July: A Dutch Summer

I arrived in Amsterdam on the 2^nd of July and spent nearly all month – [almost] 3 weeks straight! – at home. July is a beautiful time to be in Amsterdam. Dutch summers, or at least the one I have experienced so far, are pretty mild with average temperatures ranging between 19 – 26°C (66-77°F) and low humidity (compared to an NYC summer). Sunlight seems endless with the sun rising before I wake up (on gym days around 6am) and setting between 10-10:30pm. I’m no fool though and I know as much sunlight as we get in the spring and summer needs to make up for the lack of sunlight we’ll get in the fall and winter.

The one negative is that it rarely gets warm enough to rationalize going to the beach, and I find the weather patterns change so quickly. For example, if the 5-day forecast on Wednesday looks like it’s going to be beautiful and sunny on Sunday and you plan for a beach day, by the time Sunday rolls around it could be freezing and rainy. Good thing I got plenty of beach time in earlier this season in Spain and New York J

But cooler temperatures make for incredibly comfortable weather to walk around and explore a new city, so no complaining from me. Here’s what I was up to this month…

Highlights

It’s a tossup between being patriotic by celebrating ‘Murica’s bday (twice!) with friends in really interesting settings, and being expatriotic (is that a word?!) celebrating the Dutch gift to the culinary world: the bitternballen.

Patriotism #1: On my first day back in Amsterdam my friends Jenna and Nick hosted a 4^th of July BBQ in their beautiful apartment. It was a classic American-style BBQ with burgers and hotdogs, chips, watermelon, potato salad, etc. On top of that, it was a gathering of some of my most favorite people in Amsterdam (as well as some special visitors - see below).

 

Patriotism #2: On the actual 4^th of July (a Tuesday) I was invited by a friend to join a BBQ in Oosterpark after work. I thought it would feel strange working that day, but it didn’t. It was just another day. I was insanely jealous of the lobster rolls being Instagrammed by my friends at home though.

The BBQ was awesome – I met a bunch of people who I had been hearing about but hadn’t met yet. More new friends…score! On top of that, it was a beautiful evening (well, beautiful by Dutch summer night standards which you now know means about somewhere in the 60s and light until 10:15pm).

Everyone brought some items for the grill as well as some finger foods and small bites, and of course lots of wine and beer. We even had sparklers, which made the whole celebration that much more legit.

Expatriotism (It’s now officially a new word): One Saturday evening there was a bitterballen festival that I dragged several friends to. What is bitterballen you may ask? Only my best and worst new friend. Considered a Dutch ‘meatball,’ Wikipedia describes this gastronomic delight as a typically containing a mixture of beef or veal (minced or chopped), beef broth, butter, flour for thickening, parsley, salt and pepper, resulting in a thick roux.

It might not sound appetizing, but would I lie to you?

Anyway, the festival took place at an outdoor restaurant/event space. A bunch of us braved the rain and gathered to taste bitterballen from all different restaurants around the city, with all different fillings. Heaven. My favorites? There was one stand that did the traditional bitterballen extremely well, and another stand that did a Thai coconut flavoured style. Both were delish!

 

Lowlights

There’s only one that I can recall, and that my friends, is the sad saga that is my bike story. The #1 question I get from visitors and anyone who I tell I live in Amsterdam is, “Do you have a bike?!” And my response remains: “No.”

By now I think you all know at first that was by choice. I’m a New Yorker, which means I am a walker. I love it, don’t mind it, prefer it, yaddah yaddah yaddah. However, I do realize that if I do not get a bike now (when the weather is warmer and there is more sunlight), I will likely never get one and truthfully, even if I don’t ever ride it, I am starting to [kind of] want one.

I have now made 4 valiant attempts:

1.       April: Tried to buy my colleague’s bike, but the actual bike was a bit too big for me and it was recommended to get a size smaller.
 

2.       May: Set aside a Saturday afternoon to go to a recommended bike shop. It poured. Why would I make my first ride experience in the pouring rain? That seems like a sure way to scar me for life.
 

