Amsterdam Food Tour

 The Food tour began at the statue of Anne Frank near Westerkerk Church. It was easy to find the church, but the statue was only tiny. Luckily, the guide carried an orange umbrella.

The statue was very unassuming, but tells an amazing story.

Our first food stop was for Poffertjes. Apparently they give off a little puff when they are turned over.

This is a poffertjes pan. The poffertjes are made with buckwheat flour and are served with powdered sugar and syrup. Deb and I had café americano, but some of the group had Dutch coffee with eggnog and cream

The huge vase was at the entrance to Pancakes Amsterdam.

A very short walk took us to Anne Frank House. We did not go in, but it was a thrill just to stand there.

The crooked houses do have an explanation. Amsterdam is built on a lake-bed. Every building had to be supported by pilons of at least thirty feet so that they went through the peat bog to reach at least one layer of more solid sand. Taller buildings had to have pilons that were even deeper.

Originally, the pilons were made of imported oak and the oak did not deteriorate for hundreds of years, as long as they were under water. Recently, however the water level has fallen so that the tops of the pilons are exposed to air and have begun to rot. Many Amsterdam homes are leaning at odd angles. Because they are built side by side, some can support each other, but there is a potential catastrophe in the works.

Beer and wine was available.

This is a normal dutch meal. There are mashed potatoes with carrots served with gravy. On the side are bitterballen and sausage.

Our next stop was a tasting of absinthe and dutch gin. Absinthe is similar to a very strong scotch whiskey. It burns. Dutch gin is surprisingly sweet.

Much of the food culture in the Netherlands comes from Indonesia. Indonesia was once an Dutch colony and many Indonesions emigrated to the Netherlands. Our next treat was a chicken satay with peanut sauce. It was too sweet for Debby.

For dessert, we had dutch apple pie with whipped cream. It was nowhere near as sweet as the satay. Deb just inhaled it.

A canal boat

I liked the deer on the top of these buildings.

Someone borrowed my camera.

Another canal boat.

There were many houseboats along the canals.

We have booked a canal tour with this company tomorrow.

I loved the bike with a carrier shaped like a wooden shoe. These are rentals.