A Day on the Streets of Amsterdam. 10/26/2019

Greetings from Amsterdam –

Our journey is nearing an end – but not quite.

Today (Saturday) we headed to the Saturday Market at the Noordermarkt (“Northern Market”) in a square in the Jordaan neighborhood (one of the wealthy areas of the city), and adjacent to a large church (Westerchurch, I think or maybe it’s Noorderkerk). En route we stopped at a very cute little café for a simple breakfast (pastries with coffee for Carol and a great green juice for me). Apparently this market dates all the way back to the 17^th Century. From what I read, during WWII, the organizers of the famous February Strike held their first meetings at Noordermarkt Square to protest deportations of Jews by the Nazis. There is a plaque at the church commemorating this activity. The market includes mouth-watering pastries and breads, fruits, cheeses, meats, and also interesting trinkets, fabrics, and handmade goods (again, many expressing the country’s interest in recycling and reusing materials). We saw bags made out of old military tents and things made out of old wool suits.

From there we strolled the Joordan and criss-crossed dozens of canals. Today was our shopping day so we strolled the famous “nine streets” – a series of small streets lines with somewhat quirky and eclectic shops and cafes that straddle the city’s grand canal. It’s known to locals as De Negen Straatjes or ‘The Nine Streets.’ It’s got lots of vintage and designer shops. We did help the Dutch economy a bit, but frankly we were pretty restrained. Although Carol accomplished her goal of finding a unique pair of eyeglasses (very chic!) and I also accomplished my goal of switching from a shoulder bag to a very sharp cross-body bag. We’ll see if I can get used to the switch. I know it will be better for my back.

We then headed to see some of the almshouses — Almshouses–collections of small apartments around a central courtyard that generally has a well-tended garden. The one we went to has a single gate and was tucked away behind a street façade within the center of the city. The earliest of these ‘hofjes’ was built in the 13th century. I believe this is a very Dutch housing and community type. Most were built in later centuries and were set up as housing for singles and very low income or destitute Dutch people. Wealthy Amsterdammers built them for elderly widows who could live there for free in the last years of their life. Now, they seem to house students and artists. They are like peaceful oasis in the middle of the city.. small in scale overpowered to some extent by the robust gardens. There are signs that say they welcome people visiting but to “keep the peace” of the community. The one we visited had about 12 small units surrounding the courtyard. The houses were each two stories. Some were built by Catholics and “rented” only to poor Catholics. Great solution for contemporary homelessness.

En route to the almshouses we stopped for a wonderful salad and pasta. After more strolling in the nine streets and beyond – we headed back to the hotel for me to be in time for a client conference call, and then headed to dinner.

Tonight we ate at Floreyn (considered “modern Dutch”) – quite wonderful. Started with a great steak tartare (shared), followed by haddock (for Carol) and veal (for me).. and then we succumbed to wonderful desserts —  “deconstructed pies” – strawberry for Carol – with watermelon slivers goat yogurt and watercress; deconstructed apple pie for me with ground almond, citrus, and cinnamon ice cream.

Following our very over-indulgent day, it started to rain and we hopped in a taxi to the hotel. Tomorrow we will head to the “kinder-dijk” – about a two-hour trip by train and “waterbus.”

Again- hope you’re all safe and sound and far from the fires.

All the best

Fern