UK and Europe '24 Day 11 - Last Day in Amsterdam
It's been a busy few days and we're happy to have been able to cover so much territory here in Amsterdam. The location of where we're staying had several benefits including proximity to the city (10 minutes by bike!) in a quiet location near a canal with friendly hosts and even friendlier cats!
We decided to take it a bit easier today, so are just shy of 10,000 steps, having ridden to Westerpark near Jordaan this morning. I can't really say there's a cafe culture here in Amsterdam, and if there is, we didn't find it. Our mission to find somewhere for breakfast was met instead with Cafe Amsterdam, inconspicuously located across the road from the park in what used to be the engine room for the town's water pump house. Just opposite is an octagonal building that used to house the steam engine, and now appears to be a B&B.
I'm always impressed by creative visionaries and what they do with old spaces, and grateful to the person who saw the potential for a cafe/restaurant here, instead of "smelly old pump room". The extremely high ceilings and large windows create a large, comfortable space to enjoy some refreshments. There was no breakfast menu, as such, although eggs were an option, so I opted for the sandwich gezond (fresh salad roll) and Chris ordered the ham and cheese roll. Mine was messy but delicious, and I've still managed to avoid spilling food on myself since our meal at The Ring in Southwark.
Food and coffee consumed (coffee still in sad-face emoji territory) we walked back over to the park and sat in the sun for a little while. It wasn't a lie on the lawn experience like in London, but the sun was warming and the birds were fun to watch.
We had spotted a huge bird's nest on top of a chimney earlier on our ride, and think most likely owner/builders are the grey herons we spotted in the park. There were plenty of ducks waddling about, trying it on with people for a few crumbs, and a seagull perched on top of a headless statue in the pond. I thought I must have been going a bit loco at one point because the statue appeared to be moving, Then Chris noticed the same thing. Google came to the rescue and confirmed we were looking at a floating sculpture called The Wedding Dress, made by the Women's Collective in 1994, and can be seen between April and October every year.
Gateaux seems to have settled in for the foreseeable future so it's time for a light snack for dinner, to pack our bags and turn in for an early rise, because tomorrow we fly to Stockholm!
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