Amsterdam, May 2016 Trip Report – Part 2

Amsterdam Centraal Station
Amsterdam Centraal Station

Part 1 of this trip report is here

The path I took when moving from the first hotel, over to the new hotel took me back past the Amsterdam Centraal Station.  I was really hoping I would complete my move before the rain or hail returned.  I had decided to book a smaller room and save some money during the part of my trip that I was going to be staying alone.  I found and booked this hotel on Expedia.

Damrak Amsterdam
Damrak Amsterdam

It wasn’t very far away, and in fact I could see the backside of the three buildings that contained the hotel rooms, as I walked past the Damrak and the assorted tour boats that dock there.

Buildings backing up to the Damrak
Buildings across from the Damrak
Buildings backing up to the Damrak
Buildings backing up to the Damrak

I had to walk another block past the buildings that back up to the Damrak to find the front entrance to the Hotel CC.

Hotel CC entrance
Hotel CC entrance

Even though the interior was thoroughly modernized, it was readily apparent that this hotel was housed in some older buildings that were adjacent to each other.

Hotel CC Amsterdam
Hotel CC Amsterdam

My check in was super simple and then I walked a short distance over to the Hofje van Wijs where I hoped to use a Bitcoin ATM.

Hofje van Wijs Amsterdam
Hofje van Wijs Amsterdam

I sat indoors at a table that faced a window and watched people go by for about an hour as I had a couple of beers and just relaxed.

Hofje van Wijs Amsterdam
Hofje van Wijs Amsterdam

It turns out that the Bitcoin ATM had recently been stolen from this place, and I wasn’t able to sell any of mine for Euros.  I was able to pay for my beers using Bitcoin which was kind of neat and no more difficult than using a credit card.  I’m planning on writing some more blog posts about Bitcoin over on my technology focused blog.  I’m glad I had some US dollars that I could exchange for Euros with me as a Plan B.

Hofje van Wijs coutyard Amsterdam
Hofje van Wijs courtyard Amsterdam

By the time I left the sun had come back out, and the outside seating area looked rather nice.  I continued my walking and stopped every so often to take a picture or video.

Canals in Amsterdam
Canals in Amsterdam

My next stop after some more walking was at Cafe Old Sailor in the Red Light District.  This is a place I have been in many times and one of the things I like is that they serve Amstel beer.  This isn’t the “light” version we see in the states.

Amstel beet at Cafe Old Sailor
Amstel beer at Cafe Old Sailor

I walked around some more and then stopped in at the Bulldog Mack Cafe for a couple of Extra Cold Heinekens.  This is the same beer but it’s served at a colder temperature.  I find that helps to keep it from getting warm when you are taking your time drinking it.

Bulldog Mack Cafe
Bulldog Mack Cafe
Bulldog Mack Cafe
Bulldog Mack Cafe

I saw the China Sichuan Restaurant just down the street from my hotel and the reviews on Google looked pretty good.  I stopped by there for supper.

China Sichuan Restaurant Amsterdam
China Sichuan Restaurant Amsterdam

I got some sesame seed covered shrimps and the pork and vegetable Chinese noodles and liked both of them.  It was pretty busy when I went, and I ended up eating another meal there before the end of my trip.

New York Pizza Amsterdam Damstraat
New York Pizza Amsterdam Damstraat

The next day I tried some of the “New York Pizza” from one of the many locations of this chain in Amsterdam.  I found that it was good and quick, but the crust was not what I would consider to be authentic NY style.

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For supper I tried a new place called La Paella which was Spanish themed and close to my hotel.

Chorizo tapas
Chorizo in white wine tapas

I ordered chorizo in white wine, and also garlic shrimp tapas.  I liked them but would recommend the Tapas place I tried earlier in part 1 of this report, over this place.

Garlic Shrimp tapas
Garlic Shrimp tapas

My walking continued the next day.

Canals in Amsterdam
Canals in Amsterdam

If you’ve ever been to Amsterdam you might have seen a fast food place that sort of looked like a large vending machine with little windows holding food behind them.

