Amsterdam: Extended

Posted by Lauren

Our backpacks are packed and we are en route to Brussels!

During the bus ride I am going to breeze through our last day in Amsterdam. To read about our first two days, check out these posts:

- Amsterdam: Beginnings
- Amsterdam: Continuation

So… We left off with a delightful, traditional Dutch pancake breakfast and the return of our 10€/day bike rentals. As I mentioned, we ended up going to a handful of places recommended by my dorm-pal, Sean.

Hi, Sean! (Halloween pic!) Hope you’re enjoying Barcelona…. Thanks for the expert suggestions!

First stop: Brouwerijr ‘t IJ

“Brouwerij ’t IJ was founded by Kaspar Peterson in a squatted building beside the river IJ in 1983. In 1985, he moved the brewery to “Funen”, an empty building that had once been a public bathhouse. It’s still there today. All Brouwerij ’t IJ’s 300,000 litres of beer is brewed here… The Natte, Zatte, Columbus and Struis are 100% organic. All the brewery’s beers are top fermented and brewed with traditional craftsmanship.” (Website)

….and being a windmill’s next door neighbor is pretty darn cool!

“The walls of the tasting room are covered by what is one of the largest collections of beer bottles in Europe. This collection belongs to Gijs de Graaff, who has displayed most of his bottles in the tasting room for years.” (Website)

Sadly, we were about 2 hours early for the brewery tour and we decided not to wait. However, we ordered their beer sampler and were able to try five top-notch beers. Ywit (#4) was my favorite!

Second stop: IJscuypje

With about six locations in Amsterdam, IJscuypje (which I have NO idea how to pronounce) is one of the only places that serves authentic Dutch ice cream. What’s the difference? Oh, you know, full-fat cream :) Rich. Creamy. Soft.

I was dead set on two scoops – speculaas and pistache – but they were out. In fact, almost 90% of the available favors were off-the-menu. The long line behind me put extra pressure to decide fast. I chose a scoop of mocha and Kyle picked cherry-yoghurt. I’ll admit he made the better pick again.

Mine was great, but his was amazingly different.

We roamed the streets for a while and stopped inside the Roman Catholic De Krijtberg church… Gorgeous.

Third stop: Café de Jaren

Here is a view of the restaurant from across the river. We sat upstairs, outside. I drank another strong koffie, while he sipped on a Belgian beer recommended by our waitress.

Sean’s work apartment was just a few steps away from this place, so he came here a few times…

It was the perfect spot to rest, read, and people watch.

“Boat watching” was also very entertaining!

We fueled up with a giant make-your-own salad, pistousoep, and spaghetti with veal meatballs.

We continued to wander through the canals back to our airbnb spot. (Did I mention we are using airbnb for Amsterdam, Brussels, and Bruge? Successful so far!) After reading trip advisor’s Brussels recommendations I’m very eager for the next leg of our trip!

So long, ‘stam.

-Lauren