wares to others in a big warm mood of good cheer that has Christmas written all over it. There are sweets to eat, friends to chat with, and presents to buy. It might get dark at 4pm, but we don’t care because we have glühwein in our mugs and twinkling lights up everywhere.

How to Make Tiny Stars

Tags

christmas, holidays

My Christmas decorations are simple this year, since we don’t have much around. Funny how I didn’t want to pack a whole box of ornaments and lights… But I did buy a tiny tree at the market, and I decorated it with a string of paper stars. I love how delicate and simple they look on the tree. Luckily enough, I wrote up my first ever how-to so you can make your own, if you’re so inclined! You can find it here, on my friend Tatiana’s blog.

Tatiana and I survived college together, and now she makes her home and a lot of other awesome stuff in Austin, Texas. Also, she has chickens, which is pretty cool. She was kind enough to ask for a guest post from me, so check out my First Ever How-To on her clever and informative blog, and then stay tuned to it for even more awesome stuff from her.

Tomorrow we’re getting out of the city–and country! We’re taking a train to Cologne, Germany, for a taste of the famous Christmas markets. I’m so excited! Germany does festive Christmas right. So many of our American traditions came from there, like gingerbread, nutcrackers, the song Silent Night, and even the Christmas tree itself (hello, O Tannenbaum). Nothing beats wandering through markets of handmade goods while your chilly fingers wrap around a mug of spiced wine.

Also, pretzels. Enough said.

I’ll be back on Sunday to regale you with all the things I wanted to buy but didn’t, and all the things I wanted to eat, and did. Until then, make some stars!