FEBO in Amsterdam
FEBO in Amsterdam

You see something you want, check the price, and then feed coins in to the slot next to it.  Once you pay enough you can press a button to open the door and grab it.

FEBO in Amsterdam
FEBO in Amsterdam
FEBO in Amsterdam
FEBO in Amsterdam
FEBO Bacon Cheese Burger
FEBO Bacon Cheese Burger

It’s pretty cheap and when you are hungry and want something in a hurry it’s a perfect choice.

This trip report continues in Part 3

Amsterdam, May 2016 Trip Report – Part 1

DAB airport gate
Gate lice in Daytona Beach

This week long trip to Amsterdam started with a bad case of the lice.  Not head lice, or pubic lice, but instead the kind that’s found in the airport, “gate lice”.  This term is commonly used over on the FlyerTalk Forums which I frequently read and post to, and refers to the crowd of people standing around, and usually in the way of an airport gate.

I used a Delta Skymiles points redemption to get a round trip ticket from Daytona Beach to Amsterdam for an annual get together with a friend in one of my favorite places.

The free WiFi was working better inside the Daytona International Airport than I recall in the past.

DAB WiFi
WiFi service in the Daytona Beach airport

I use Google’s Project Fi for cellular service on my Nexus 6 and noticed that it was connected to T-Mobile’s Band 12 signal and also the free WiFi service while I was inside the terminal at DAB.  I write posts that are more technology focused on my other blog.

My first flight was to Atlanta on an MD90 followed by a short layover and a visit to the Delta Skyclub.  Even though the time in the air is only about an hour, I was able to get a Delta Inflight Survival Kit.  Bad kids, crying babies, and loud talking adults are some of the reasons I order this combination to increase my personal comfort.

Delta Inflight Survival Kit
Delta Inflight Survival Kit

My Inflight Survival Kit contains Woodford Reserve, Coke Zero, and Biscoffs.  Often I will save the Biscoffs for later use.

Inside the Delta Skyclub in Atlanta, I saw some tables that wobbled and spilled wine onto a visitor.  There were also some guests that conducted a  business conference call in public.  I heard some things that in my opinion they should not have been talking about while using a speakerphone in a public area.

Google Now card for my flights
Google Now card for my flights

I boarded an A330 and settled into my Coach class seat for a long overnight flight during which I got no sleep.  Instead I watched multiple Mr. Robot episodes and the Entourage movie using the plane’s GoGo Inflight WiFi and my Nexus 9 tablet to access Delta Studio.

Delta Studio webscreen
Delta Studio webscreen

There was a screen on the back of the seat in front of me that offers in flight entertainment, and if you don’t want to use your personal mobile device to watch, you can use that built in screen.  I used it for showing a moving map with flight data while watching entertainment on my device’s larger screen.  This same system is also found on some of Delta’s planes which have WiFi but lack built in entertainment screens.  If you fly on Delta, you should know about Delta Studio and the app you need to install in order to access it in flight.

I was pretty awake for the 5 AM arrival at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.  This is my favorite airport in Europe and one that I am very familiar with.  I exchanged some Singapore dollars for Euros and got coins for the train ticket machine so I wouldn’t have to stand in line to buy a train ticket.  Your US issued credit card usually won’t work in the machines, because it’s setup for Chip and Signature, and the machines expect Chip and PIN cards.  I waited until I was in Amsterdam to do this money exchange because the way that it would have been handled in Atlanta would have required 2 exchange fees and resulted in less money back to me.  (SGD-> USD – fees, and then USD->EUR – fees)

Train from Amsterdam airport
Train from the Amsterdam airport

It was King’s Day, a national holiday with almost all workers having the day off, and that plus the early hour made for a quick and easy train ride into the city.  In fact the inner city was closed to vehicle traffic and some other travelers on the train said that they were told that a taxi cab all the way to their hotel would not have been possible on this day.  It was a quick walk from the Amsterdam Centraal Station to the Renaissance Amsterdam hotel. I have spent many nights at the hotel and I am familiar with it and the area around it.  I would recommend it to people going to Amsterdam as long as you compare room rates.  Many of my stays have been made using Marriott Rewards points which make it a good value for redemption when the room rates are high.  While walking to the hotel I went past where vendors were setting up to sell to the crowds that would soon fill the blocked off streets for the day’s celebration.

