Vacation ‘23 Day 3: Amsterdam —> Leiden

Today’s highlight was a 1215 reservation at De Kas, a restaurant that I had come across during my trip research. For some reason, I have it in my head that I heard someone say, “Obama ate here.” I’m sure he did, but why I would have talked to someone about that being the reason to eat somewhere…I think I may have dreamt it.

Anyway! We had breakfast and checked out right before 11. I had gone looking for an atm without my phone, which turned into a bit of a time suck. ATMs have terrible exchange rates in the area around the train station so I looked a little too long for a legitimate one. I didn’t find it, so I took out the bare minimum needed for a housekeeping tip. But then I got turned around and a little lost. But I figured it out!

Then we walked across town to try and get a delicious cookie from Van Stapele Koekmakerji, which has always been popular but now has insane lines thanks to Tik Tok. We were a little too short on time to join the line, so we headed two blocks over to the Begijnhof. That was way more tranquil!

Then we took the metro and tram across town to De Kas. The lunch was amazing. It was such a special meal. There were so many different dishes and the pacing was so mellow. I can definitely get used to leisurely, multi-course lunches. I took a lot of pictures, so I’m going to write a separate post on the meal.

After lunch, we went back to the hotel, picked up our luggage, and headed to Leiden. We are staying at an amazing hotel that is extra-amazing because it has air conditioning and it is in the mid-80s during the day.

We headed out for a walk along the green ring, a walking path that circles the old city. Even bikes aren’t allowed on it! We walked about a 1/4 of it and then decided to head to the other side of the town for dinner. I was feeling a little lazy, so we took the bus.

We walked along the canals and picked a beautiful dinner spot on the shady side. We watched a lot of boats go by, which seemed like a really fun and popular thing to do.

Then, we walked some more. This city is so beautiful. There were a lot of people who set up tables outside their home to enjoy the perfect evening. So nice!