VIJF FOTOS-Amsterdam Day 7

After a late-night out, we enjoyed sleeping in. With the weather forecast improving as the day progressed we opted to check out a few of Amsterdam's parks.

On the way we stopped by the Westerkerk, the Dutch Reform Church where Rembrsndt was buried. Rembrandt died a pauper, and eventually his remains were removed and destroyed which was customary for the treatment of the poor.

We noticed the memorial plaque as well as the magnificent organ with biblical stories painted on adjacent panels.

After leaving the church we took a tram to Rembrandt Park. It was nice to be in green space. Our guide the other day remarked that Amsterdam needed extra intentionality to create parks given its below sea level elevation. It was fun to walk by the petting zoo and a rather bizarre green ceramic statue. We tried looking it up, and we still don't have a good sense about it. It appeared to be vandalized, and we found a reference that the city created a rule for the commission of this work that if it was vandalized that the ceramic will be replaced by bronze as a tangible sign of vandalism and transformation.

Before we traveled to the next park, we enjoyed lunch by a canal. It was fun to watch the people, particularly children accompanied by their parents as they left school by bike or walking. The equivalent of the Good Humor Man was strategically parked with his ice cream cart joined by a long line of children ready to sample his wares. It reminded me of living in Connecticut when I was young and getting ice cream after swimming lessons.

Vondel Park was very pretty with a great rose garden. The park is named after a Dutch playwright and poet.

As we made our way back to the flat, I stopped at La Tertulia, a kaffee shop that my son recommended, to purchase another space cake. I do admit that I have missed the opportunity to sample cannabis edibles. They were labeled in a range from beginner to advanced plus. I chose the latter, and I have sampled about half of a peanut butter space cake. If I remember, I'll let you know how that goes. 😏

We ended the evening with a traditional Indonesian Rice Table (Rijtstaffel) meal. Rijstaffel is not actually an Indonesian meal. Instead, it days back to the period of Dutch colonization over what is now Indonesia (1602-1942), when the Dutch East India Company traded in the natural resources of the Spice Islands.

The eighteen dishes were all colors of the rainbow and arranged from mild to spicy. We enjoyed the choices, and we finished the meal with mango ice cream garnished with lingon berries and accompanied by spice cake.

It was another fun day in Amsterdam. We are grateful for our time here.Read more