We finally made it to the center of Netherlands. It was raining pretty steadily when we first got up, but a quick check of the weather showed the rain was supposed to let up around 11 and the afternoon was supposed to be pretty good.
The campground is located about 5 minutes walk from a metro stop. We acquired a 4 day metro pass that allows us to use the metro, city busses and trams, so armed with our new passes we headed off to the metro. The stop is the last stop on the line so we saw the train waiting at the station as we walked up, but just as we got to the platform the train pulled away so we were a little disappointed. Fortunately the next train was in 10 minutes and once it arrived we were at the main station for Amsterdam in 20 minutes. The main station is a beautiful structure, and when you exit you are right in the center of the tourist area.
Usually we have a plan for the day, but today we exited the train station without a plan. At first we just wandered thru the old town taking in the sites and watching the people. Even on a cold damp March day there were a lot of people in the old town. We can’t imagine what it would be like in the height of summer.
After a few blocks we decided to give our day a purpose by visiting a brewery we had both read about. Since we have a metro pass I offered to go by tram, but Ton decided she wanted to walk to check out the town. The route took us out of the old town and down to the river following a nice canal system. After a few minutes we had gotten away from the tourist area and the crowds thinned out considerably.
After about 20 minutes we hit the Amstel River and followed it for another 20 minutes. The river was bustling with traffic, and the road next to the river was also pretty busy.
The brewery was easy to find as it had a large windmill attached to it. Just as Ton was questioning my navigation, the windmill came into sight.
We tried a taster tray of beers, and a grilled sausage. The sausage was good and the beer was fair. Ton had one more destination in mind for the day, so after we finished our beers we headed over to the Dappermarkt which is a street market.
The market itself was not that interesting, but we had come for a Dutch specialty called Kibbeling. It is fried cod and is very similar to the fish in fish and chips. We ordered a small portion with tartar sauce and it was more than enough to feed the both of us.
After finishing our meal we decided it was time to head back to the campground as the weather was supposed to go back to rain. This time we took the tram back to the Central Station, and returned to a chilly François just as the rain hit, so we timed it right.
