It did snow last night, this morning it was quite cold and windy. We all put on more layers to stay warm. As we walked to our morning destination, we spotted two adults having a snowball “fight”.
Today’s main event was a food tour in the Jordaan district – previously a slum, today just the opposite. Our tour guide from Eating Europe was Aileen – she did a great job.
Our first stop was Cafe Hegeraad for coffee and Dutch apple pie.
Next, was Vishhandel (fish market) for raw fermented herring with onion and pickles – yuck, at least I tried it –
followed by battered deep-fried cod – delicious!
Lots of walking today.
As we walked from place to place, Aileen shared local information and history and pointed out things that a person might not ordinarily see like this wire sculpture high on a post at a canal crossing. The artist of Mermaid Bubbles is anonymous.
Anne, Kathy, Cheryl, Amal, me. Not in this picture but part of our group was Jane and Marsha.
At JWO Lekkernijan, we tasted Gouda cheese 3 times, each one aged a bit longer. The final sample was paired quite well with a sweet nutty tidbit.
Then we tried two types of sausage:
Another great story from Aileen as we stood beside what used to be the Lindengracht canal. You can read about the Eel Riot of 1886 here: https://www.24oranges.nl/2016/09/11/the-eel-riots-of-1886-ended-with-26-people-and-1-eel-dead/. What isn’t mentioned in the story is the final punishment for the Eel Riot was filling in the Lindengracht canal. It is now a very wide street with a grassy area in the center.
This is one of many “charity houses” in Amsterdam now converted to apartments. This one was for widows. The entrance leads to an inner courtyard.
Our next stop was Swieti Sranang for a sample of chicken satay, a traditional food from Suriname by way of Indonesia. Suriname and Indonesia were both Dutch colonies. People from Indonesia were sent to Suriname to work as “indentured laborers”.
On to Tom’s Bread and More for stroopwafel:
Our final stop: Cafe ‘t Small.
Another typical Dutch food: bitterballen – a ball of beef gravy with a crumb coating and deep-fried –
and a glass of lemon brandy, traditionally poured into a tulip-shaped glass and filled to the very top forcing the consumer to bend over to take the first sip.
You’d think that would have been enough food for the entire day, but no! After walking more streets to look at shops – including a stop at The Tulip Museum and shop –
and dropping off our purchases at the hotel, we went around the corner to a bakery to pick up something sweet and then had dinner at
Full tummies and tired legs – a good night’s sleep is assured. By the way, this food tour was one of the best I’ve ever done. The price was quite reasonable, the tour lasted almost 4 hours and there were 12 tastings. Aileen was an excellent guide.
arletelouise 