3.       July #1: Had a friend text their ‘bike person’ aka a bike dealer (?) of sorts who sold her and all her colleagues their bikes for a good price. He was on vacation.
 

4.       July #2: Set aside another Saturday afternoon to go to a place a colleague highly recommended. I got there to find a handwritten sign on the door that said the shop was temporarily closed and would be open again in 30 minutes. Ok, I thought, I can wait 30 minutes. 45 minutes later, said bike shop was still closed. This was starting to infringe on my Saturday night plans, which were clearly more important than the bike, so I left. Bikeless.

 

 

I am beyond third time’s the charm here, and I am starting to think it won’t happen again. And, I am not in the least bit upset about it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Visitors

July seemed like a quiet month compared to the last few in terms of visitors. The truth is though, it was just as busy as the rest!

My friend Laura and her boyfriend Pat were traveling through Spain in June and early July and when she found out I was moving to Amsterdam a few months ago, found a way to squeeze in a visit! Unfortunately our time together was short because of my New York trip, but the two of them arrived at the end of June and spent a few days housesitting for me. When I got home we had that Sunday to hang and Monday night before they left to go back to Spain on Tuesday.

On Sunday I took them to the 4^th of July party at Jenna and Nick’s. We stayed for a while and then I took them on my favorite canal cruise – the Friendship Canal Tour! If only they had some sort of loyalty card…

 

We walked around for a bit after that on Sunday and then called it night since I had to get ready for going back to work on Monday. Monday night it was so nice to come home to a delicious home cooked meal and catch up some more over good food, good wine and…Van Stapele cookies! I highly recommended that Laura and Pat stop there at some point on Monday and not only did they do so, they brought them back so we could all eat them together for dessert. Amazing!

The next week my newer friend Jessica reached out to say she’d be in town from London for the night for work. You may recall I met Jess through Claudia at her birthday celebration in Spain in May. I had plans with another new friend, Clara, whom I had met at the 4^th of July BBQ, but told her to come join us! We tried a new wine bar in De Pijp area called Glouglou Bar. It was a great place and a really fun night!

Then last week my friend Carly was passing through Amsterdam on a Eurotrip with two of her friends. We only had one day in common as they arrived on a Thursday and I was leaving Friday for a work trip to Singapore. We met for dinner Thursday night at a really cute family-owned Italian restaurant called Lo Stivale D’oro. It was a bit of a hole-in-the-wall but in good way. We all agreed: pasta 9.5, ambiance: 5 until the owner took out his guitar and serenaded the remaining patrons at the end of the night. Ambiance up to 7.5-8!

Fun in the Sun: City Edition

Earlier on in the month I met my friend Anouk for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, the Seafood Bar. We caught up after not seeing each other for a few weeks (where does the time go?!) and I got to hear all about her cool new job at The Student Hotel. It was so nice to have the 1:1 time to catch up, but then I equally enjoyed attending her birthday brunch just a few days later.

Anouk hosted some friends at her apartment that Saturday, on her actual birthday. And what a spread! She made a delicious brunch that included homemade shakshuka, pancakes, yogurt, fruit and sandwiches. Not to forget a red velvet cake to top it all off! All of her friends were so incredibly nice and friendly. I felt bad they had to speak English because of me though and made me more excited to look into starting Dutch classes this coming fall!

 

July is the summer sale period in Amsterdam (and throughout Europe). Unlike the US, things don’t really go on sale otherwise here. You typically get two sale periods: one in July (or end of August) and one in January after Christmas.

Living in the Nine Streets area, I excitedly browsed throughout the month. As a pro shopper, I was quite looking forward to this time. However, was a bit disappointed to not really find anything I wanted and/or needed. I think at the end of the day I ended up with a dress and a scarf. However, one little lady benefitted significantly. I got a jumpstart on buying some presents for my adorable niece for her upcoming second birthday (in October). The sales on toddler/kid’s clothes were too good to pass up at De Bijenkorf and Petit Bateau. She’s one lucky little girl!

