let's discuss pancakes. dutch apple pancakes. that are like giant crepes on a plate. with baked in apples. surprisingly light and not sweet. almost doughy. good. my favorite part of the experience was sharing a table with a young dutch woman who ordered mint tea and a vegetable pancake which she delicately nibbled as she read outlanders and checked her iphone. i stared at her pancake trying to mentally project my desire for a taste onto her mind. she, or rather her pancake, was immune to my curious prying.
the only available table was in the small kitchen service area in front. i enjoyed watching the cute young woman & man bustling around with their plates of pancakes. down the steep staircase in the kitchen another woman was slicing apples and stirring a bowl of dough. the air was fragrant with pancakes.
afterwards i tramped around little streets with tree-lined canals down the middle. napping boats waited to be motored into action. i saw houseboats and bicycles and one white cat with a collar, a man with a guitar slung across his back, a lady with bright red hair and pink sweater, another man washing windows on the 5th floor from the ground using the worlds longest squeege, mounds of hydrangea, tiny ceramic clogs.
i rode my first tram to the central station and bought a bus pass to last a week. then i set about familiarizing myself with the spiderweb of tram routes.
sometime in the afternoon i returned home to rest and contemplate the ornate ceiling. both tasks easily accomplished from a big soft chair in the corner. i opened the window. breezes and soft conversations on the street lulled me to sleep.
soon i will tell you about my trip to haarlem to meet angeline who invited me to her home for lunch today. but dinner is calling and i have an evening of travel journaling and sketching and painting spread out in front of me. the world outside the window beckons.
as always when i blog while traveling, your comments are welcome and appreciated. thanks for taking the time to leave your timely little messages. they do make me smile and occasionally guffaw loudly. i like knowing you're along for the ride.
xo
So much yumminess! The apple pancake is huge! We had a lovely Dutch restaurant that served these lovely things. Sadly, it closed years ago.
Those little cookies are sold at Trader Joe’s and World Market in the USA. I keep a supply on hand always.
If it weren’t for the Dutch financing the American cause, there would not be a United States of America. So thank you Dutch people and Ben Franklin.
have you noticed the poles/hooks at the tops of buildings? A friend who was in amsterdam a few yrs ago said that is how they get furniture in/out of bldg’s due to narrow doors/stairs. she had a picture of one being used. not a fun way to move 🙂 Really enjoying your photo’s/story
I have been over and over the pictures and savoured every scrap.I am unable to travel due to a serious heart problem
So going with you is just such a gift to me as we travel along.You look at all the things I would want to look at and I can feel the warmth and smell the smells almost and see all the things I will never get to see! I enlarge the pictures and look at all the details and then read your words once again and I am almost there!! Thankyou so much….on the trip home what do you see and notice as you return home??The bits in the middle are always a mystery to me. I know they would be interesting through your eyes!!
Hi Mary Ann, I hope you are having a fabulous time in Amsterdam. I was just telling someone the other day that I would love to go to Amsterdam and Paris in the spring when the tulips are blooming…in the meantime I will travel through your eyes. Thanks so much for sharing your journeys in such vivid detail.
I have à free trip to Amsterdam to book and I will follow your footsteps when I go. Thanks for giving me motivation to book this trip. It will only be for a few days but still. I will pick your raisins.
But of what I’ve seen from your previous trips, it’s all about you and how you discover new places. It’s through your eyes magic happens!
Thanks for your gorgeous photos (and nice, big photos to boot!) and for your words that bring your experiences to life. What memories you jogged…after poring over each pic, I’ve decided that I didn’t love Amsterdam enough when we were there in June. It’s one of those must-go-back cities. I hope you enjoy every minute!
Mary Ann! How do you make yourself come home after all of this gorgeousness? ? Your pics are awesome toi! Happy vacation!
Hugs,
Sheila
Mary Ann I’ve been reading your blog for years…with a couple off in the middle so I could be sick. Better now, but especially better when I can read your blog and see your gorgeous journals. Today I want to be with you in Holland.
I love it all. Thanks!
Thank you! Thank you for filling my cube with fresh Dutch air!
Love traveling with you. if only in spirit. Oh, the apple pancake, so reminds me of the ones my mother used to make me. Thank you for sharing.
I remember that everyone had flowers – tiny windowboxes – something by the front door, but flowers omnipresent. That man moving a sofa on a bicycle! Everyone, not just tourists, in bluejeans. Complimentary chocolates served with coffee after a super yummy dinner. The department store with the Bumblebee logo – de Bijenkorf – the first floor featured a very large chocolates department. (Brought home some chocolate/hazelnut things like I’ve never found anywhere else.) Being nearly drowned by a rainstorm on our last day while dragging luggage through the streets. Thanks for taking me back to one of my favorite cities.
hi maryann! i am enjoying your posts from amsterdam. your apartment is simply elegant, or maybe ive said that already. anyway, i am leaving on friday for a trip to eastern europe (ukraine, hungary, slovakia, czech republic, and austria). this is a mission trip with R&R afterward. (i have no qualifications, just love to travel and will do whatever is asked….hopefully no surgery)
i am wondering….have you ever posted remotely from your phone? i just downloaded an app (blogger) to my iPhone so that i can post while i am gone. i am not taking my laptop or iPad, just my camera and iphone.
hoping for good results.
continue to enjoy your trip. will be keeping up with you.