King's Day Celebration Decoration
King’s Day Celebration Decoration

I grabbed a quick bite to eat at the buffet in the elite guest lounge.  The effects of jet lag hit me around 9 AM in the morning so I slept for a little while in the hotel room.  This room was easily twice as large as the one I will talk about in part 2 of the trip report.

hotel room
Renaissance hotel room
Renaissance hotel room
Renaissance hotel room

I was back up and out for drinks and then supper which was a delicious grilled piece of pork for me, and an unlimited ribs special is what my friend ordered.  I got to try a couple of the ribs and they were good.

IMG_20160427_204223

Ribfest

Grilled pork was delicious
Grilled pork was delicious

One thing that I have noticed in Amsterdam is that they list the weight of meat servings prominently on menus.  This was in a small place just around the corner from the hotel that I’ve visited a couple times before, called Madre Maria.  If you go there and like garlic, get a side of garlic sauce for your meat and for dipping your french fries into.

Madre Maria in Amsterdam
Madre Maria in Amsterdam

The next day started with a nice walk followed by breakfast at a place called “Pancakes and Waffles”.  My friend wanted pancakes and chose to have American style pancakes while I opted for a Dutch Breakfast of eggs, cheese, and meats.  My breakfast was pretty good.

American style pancakes
American style pancakes
Dutch style breakfast
Dutch style breakfast

The hotel has a pretty good breakfast in the lounge for guests with elite status but typically we don’t eat there for every meal and instead will go out for some variety.

The rest of the day was spent walking and stopping into places for a quick beer or coffee.  We stopped at the Kadinsky Cafe for a while when the rain was coming down pretty good.  The WiFi at this place didn’t work so well but like many places in Amsterdam, the password was posted inside so that customers could check email or do what they needed.  My friend was not using data on his cellphone during this trip and took advantage of these stops and the connectivity provided.

Kadinsky Cafe
Kadinsky Cafe

Like I always do, I made a point of trying as many of the local beers that I hadn’t tried before, whenever possible.  The rain stopped and after some more walking we stopped into a Cafe named “Louis”.

Louis Cafe Amsterdam
Louis Cafe Amsterdam

Here we saw one of the many cats or dogs that spend time inside of businesses.  The black cat at this place seemed pretty happy to lay on top of a heat vent, and pretty much ignore everyone around him.

Later in the day we saw some coffee shops and other businesses that are spread around Amsterdam and cater to those seeking a different kind of refreshment.

The Bulldog Rock Shop Amsterdam
The Bulldog Rock Shop Amsterdam

An alternative to walking around sightseeing in Amsterdam is taking one of the many boat cruises that navigate the narrow canals of Amsterdam.  I watched as these boat’s captain’s expertly navigated the turns and intersections of canals near by.

I still haven’t taken one of these tours but it’s on my list of things to do when I’m in Amsterdam on a hot summer day.

Canals in Amsterdam
Canals in Amsterdam

The temperatures during this trip were nice when the sun was out, but when it was cloudy or raining it was a little chilly due to the wind.

Cafe Kobalt Amsterdam
Cafe Kobalt Amsterdam

Cafe Kolbalt was the next stop on this walk, drink, use the restroom and repeat tour.  In general the cafes seem to have a good selection of different beers on tap, while the higher volume tourist places seem to serve a lot more Heineken or Amstel.

We stopped into the Cafe Tapas Bar for supper and were pretty happy with our selections.  Sadly I forget to snap pictures of our food before we ate it.  That sometimes happens when I’m really hungry and the food looks really good.

The next day was when my friend had to return to the US and I needed to check out of this hotel, and move to another hotel which I had never stayed at before.  There was actually small hail coming down at one point in the morning, and I waited until that storm passed before checking out and changing hotels.

Hail in Amsterdam
Hail in Amsterdam

I’ll cover the second hotel and the rest of my trip in part 2 blog post.