24 Hours: Amsterdam (PhFArt Tour Day 1)
Amsterdam: Day one: Terri and Adam’s Philosophy, Food, and Art (PhFArt)Tour 2023.
Accommodations: Mercure Amsterdam North Station
Restaurant(s): De Beren Amsterdam Noord, Bar Saloon or De Saloon,
Highlight(s): Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Duck Store
The taxi driver at the Amsterdam airport was quite surprised when we directed him to the Mercure Amsterdam North Station in Amsterdam-Noord. This should have made me nervous, but I had intentionally booked this hotel because it was new, and in an ‘up and coming’ part of Amsterdam. It was a great decision.
While industrial looking, the area was quite lovely and the hotel was next to the metro station, the last stop on the line, so there was no mistaking which stop to get off at when returning from Amsterdam proper.
The area was quiet, but there were restaurants, bars, a movie theater, and other forms of entertainment within an easy walk of the hotel.
After checking into the hotel, we took the metro to the Centraal station. It was a gray and windy day, intermittently warm as the sun broke through the clouds, and our first impression of Amsterdam wasn’t great. We were tired from the long flight, and simply wanted to keep moving to stay awake and see as much as we could while fighting jet lag.
After awkwardly winding our way through the red light district, we encountered this group of folks dressed up to play what appeared to be quidditch.
We considered renting bikes and touring around this bike-friendly city but we opted not to as it appeared somewhat dangerous. There was a lot of construction, traffic, and many narrow roads which seemed more of a challenge than we wanted given our sleep-deprived state.
We were both surprised with the number of coffee / marijuana shops and the shops that sold edibles and pre-rolls with full window displays. I was tempted to pick up a few rubber ducks (we have a collection in the guest bathroom) at the Amsterdam Duck Stores. Who knew this was a thing? I should have at least taken a picture of the store.
After walking past the Lego store and choosing not to tempt ourselves with the purchase of boxes too large for our luggage, we found some fries with fry sauce that YouTubers and bloggers alike said we must try.
After eating the, we aren’t sure what the hype is all about. The bigger issue is, how is one expected to get the appropriate sauce to fry ratio with this configuration? Pas possible.
After checking the french fries off our bingo card, we hopped on the metro back to our hotel to relax before finding a place for dinner. We chilled with a beer in the lounge which is shared with Tribe Amsterdam City (sister hotel) which was very cool and hip.
The hotel staff recommended De Beren which was a 5 minute walk from the hotel. We were both exhausted but enjoyed the ambience and the food. We talked with the couple (Michelle and Pieter) next to us who gave us a list of places to visit while in Amsterdam. Pieter was Dutch and Michelle was an American from the midwest somewhere. She was so happy to talk to Americans.
After dinner, I hung out in the lounge while Adam talked to his girlfriend back in California. This was the view from the lounge; it was so convenient to be so close to the bus and metro station. We managed to stay awake until 10 PM when it was just starting to get dark, and we gave ourselves permission to go to bed.
After a rough night of sleep (or lack thereof), we took the metro to the stop near the Rijksmuseum where we had an 11 AM reservation. Most of the museums we visited, with a few exceptions in some of the Italian hill towns, required advance reservations.
Once off the metro, we immediately saw why people love Amsterdam with the flowers, canals, and the architecture. It appeared that we had gotten off one stop too early the previous day.
We found a place called Bar Saloon for a quick breakfast and cappuccino. The service provided by Amer (pictured above) and the food (not pictured) were great, so much so that we returned later for a beer and a piece of Dutch apple pie (another spot on our bingo card).
We were completely blown away by the Rijksmuseum. We’d allowed ourselves 2–3 hours for the museum and could have spent that many days there. We both can’t wait to go back.
The building and grounds are gorgeous. There are beautiful mosaic tile floors, stained glass windows, and then there’s the art.
We really appreciated this one we called ‘Mansplaining.’
Adam absolutely loves sculptures and enjoyed quite a few piecesin this museum, and throughout the trip.
Throughout the museum there were pieces that were part of a special exhibit called Women on Paper, “70 works on paper by female artists from the Print Room collection.”
“The Women of the Rijksmuseum working group was set up to conduct research from a gender-based perspective on the objects in the Rijksmuseum collection, and to unlock the associated stories for the public. The core aim is to present a more complete historical narrative with increased attention for women.”
We loved the Dutch still lifes and later learned from my Dutch friend Jacqueline that Dutch artists often painted lemons and lemon peels as the different textures allowed them to show off their artistry.
The Rijksmuseum Research Library “is one of the main art libraries in the world. Catalogues of auctions and exhibitions, trade and collection catalogues, as well as books, periodicals and annual reports relating to the museum collections have been collected without interruption since 1885.”
We only saw it from a viewing platform and were impressed by its beauty and extensive collection.
This was another one of our favorite pieces.
We also loved the floral pieces like this one by Gerard Van Spaendonck (1746–1822) who became the botanical painter to the king of France.
The rocks on the floor of this room were some sort of exhibit and I can’t remember what it was about. You can see the beauty of the room from this vantage point. And how few people were in this part of the museum.
We started our visit in the side galleries and didn’t encounter very many people until we made our way to the Rembrandts and saw the Night Watch which was undergoing restoration.
To the right of the Night Watch is an impressively long piece called The Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch.
After such an incredible visit to the Rijksmuseum to kick off our trip, we required sustenance before our next stop, the Van Gogh Museum. Our server was a guy named Marcus, who was from Michigan. He was studying and working in Amsterdam because it was cheaper for him to go to college in the Netherlands than in the US.
Next up: Day Two: Amsterdam-Paris.
For the trip overview, check out Terri and Adam’s Philosophy, Food, and Art (PhFArt) Tour (May/June 2023).
Have questions? Send me an email at pilotingyourlife@gmail.com
About the Author
Terri Hanson Mead is the multi-award winning author of Piloting Your Life, Managing Partner of Solutions2Projects, LLC, and an advocate for women through all of her platforms including YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and this blog. Terri is the mother of two (one in college and one who just graduated!), is based in Redwood City, CA and in her spare time, loves to travel, cook, play tennis, and fly helicopters around the San Francisco Bay Area, especially under the Golden Gate Bridge.