There is a boat on a canal somewhere that hopefully you will stumble upon – full of cats, a shelter of sorts. Let’s see if a super sleuth can find it…
Thank you, girl reporter, for keeping us up with your perceptions. I like the stream of consciousness approach of discovery. Amsterdam has this reputation for being ‘sodom and gomorrah with canals’ and that is so far from the truth – it really is such a very urbane, cozy, quaint, comfortable, quiet city. You are doing a great job!
I, too, remember the lace curtains……….
We made a brief visit to Amsterdam in 1985. We ate Dutch pancakes with apples. 🙂 The other thing I remember eating was rijstaffel (sp?). Indonesian, with rice, and a whole bunch of different dishes. Mmmmmmm……..
Thanks for taking us along with you! I know you won’t forget to show us your bedroom, kitchen, bath…………. 🙂
Forgot to mention above…I remember how everyone had those beautiful white lace curtains and totally love that look.
Such a fabulous place to visit. I am now longing to make a return trip.
Aaah, Amsterdam, bicycles, pancakes, canals, houseboats, so many of my fav things in that city! Thanks for transporting us with you. Your pictures are so making me lonesome for all of the city’s beauty! Make sure you visit the flower market, as it is a sight to behold! Enjoy the stroopwafels….yum, I’m salivating! 🙂
Do they still sell the itty bitty pancakes…..I remember wonderful booths with lovely bottles of syrups and liquors which could be poured over them???? Your pictures are wonderful….
I’m seeing the little “stroopwafel” next to your coffee. If you have the chance, try to get a ‘real’ one from a stall at some market where they make them fresh. Still warm and huge they are so delicious!
I love seeing the city through your eyes. Thanks for sharing.
How I love your blog! I spent a lot of time in Amsterdam, taking the overnight train from Copenhagen many years ago. Your photos really capture it in all it’s quaintness. Wouldn’t you love to spend time in one of those houseboats? Glad you are enjoying your trip and now I want a pancake so thanks for that – not. LOL
Many thanks for inviting me on your journey..it looks beautiful & as my Grandfather was from Amsterdam I can only imangine what life was like there before the 1900’s .. Have a wonderfjl trip! Denise
Love the klompjes. The name description is just like I picture the sound they would make. Klomp! Klomp! Klomp. The houseboat, pink bike with the name on the saddlebag, dutch pancakes, and oh the ceiling…Thank you for taking me along for the ride.
oohh i am so enjoying your trip, the scenery is spectacular and weather is perfect. i could smell the wonderful dutch apple pancakes as well. What a fun trip. now for some journaling.
I want a Stroopwaffel! Yum! Can’t wait to see your journaling!!
I LOVE Dutch apple pancakes. When you get home, remind me and I’ll send you a great (easy) recipe for them. They are also very very good with just lemon juice and a little powdered sugar (and I add a ton of lemon zest, too, as I love it’s taste). Glad you are figuring out the transport system. That’s never my forte!
XO
PS FIVE DAYS until I leave for Southern Africa!
Love the pancake.
Love (Want!) the houseboat with the skylights and plants!
Love the klompjes.
Love being along for the ride. 🙂
oh how I love the lace curtains!!!!
I so enjoy your writings and art when you travel,you make me feel a part of it. I can feel your excitement and love of seeing the people as they go about their days. Like usual I am enjoying this with you. Go girl and explore.
Oh, I was so set to go to England next year, but this looks divine! I want an apple pancake and a chandeliered medallion ceiling on a canal. And what’s up with those involved house numbers? They are gorgeous, but damn, I’d never remember all those numbers!
I spy Tabasco Sauce in a Dutch Pancake House! YES to putting the Stroopwafel on top of your cup to warm up the lovely gooeyness! Just love those yummy little things…I order them regularly from Amazon for me and my kids. My tiny ceramic clogs have made an appearance on the Christmas tree for MANY years now.
That table by the window and the big red couch look mighty inviting! Love how you roll, thanks for sharing.
I am drooling over these pictures. I will be sharing one of those apple pancake/crepes with you soon my friend, stomach be damned!xo
I’m missing Holland.
well, I’m a big loser! I ask you class video questions while you’re out of town!! In Awesomeville!!
It all worked out.
you weren’t worried?
okay. Apple pancakes to you, then.
I am so happy just to tag along with you. I am having the best time. Thank you!
