Friday night was still young and I wanted to check out at least one fine art museum before leaving Amsterdam so I hustled Kat out of our cosy apartment and we hurried to the Southwest museum district. Given the choice between Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh I was more interested in the Van Gogh. The time was approaching 6pm and I was becoming concerned it would close before we got entry while we waited in the coat check line, but another couple in line in front of us let us know that it stayed open late on Friday and weekends so I was able to relax a bit.
We spent about an hour wandering through the multi-floored museum while I read excerpts from Rick Steves' guidebook about the exhibit. Then we grabbed dinner at a nearby pub which was packed, but we managed to steal a table just a family was preparing to leave. Afterward we took a pleasant evening stroll through the Vondelpark which led us back to Liedseplein past the Stadsschouwburg Theater. The square seemed to be hopping with a party-like vibe. We weren't much in a partying mood however so we made our way back to our room to watch some Netflix and drink hot chocolate before turning in for bed.
It was a bit cold in our attic room during the night, but only because we failed to turn on the heater properly. There were also some intermittent sirens and construction sounds that woke us up, but we other than that we had a pleasant night. We asked for breakfast to be served at 9am so we set an alarm to make sure we were up in time. Breakfast was served in the cute little dining area we had to pass through on our way to our room. When we got down stairs it was already set with four place settings and freshly squeezed orange juice. One of our hosts was there ready to take our order and ask how we took our eggs, if we wanted bacon, and whether we would like tea or coffee. There were also fresh croissants, fruits, and cheeses to snack on. It was all very nice and we felt spoiled.
During breakfast the only other resident at the B&B joined us who turned out to be an American from Philadelphia currently working in Germany and taking a short holiday. We had a very nice conversation about travel in general and we were able to even give him some tips on how to spend his limited time in Amsterdam since we had already made the most of ours. Our host joined the conversation as well and was more than happy to point us in the right direction when we asked about Saturday markets.
Our plan for the day was to find some Saturday markets and then maybe take a train trip to Haarlem. The first stop was Noordermarkt in the Jordaan where we found just what we were looking for: an open-air market selling a little bit of everything. We hoped to maybe find some fashion scarves and maybe an interesting piece of art to add to our growing collections. All we found were some cat toys and a warm stroopwafel, but we were happy with our purchases.
After taking our time we headed to the train station to take a short trip to nearby Haarlem, but not before stopping by the Chocolate Co. and getting a couple more hotchocspoons. We had no problem getting our tickets and finding our train since there were so many trains and times to choose from. The train ride was short but pleasant especially with landmarks pointed out by our guidebook along the way. We arrived at the Haarlem train station which we were frequently reminded was the oldest train station in the Netherlands. It was very stylish and I took lots of pictures because I thought Dad might enjoy it as much I did.
We started exploring Haarlem by taking a stroll through a nearby park and taking some time to appreciate the Hannie Schaft monument. Then we took a circuitous route to the main square, Grote Markt, near Grote Kerk. Our luck was with us because there was another Saturday market going on in the middle of the square. Kat stopped long enough get a free hug from a guy giving our free hugs who looked pretty sad that no one wanted any. We kept our eyes peeled for scarves and art but didn't find anything suitable.
Rick Steves suggested checking out the church so we paid the small admission and went in, if nothing else to use the bathrooms at least. Actually we quite admired the beautifully patterned wooden ceiling and the massive pipe organ. After paying our respects at the church we figured it was time to balance things out and go visit Haarlem's tiny red light district. It wasn't very busy at 1 in the afternoon however, although I did enjoy the fancy red tinted old-fashioned lanterns lining the streets.
We found yet another Saturday market going on at Botermarkt, but still no scarves or art of any interest. We were getting a bit peckish and our guidebook mentioned an enticing salad at a nearby cafe so we went to check it out. Unfortunately that wasn't on the lunch menu so we opted for a couple falafels from a market vendor instead. The falafel stand guy was nice and seemed interested when he heard we were from Oregon. It turned out he knew some people from Portland and had spent some time traveling around the United States.
While we ate our falafels we walked to the last site Haarlem had to offer us, a large wooden windmill known as Molen de Adriaan. It was a nice walk along the canal and an pretty impressive looking windmill, but we were too cheap to pay the admission just to go inside. After we had had our fill we headed back to the station and caught the next train back to Amsterdam.
We were both a bit footsore, but before I let Kat go back to the apartment I took her to one last Saturday market at Nieuwmarkt by De Waag. It was a long shot, but we still did not find any scarves or artwork to our liking. Admitting defeat we picked up a baguette to have along with our wine and cheese back at the room.
When we got back one of our hosts was in the kitchen so I asked to borrow a knife and cutting board for our room which she was more than happy to supply. What I failed to tell her was that I had come down the previous evening searching for a cheese knife and only been able to find a small butter knife in one of the cabinets in the breakfast nook. As I passed by the breakfast nook on my way up to the room I noticed our hosts had gotten out their serving wear and one small butter knife was conspicuously missing. I quickly went up stairs, made sure the knife was clean and dry, and then sneaked back downstairs and slipped it back in with the others. Crisis averted!
I prepared a plate of bread and cheeses with wine for us back in the room while we watched the Winter Olympics and rested from our busy day. When it got later I went back out only long enough to get some takeaway at a place called Wok to Walk that had made to order stir fry, while Kat curled up with a blanket on the couch and watched some Downton Abbey. We had our stir-fries and watched TV and had a nice quiet night.
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