Amsterdam, The Layover: A Three Day Itinerary, Pt. 2

Latte and breakfast ‘tosti’ at Frederix Roastery X Coffee Bar. Frederiksplein, De Weteringschans, Amsterdam.

Morning: Rijksmuseum

Better rested than the previous day, we started our second day in Amsterdam bright and early with museum visits on the agenda. First, though, we set out to eat. Foregoing a heavy, sit-down breakfast, we opted for a quick bite at nearby Frederix Roastery X Coffee bar. Not only was it waistline-friendly, we often find a simple breakfast of coffee and a pastry saves time and helps prevent midmorning sleepiness. With coffee roasted in-house, homemade baked goods, and an airy interior layout, Frederix was a win by all counts.

Frederix Roastery X Coffee Bar on Frederiksplein, De Weteringschans, Amsterdam.

Facade of the Rijksmuseum on Museumstraat, Museumkwartier, Amsterdam.

Still life in the typically opulent Flemish style. Festoon of Fruit and Flowers by Jan Davidsz. de Heem. Rijksmuseum, Museumstraat, Museumkwartier, Amsterdam. — Still life in the typically opulent Flemish style. *Festoon of Fruit and Flowers* by Jan Davidsz. de Heem. Rijksmuseum, Museumstraat, Museumkwartier, Amsterdam.

Next, we headed to the Rijksmuseum to inundate ourselves with all things Flemish. Online booking for an early time-slot allowed us to beat the crowds and have fast-tracked entry; I’d recommend starting at the museum sometime before 10 a.m. Several of the more popular paintings—like Rembrandt’s The Night Watch—draw big crowds, and a late start may leave you hopping up and down to sneak a peak. If you’re new to Flemish (roughly, Dutch) art, don’t fear gallery after gallery of religious triptychs featuring saints with palms open, eyes toward the heavens. Instead, expect jovial peasants scenes, wide-sweeping landscapes, revealing portraiture, and lavish still life. Personal favourites included Willem Heda’s Still Life with a Gilded Beer and Frans Hals’s ‘Merry Drinker’ (somebody was craving a beer!), but don’t miss Johannes Vermeer’s The Milkmaid, arguably second in his collected works to only Girl with a Pearl Earring.

Atrium of the Rijksmuseum. Museumstraat, Museumkwartier, Amsterdam.

Bikers and pedesterians at Museumplein, Museumkwartier, Amsterdam.

Leaving the Rijksmuseum via the southwest entrance, we headed toward Museumplein for a hot dog lunch. In hindsight, more research would’ve served us well as the Rijksmuseum’s restaurant boasts a Michelin star. (Not that the hot dog was unpalatable—quite the opposite actually.) Here, you’ll find the I Amsterdam letters (get your selfie sticks out), a large pond with tulip features, and a wide grassy area for sunbathing in addition to several of the city’s other museums. With a half hour for photos, we were just in time for our booked admittance to the Van Gogh Museum.

People posing on the I Amsterdam letters. Hobbemastraat, Museumkwartier, Amsterdam.

Tulips outside the Rijksmuseum at Museumplein, Museumkwartier, Amsterdam.

Afternoon: Van Gogh Museum + Canal Cruise

Exterior of the Van Gogh Museum, Museumplein, Amsterdam.

It seems cruel that nearly 100 years after Vincent Van Gogh left the Rijksmuseum discouraged by his abilities, the eponymous Van Gogh Museum (1973) was erected a hop, skip, and a jump away. Housing the world’s largest collection of works by the artist, the museum’s a literal crowd pleaser hosting more than 1.5 million visitors per year. Despite that, for us the museum never felt crowded; you could take your time, and really get a good look at the paintings. The museum houses a wide variety of his work, from brooding self-portraits to saturated still life to drab peasant studies like The Potato Eaters, which Van Gogh deemed his best work for a period of time. Beyond art, we found interpretive panels and displayed correspondence gave fascinating insight into the artist’s personal life. Be sure to book in advance, as tickets are exclusively sold online and sell-out regularly.

Gluttons for punishment that we are, after a day of walking around we decided to walk a little more and head to the Jordaan neighbourhood for a beer. Instead, we got stopped along the way by some convivial (it’s a national value—gezelligheid—who knew?) and enterprising Dutch who offered us an intimate and fun fact-filled tour of the canals on board the Vording, one of several boats owned by the small cruise company Booot. I’m not ashamed to say my first beer in Amsterdam was a Heineken enjoyed aboard one of the most touristy-of-tourist activities in the city—it was fantastic, if a little chilly in the early spring air (though they have blankets!). We learned so much about the city, from why certain buildings in Old Amsterdam are painted black (black-plague affected houses had to do so), to how goods and spices were loaded through top story windows historically (as well as furniture today). There was a ton of laughter on our boat, and I’ll say we didn’t look quite so sombre as passersby with other tour companies wearing headphones. Highly recommend as a rest-up for weary travellers.

View of a Lovers Canal Cruise boat in Amsterdam. We alternatively choose the small company Booot.

View of the iconic ‘seven bridges’ from a canal cruising boat, Reguliersgracht, Amsterdam. Tip: set your camera to sport mode so you can snap this classic pic on the trip by.

Evening: Bruin Café + Magere Brug

Beer at Café Chris, Bloemstraat, Jordaan, Amsterdam.

It’s a sombre rule of travel that one local beer should be followed by another (or at least it should be, imho), so we continued on to our brown café of choice, Café Chris. (Remember, I’d been craving that amber nectar since the Rijksmuseum.) Brown cafés are simply pubs, with dark-wood panelling rumoured to be made darker by centuries of smoking. Established in 1624 to wet the local construction crew’s whistles, we choose Café Chris because its pedigree fit a couple of unleashed Canadians. One Amstel later (or two, who’s counting?), and we were ready to hit the town for some cheese.

Interior of Café Chris, dated to 1624, Bloemstraat, Jordaan, Amsterdam.

Yes, I said cheese. The Netherlands is the home of Gouda, and salt and fat, as any civilized drinker will tell you, are the logical chasers for beer—hence, peanuts. But cubed, aged cheese, laced with cumin or no, is so much better, especially when served in near biblical proportions like at Haesje Claes. We followed that up with stamppot (a mixture of mashed potato and veggies) topped with bacon and sausage, and a candied duck-leg served with sauerkraut, and left feeling gorged by grootmoeder.

Of the two options to deal with a protruding stomach post-meal—lay down or go for a walk—we decided the latter was preferable (I’m not sure what the waitress would’ve done if I’d laid prone in the restaurant). Our last stop for the evening was to take in Magere Brug (the ‘Skinny Bridge’, see photo in header) lit up at night. Legend has it that two skinny sisters built the bridge so they could see each other more easily, rather than head the long way round to an alternate bridge. Twinkling in the twilight, it was the perfect end to our second day.

Goede nacht!