It’s always entertaining and so inspiring to follow you on your trips! You take such beautiful pictures!
Looking forward to the next posts 🙂
Thank you!
Let’s discuss the stroopwaffel. Unwrap that puppy and lay it carefully on top of your cup, it keeps the heat in and makes the goop inside soft and delectable.
So I want to know more about these pancakes. Do you put butter on them? Whipped cream? In Sweden when I traveled there we put on fruit (you have apples) and whipped cream. Very delicious. You apple pancake looks great too, maybe a little maple syrup?
Trip looks fantastic though-I’m thoroughly jealous.
Stroopwaffel! I saw a little package that said “stroopwaffel.” Over on Ravelry, the knitters’ site, in the group Sock Madness Forever, we firmly believe that stroopwaffels, and, of course, their consumption, are the reason the Norwegian, Swedish and Dutch knitters knit like the wind. They are so fast, they always win our contest.
We are having such an amazing time, aren’t we????!!!!!! one word need only be said at this moment LOVE!!!!!!
You are so fun to read…I’m enjoying your trip!
Happy images, stroopwaffel included!
I think Amsterdam is an ideal city for any traveler, but just right for a solo. Of course, you do have us with you, lurking on corners, and snoozing on that red couch when you’re out!
Ah, good choice: apple pancakes are my favourite! Haarlem is a cool place too, so enjoy your day tomorrow!
Lovely Dam!! i’ve been there several times and still there are lots of things and little secrets to discover :0)
All these wonderful decorated bicycles with colorful flowers, all these smells and tastes…..
You should go and visit Den Haag (about 40 Min. by Train) as well. Greetings from Germany, Corinna
So …. my socially ,recluse clone. I am walking every step with you. The food and how you observe those around you. The scenery is almost too much for me. I am gobbling up every picture and word. I NEED a pair of ” klompjes” . Not kidding.
I anticipate everything you post. How can one be teleported for just an hour or two? Put me on the list, my friend.
It’s wonderful to see Amsterdam through your eyes. I lived there a few years, but I now live in a more quiet part of the Netherlands, Friesland 🙂 Have a wonderful time in our small but beautiful country!!!
I want that pancake, whilst on the roof of that houseboat AND the white cat wearing the collar resting at my feet. BAM! Thanks for the visual vacation…a true treat that makes my day!
Oh Mary Ann,
I don’t even like pancakes but I so want a bite of your beautiful apple pancake. Looks and sounds delish.
I love tagging along on your amazing travels and viewing the world through your eyes and wonderful words. Your words have a way of touching my soul, thank you for sharing yourself with us.
I look forward to your next dispatch.
Hugs,
Catherine
I never actually considered going to Amsterdam before now! It all looks so lovely, so civilized, so sweet. Hugs.
Oh how fondly I remember my trip to Amsterdam so many years ago. I’m glad you’re having better weather than we enjoyed – it poured for the entire time. It can really make a difference to tromping around the streets. I’d love to go back and see it in the sunshine……
I want! I want! I want all of it-the waffles, the pancakes, the croissants, the ribeye. it’s my first time writing, Mary Ann, and I must say, I tune in every day to the blog. I have started making “Imaginary Trips” sketchbooks-just finishing up one to France (money no object, of course). When I saw your sketchbook being created for Amsterdam, I thought that my next imaginary trip will be to Amsterdam, too. So I really feel as though I am traveling with you right now.
I would love to sit in those chairs by the window, too and sketch, paint and dream.
I love that you know how to enjoy your travels by having a place of your own.
It is a life well-lived.
Enjoy yourself!
I’m just sayin’!
Sandy in Dublin, California (San Francisco area)
First of all… yum, yum, yum – to everything, not just the food. Second, I would have to go buy some tracing paper and return to the table where you ate pancakes, and trace all the designs on the tiles. And even though I have absolutely no use for tiny ceramic clogs, they are too cute. Most importantly, I debated giving you (intrepid Girl Detective) an assignment to find out once and for all, just why is a Dutch oven called a Dutch oven. Then I decided I should look it up myself. Then I accidentally found the urban dictionary definition of Dutch oven and had a silly laughing fit. And I went back to looking at your pictures instead. Can’t wait for the next post!
Thank God I’m on this trip with you. I’m a bit over Colorado these days..
*Your photos kick it.
*That bike made me smile and reach for water colors
and copics.
*I made a spiced apple cake last weekend…..what?!?
Tapping my toes waiting for a glimpse of your journal work.
I have a little pair of china clogs just like those that I got when I went to Holland when I was eleven. They have been sat in my jewelry box ever since.
I do enjoy coming along on your travels.
Thank you for letting us tag along on your trips! When I scrolled down to the 2nd photo from the end and I looked out that window, my first thought was how nice it would be to curl up in a chair and nap in the gentle breezes from the open window. And you did!
I love it when you take us away with you! Yummy pancakes, sigh.