MAHALO (thank you in Hawaiian) to all of you who gave me tips on what to do, see, and eat while my boyfriend and I were in Amsterdam! It rained for the better part of our weekend stay, but we still had a wonderful time. We just took it easy, seeing the city on foot. The only plans I had for our stay in Amsterdam were visits to vintage stores and specific restaurants, naturally.
We have both been to Amsterdam before and I've done all the major museums (I'm a museum nut), so this time it was all about taking it easy.
On our first evening in Amsterdam, we ate Dutch food on the first night at
Restaurant Greetje. It was beautifully presented traditional Dutch food (and lots of it!) for a good price.I picked out my blue floral 1950's Mode 'O Day dress I got from
Fiffis Vintage for our first dinner out in Amsterdam.
The next morning, we strapped on our rain boots and headed out into the damp Amsterdam morning on a pancake mission.
Here I am, pleased as punch with our apple pancake topped with cinnamon ice cream and whipped cream from
The Pancake Bakery. So delicious!
Once we were filled to the brim with pancakes, we walked up and down the
Negen Straatjes (
Nine Little Streets), an area that came highly recommended by a few of you. Located in Amsterdam's 17th-century canal belt, the Nine Streets are known for their charming, unique boutiques. Not surprisingly, this is the area with some great vintage shopping!
I checked out a few, but the best was
Laura Dols. The store is full of vintage goodies! Super cute day dresses, purses and accessories, and an entire basement of ball gowns.
Purses galore!
Of course I didn't go home empty handed. I found this shell purse! I think it will be just perfect with my vintage Hawaiian dresses, maybe one of my Alfred Shaheens.
And speaking of Shaheens, I found this at another vintage shop on the Nine Streets:
An Alfred Shaheen dress! In Amsterdam! And it was pretty cheap!! First I almost screamed with joy.
And then I saw it was waaaayyy too small for me. And then I saw that someone had chopped it down to be a mini dress. And then I almost shed a tear. UGH. What a tragedy. Anyway, Hawaiian dress butchery aside, it was a great way to spend a lazy, drizzly afternoon.
That night we went out for Indonesian food, more specifically a rijstafel (rice table) at
Sampurna, right by the flower markets. If you've never tried Indonesian food, this is the way to go! A rice table consists of many small dishes to accompany rice. If you love Asian food, the Indonesian rice table will not disappoint! I only wish they had this in Sweden.
Later that night we had some beers and bitterballen at Leidseplein. Bitterballen are crunchy fried balls filled with meat and some kind of sauce. You dip them in mustard. Quite uniquely Dutch. It works with beer, though, and I guess that's the entire point!
This bar was decorated with vintage Heineken beer signs. I love it!
This was the first time I'd been in Amsterdam in rainy weather. People say that it rains quite often in the Netherlands, so perhaps we got a more authentic experience this time. Regardless, rain or shine, Amsterdam is hands down one of my favorite cities.
