Welcome to the Good Times How Much For Your Wings? |
19th July 2011 |
We woke ridiculously early for someone who had crawled into bed so late. After only six hours sleep we were both not totally wide-awake but awake nonetheless. With free wi-fi access to the internet we spent the morning searching for breakfast, googling "best Dutch pancake House in Amsterdam". Of the several suggetions that returned we settled on Sara's Pancake House on Raadhuisstraat. It was a good distance away but in the area we wanted to explore today.
With a great view overlooking the Damrak from our hotel window we could see clear blue skies brightening our day. So at 10am we left Hotel CC and headed West across the city.
Our route took us along the back of the Royal Palace of Amsterdam where up on it's roof was Atlas with the world on his shoulders. We crossed the road to the striking neo-gothic Magna Plaza, a former Post Office of all things and now a shopping centre. The Raadhuisstraat street began here heading out of town. Amsterdam's wonderful onion skin canal planning meant we crossed Singel and then Herengracht canals in quick succession. Sara's Pancake House was just on the left in the midst budget hotels and bars. It was a popular place with most tables already taken so we decided to sit outside and watch the world go by. That may sound quite idyllic, sitting outside a pavement cafe people watching but the truth was we mostly watched the heavy traffic trundle past. Raadhuisstraat was one of the key roads cutting across the canal rings. It felt like an age before anyone came to take our order. Eventually a surly waitress appeared with the menus and then disappeared again.
We had plenty of time to choose, change our minds, then revert back to what we originally fancied in the first place by the time she returned to take our order. Julie often confuses people by going off menu and requesting modifications to what's on offer. Today however she completely threw the waitress by simply asking for something in the wrong order. "I'd like the Sugar & Lemon pancake" she asked. The waitress looked at Julie as if she had asked for kangaroo testicles and was thinking "that's not on the menu?" before working it out and saying "Ah, yes, the Lemon & Sugar. OK"
I opted for the delicious sounding banana and blueberry and to avoid any confusion I pointed with exaggerated fingers to the menu. Another long wait passed before she returned with our pancakes. They looked great on the plate and tasted really scrumptious but they were cold. Well, they weren't even cold. They were that tepid in between temperature with some parts almost reaching luke warm and others decidedly stone cold. Best pancakes in Amsterdam? They could have been but they weren't.
With breakfast over and done with, we began to think about where to have supper. We walked around the block, down Herengracht canal and across Hartenstraat and Reestrat to find an Italian Fine Dining restaurant called Bussia. The menu looked spectacular if a little expensive. Although at one end of the scale we could have had a bowl of Spinach Gnocchi in a watercress and Scamorza sauce for just €16, or at the opposite end you could have their 6 course dinner with a selection of wine for €100 per person. We also passed the bar and cafe of the Pulitzer Hotel. Julie and I reminisced fondly about the delicious breakfasts we enjoyed there when we stayed in 2004. We followed the Prisengracht canal until we reached the Westerkerk. On the whole it wasn't a particularly pretty Protestant church but it had a few notable embellishments. Its spire was topped by an incredibly ornate Imperial Crown of Maximillian I. In addition to being the head of the Hapsburg House of Austria he also held the title of Holy Roman Emperor, a role bestowed by the Pope as a protector of the catholic church. How it ever found itself crowning a protestant church I don't know? The 85 metre tower also proudly displayed the city's coat of arms, the triple X symbol, not representing Amsterdam's sex industry but the cross of St. Andrew who was crucified on a diagonal cross. Whilst the rest of the exterior wasn't anything to get excited about the inside was even less stimulating. The austere interior was intentional as not to distract the faithful from their worship. Again there were one or two objects bringing some life to the otherwise stark white washed walls. The pipe organ with its painted shutters and the golden candelabras were a much need distraction. A small plaque on the wall commemorates the fact that Rembrandt's final resting place is reputedly in the Westerkerk, although they freely admit that his actual burial place has not been discovered. It's in here somewhere amongst all the other paupers. He ended his days a sad and penniless artist having outlived his son Titus who is also buried here. Moving on we continued along Prisengracht past a very very long queue waiting to get into Anne Frank's House. Julie and I had visited here on our last visit and practically had the place to ourselves so we had no real desire to join the back of the queue. We couldn't imagine how busy it would be inside the small hideout.
Another recollection of our previous visit was a cafe called Spanjer & Van Twist where we enjoyed our food so much we went back the following night. Memories of their goat cheese and red pepper lasagne were drawing us back again to have a look at their menu. We found it quite easily along Leliegracht, a canal cutting across the rings. Their menu, written on a chalk board outside, was all double Dutch to us. So we reached for our iPhone and used google translate to work out some of the dishes. Doperwtensoep was pea soup and the Raviloi gevuld met Aubergine en Blauwe Kaas was ravioli filled with aubergine and blue cheese. We were very tempted to have lunch here but having eaten only an hour ago we couldn't possibly fit in another meal. It was a "definite maybe" for tonight though. The cafe had tables outside overlooking the Leliegracht canal so we stayed a while and had a coffee.