I also finally made it to the MOCO museum. I wanted to see the Banksy exhibit for a while and was saving it for cooler weather, however, found out it closes in August. I first came to know and appreciate Banksy when I was living in London. I’ve watched many documentaries on street art culture and am fascinated by it, so it is really exciting whenever I get to see a piece (or pieces) of his work.

The museum also had a Dali exhibit as well. Can’t say I am the hugest Dali fan, but there were some pretty cool works on display.

Fun in the Sun: Food/Drink Edition

More time in Amsterdam means more restaurants and bars to try! And it was a good month with some new and old favorites. Aside from what was listed above, here’s the run down:

-          FINALLY got to try Envy, an eclectic nouveau-style small plates restaurant located on the Prinsengracht Canal. I pass by all the time and always wanted to try it, so suggested it for a midweek get-together with my friend Jonelle. We picked a picture-perfect evening to snag one of the tables outside. It was terrific to catch up over an incredible meal.  

-          A planned beach day with some girlfriends (see above comments on weather!) turned into a fun brunch and casual drinking day at two new spots: brunch on the patio at Morgan + Mees, a boutique hotel known for their brunch that I have been wanting to try since before I moved to Amsterdam. That was followed by day drinks at the outdoor hotspot Meneer Nieges, a fantastic water-side restaurnt on the tip of Amsterdam central that looks across to Amsterdam Nood. Great drinks (and looked like good food, too)! Turns out the weather ended up being perfect for the beach, but after two good culinary finds and spending the day outside anyway, no one was complaining.

-          A Saturday night at Waterkant with some friends for drinks followed by dinner at HappyHappyJoyJoy. Waterkant first made the must-try list as it is on a canal and I passed it about 20 times within my first few weeks in the city. It’s one of those cool known but unknown locations where you can sit and chill with friends for hours while watching the boats go by. You can also pull your boat up and stop for drinks (or the bathroom!). And HappyHappyJoyJoy is a well-known Asian fusion restaurant that I’ve only heard good things about. It certainly did not disappoint! I already am looking forward to going back.

-          A lunch meeting brought me back to the Avocado Show and I think I had my favorite dish there to date: the poke bowl. It was incredibly delicious and made me rethink my ‘this is not worth the wait’ stance on that place. I’ve also come to learn that the best time to go with the shortest wait is during a thunderstorm midweek after 1pm. What are the odds all three of those things come together at the same time? Not likely, but that was my experience this time with my wait time clocking in at a brief 25 minutes.

 

-          Getting to catch up with the HEINEKEN USA-now-in-Amsterdam crew is always a treat. I got to do that twice in one week:

o   Introduced Ron to the gloriousness that is Hummus Bistro D&A in the Jordaan. An authentic Israeli restaurant with incredible hummus dishes and other delights. Michelle, if you’re reading this, we can’t wait to take you there when you’re back from the States!

o   De Wasserette was on a list that was passed along to me by a friend of a friend who used to live here. It’s a breakfast/lunch spot in De Pijp that always has a line out the door and first-come, first-serve outdoor seating. Andre and I decided to go on one gloriously sunny and warm Friday afternoon for lunch and it was amazing. I’m not sure how someone can make avocado toast SO good, but this place has succeeded. It is dangerously close to the office, too.

-          And last, but not least, can we talk about the fruit in Amsterdam? Unreal. I’ve been overindulging in watermelon, pineapple, grapes and more all summer long. As much as I LOVE ice cream, I equally love fruit. Admittedly, it took me weeeeeks to identify it in the store because it looks different and the translation is not literally (honeydew would be honingdauw in Dutch, except that doesn't exist). Anyway, glad I found it and it is back in my life.

 

 

So, there you have it. My July in Amsterdam. Next up: two work trips to end the month in Belgium and Singapore that were extremely different but equally awesome experiences. But, more on that soon…