SUNDAY IN AMSTERDAM: DRIZZLE, RAIN & WIND

Ahhh-the best laid plans!  Todays weather forecast was for a light shower mid day, so we planned accordingly.  An "inside" activity was in order, so we thought it was a good day to use our pre-purchased tickets to the Rijksmuseum.

It was just starting to drizzle when we got off the tram.  This is a view of the museum from the park:

Across the park is the Concert-Begouw, Amsterdam's pretty concert hall:

Well--I guess all the tourists in Amsterdam had the same idea!  We took one look at 

the lines, and quickly changed our minds.  There were two loooong lines, one for ticket holders (us), and one to purchase tickets.  The line for ticket holders was actually longer than the line for ticket purchase!  We'll try it again during the week--hopefully the lines will be shorter.

The area around the museum is really pretty.  The streets along the park are lined with beautiful homes, and there's a long pond with blooming pots of tulips:

We walked to another tram stop, and set off for our next destination: an area of town with some interesting street art.  Our plan had been to visit the museum while it was raining, and then see the street art after, when the rain was supposed to end.

As we were riding the tram, we noticed a street market set up, so we got off at the next stop and took a look.  It was the Sunday Art Market, and we had a great time browsing the booths--there was art of every type--pottery, sculpture, oils, watercolors, fabric art, etc.  Didn't buy anything, but it was fun to look!

About the time we left the Art Market, it was really starting to rain.  We stopped in a small cafe and enjoyed a cappuccino while waiting out the rain.  I love the little miniature stroopwaffle they served alongside:

The rain didn't stop, but slowed to an acceptable drizzle. (Did I have my umbrella with me? No, of course not--because I'm a dummy and I believed the weatherman, just like I did on Thursday.  I'm a slow learner……….)

We walked the few blocks to the "Snake House"--a bright and beautiful sight in the gray drizzle.  I knew it was slated for demolition, so I'm glad we got to see it.  Kind of sad that the bottom was already covered up, though:

There's a small alley way next to the snake house that's filled with fun street art.  Unfortunalely, it was fenced off, so we couldn't get the best photos:

It was definitely time for lunch, so we wandered a couple of blocks and checked out a few menus.  I'd been wanting to try some Indonesian food, and we found a nice restaurant with a good looking menu.

The Dutch have a long relationship with Indonesia, dating back 4 centuries.  The Dutch colonized Indonesia in the 1600's, exploiting the land for its valuable spices and materials.  Indonesia declared it's independence in 1945, and today there are many people of Indonesian heritage living in The Netherlands.  Indonesian restaurants are plentiful!

It took us quite awhile to decide what to order--lots of unfamiliar names and dishes.  We finally settled on Mangkok, "rice bowl" type of dish.  We could choose a vegetable dish and a meat dish to top the rice.  I had the beef cooked in coconut milk and spices, and David chose chicken in a spicy tomato sauce.  Both were delicious, each with their own very distinctive flavor.  We're pretty sure we'll be having Indonesian food again this week--we really like it! 

The big bread looking-thing in the middle is a "shrimp cracker".  Its very crisp, and has a texture kind of like a pork rind--with a very mild shrimp flavor.  Yummy!

 

Our table had a nice view of the street and while we were enjoying or delicious lunch we noticed lots of umbrellas popping up.  It was raining harder and harder.

We give up!  There was a tram stop right across the street, and our "home line" stopped there--so we decided to call it a day. We made a quick stop a the grocery store near our apartment for a bottle of wine and some crackers.

We were "home" by 4 pm, and we've spent the rest of the day relaxing, napping and reading.

Dinner tonight:  A repeat of last night:  Some yummy goat cheese, sausage and crackers, and of course a glass of wine.

Tomorrow in Amsterdam:  A trip to the beautiful Keukenhoff Gardens.  The forecast is for mostly sunny--but I'm taking my umbrella! That means it probably won't rain--right?

Good night from Amsterdam!