Our First Visitor

As we said goodbye to our first visitor on Wednesday morning, we were once again reminded how enjoyable it is to spend quality time with good friends. Corrie Chow, a friend of ours from Vancouver, was making a trip to the UK for a month so we invited her to start her travels in Holland and stay with us for a few days. With the cooperation of some warm sunny weather, we took advantage of joining Corrie as tourists in our own city.

Zandvoort aan Zee & Haarlem

Given our new tradition of venturing outside A'dam on the weekends, on Sunday the three of us took the train west of the city and stopped and visited two different spots: Zandvoort aan Zee and Haarlem. Zandvoort aan Zee is considered one of Holland's largest beach resorts and is littered with tacky hotels, restaurants, beach huts and tanning chairs. It was quite windy during our visit, which meant for watching some impressive kite-surfing, but other than that, a stroll along the boardwalk was enough to get our fill.

Our next stop was Haarlem, a lovely town not more than 15 minutes by train from A'dam. Even though it was a Sunday, the town square was filled with locals who were shopping and sitting at outdoor cafes. We decided it was best to fit right in, so we positioned ourselves outside the Grand-Cafe Brinkmann and enjoyed a few afternoon beverages of our own. The sun was shining, church bells ringing, and we sat for a few hours enjoying this European pastime we have come to love.

City Touring

For Corrie and me, Monday and Tuesday were spent bicycling and picnicking in Vondelpark, visiting the Anne Frank Museum, and walking along the city's many canals and cobblestone streets. I know this is becoming a theme but another highlight was an afternoon we spent in the Jordaan neighbourhood, sitting at an outdoor cafe in the sun, sipping lattes, eating fresh sandwiches and people watching. Again, we just couldn't stop ourselves from succumbing to European culture and lifestyle.

Ethiopian Food & Dutch Pancakes

A trip to Amsterdam wouldn't have been complete without Corrie trying some of the extensive ethnic cuisine we have here. After our incredibly stressful afternoons sitting at outdoor cafes, what better way to top off an evening in Holland then by eating Ethiopian food! The little hole in the wall restaurant we found near our flat emanated wonderful African spices and could easily be described as gezellig (popular Dutch word for "cozy atmosphere"). Ethiopian beer drank from hollow coconut shells accompanied our feast of mutton, beef and pumpkin, which had been simmering in a myriad of spices throughout the day. Since Ethiopian cuisine encourages the use of using hands only to eat, small pieces of injera (Ethiopian flat bread) helped us devour our delicious meal.

What taste buds we couldn't satisfy during our Ethiopian meal, we made up for on Corrie's last night with us when we opted to eat pannenkoeken (Dutch pancakes) for dinner. Light and fluffy, one pancake took up the entire plate and was topped with whatever ingredients your little heart desired - savoury or sweet. It was the perfect ending to a lovely visit.

Given the good food, good fun and good conversation we had with Corrie over the last few days, we can only hope this is the first of many visitors to come...

*Credit goes to Corrie for providing a few of these pictures.