Soggy Moose Travels : Denver to Amsterdam and Exploring the City

DEN to AMS

We were up early and had a little breakfast at the Hotel. There was a good bit of snow was on the Jeep and it continued to fall. Roads were slick as we drove to the parking lot. The shuttle was packed and we made it to the airport in good time. Checked in and security went quickly. They have a scanner on the west side of the south screening area. This is a very good thing.

Off to the Club room and had a nice bowl of cream of rice. Flights are showing “on time” and the weather is clearing. I think all will be just fine.

Yes all flights went well and we arrived a few minutes early in Amsterdam. We went through passport control and customs in quick fashion. From there we purchased train tickets to Amsterdam Centraal , the main rail station and transportation hub.

Our hotel for the evening is Ibis Central Station. This property is located about 30 meters from the exit of the train station. As we were rather early we checked in and stored our bags. We started our walkabout by first finding the location for our evening river cruise. We continued to meander the narrow streets and passed through the Red Light District. This walkabout led us past the Oudekerk church, the Skinny Bridge , and finishing up at the Albert Cuypmarkt. In the market we found Stroopwafels, this is best described as a waffle sandwich with a caramel filling. The waffles are thin and the caramel is sweet and runny. Just a little messy but very good. Next we found Poffertjes a mini pancake fried like a doughnut hole on a unique griddle. These are served on a generous pad of butter and dusted with powder sugar, These I found to be eggy if flavor and a very light texture.

We then boarded a Tram and returned to the Central Station. We then made our way to the waterfront and located our ships berth. If nothing else we have our bearings for tomorrow. We found a local deli and bought a tasty ham sandwich on a wonderful fresh roll.

We made our way back to the hotel and our room was ready. We settled in and rearranged our bags for tomorrows boarding of our ship.

At about 1600 (4:00 PM) we left the hotel to stroll about the City Center. This is basically a shopping district and restaurants. We did find a cafe for coffee in the morning. I continued my exploration of the Hot Dogs of the World. We found a street cart and had a hot dog. What sold me was he had crispy onions as a condiment, a nice spicy mustard and a sweet ketchup. Not an Iceland hot dog, but I would give it a solid 7.5. This hotdog had a very nice spice flavor could of had more of a snap, but as I said, a good dog none the less.

Our evening canal cruise was the Pizza Cruise, the cost included a 12” pizza, your choice from a list of several. Unlimited soft drinks, beer, or wine, and nice ice cream cup for desert. The cost of this cruise was 39 euro per person. There were about 40 passengers attended to by two cabin waitresses who were fun, engaging and informative. One aspect which I found enjoyable was seeing the various parts of the canals lit up and some Christmas decoration were starting to appear. It is a rather pretty city at night.

I was a pretty darn tired puppy when this cruise ended, and we went straight to the room and sleep.