It was a nice spot, peaceful and relaxing, watching graceful swans and a few plastic carrier bags float past. To be fair it was the first bit of litter we had noticed in the canals. Equally chilled and caffined up we made our way back crossing the inner rings towards the centrum.
Along the way we debated whether or not we should find a coffeeshop and partake in some smoking. Despite my pothead looks I'm not a big fan of the stuff but with legislation already in place for next year to force all coffeeshops to become member only clubs with only Dutch residents eligible to join then it was now or never. With our minds made up we walked down Warmoesstraat on the lookout for an inviting den.
The one that caught our fancy was called The Greenhouse Effect. It drew our attention because it offered healthy fruit juices with your smoke. We nervously walked in, not really knowing the protocol. Julie sat down at a table as I walked down the juice bar at the end of this very narrow room. It felt like I was walking down the length of a train carriage. The barman/dealer asked me what I would like. "Something mellow" I asked not wanting to over do it. "Hash or Marijuanha?" he then asked. I didn't know there was a bloody difference other than demographics but I said "Hash" without hesitation. Behind him was a rack full of pre-rolled joints, all with wonderful names like Lemon Haze, White Widow and Temple Balls. "How'sh 'bout de Polm" he recommended. I didn't have a clue what the hell he said and looked at him as if he had just said "Flippety floppety floo" I hesitated and went "Umm ..... which one's the best?" "The Shooper Aphgan. It'sh good." "Yeah, that sounds great and can I have an orange juice with that, oh and a lighter." He reached for the Super Afghan pre-rolled, mixed with tobacco and safely protected inside a plastic tube. It was great value at only €3. I sat back down and lit up. As I inhaled for the first time a Gil Scott-Heron song began to play. "You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out.... the Revolution will not be televised" My ears pricked up as the lyrics of this powerful political song were recited (rather than sung) over hand bashed bongo rhythms. Gil Scott Heron died in May aged 62. I had never heard of him before until then when a friend from work introduced me to his music. I handed Julie the perfectly rolled reefer and she had a puff. We giggled like naughty children. I then handed her the camera to capture the experience on film so to speak. I sucked in deeply again, getting a great red glow at the end of my joint for the shot. Julie took the photo but when we looked at the preview screen it was well out of focus. "I'll take another one" she said. Another deep breath, another classic burning glow, another fuzzy photo. "Just one more" she said. That one didn't turn out right either. Finally at the fourth attempt we had the photo in the bag. By the time Gil Scott Heron had just finished the second song on his Greatest Hits album I had smoked half the joint (and that's the fat half). Julie had blown a few smoke signals and felt fine. I'd been sucking on the damn thing as if I was trying to finish a thick milkshake bit I also felt fine. Then out of nowhere a blistering heat wave suddenly hit me. My internal thermostat was all messed up and I was in meltdown, sweating severely. "Is it hot in here?" I asked. I was perspiring profusely from every pore, especially my head. I took my jacket off but it didn't really make a difference. I put out the joint, I'd had enough. "You OK?" asked a concerned Julie struggling to contain her laughter. "No wonder they call this the fucking Greenhouse." I moaned which made us laugh out loud even more. The sweat was now dripping off the end of my nose onto the table. I could feel it trickling down my chest as I sat hunched over with my elbows on the table supporting my head which had suddenly decided to feel very heavy. "Maybe we should go back to the room" suggested Julie. Despite my exaggerated perspiration and increasingly detached body I felt quite in control of my mind. In fact I was very clear and perfectly coherent when I said "I don't think I can move my legs". I felt completely anaesthetised. I'm sure I could have stuck pins in my legs without flinching. We both struggled between the hilarity and seriousness of the situation. (That's happened once before after I got dehydrated in a sauna and my face cramped. I tried to speak but I couldn't move my mouth. Julie couldn't stop laughing despite worrying I was going to have a heart attack.) I noticed that the comfy pew near the open window had just become free. I was determined to take the few steps over to it to catch any cool breeze that wafted in.
I stood up; Julie took my coat and carried the drinks. I just had to carry myself. I took one step, swallowed hard and shuffled across the room like a thunderbird puppet, accompanied by song no. 8, Pieces of a Man. Safely propped up against the funky fabric wall I soon cooled down and slipped deep into my own thoughts about the meaning of life, love and Gil Scott-Heron. What does it all mean?
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