Ok, ok, technically day 5 started in Leiden (which we love!), but the star was our brief stay in Rotterdam!
We started with another delicious breakfast. I got the salmon eggs Benedict, since I spied some else’s delicious choice the day prior. SMS stayed with his tried and true oatmeal. We also helped ourselves to the buffet.
Then, it was time to leave Leiden. We plan to come back- we really loved it!
We took the IC train to Rotterdam, followed by a tram to our hotel, Hotel New York. It’s a historic hotel and was a super cool place to stay! It’s a converted ship terminal and we could tell by how tall the ceilings were.
Then we headed out! We took the water taxi, which was so.much.fun. It’s basically a motor boat and in the middle of the harbor, the captain really let it rip. It was especially fun on his super banked turns.
I had a few things on my mind to see in Amsterdam: the cube houses and the Markthal, an incredible food hall within a building that is multi-use. There are even apartment buildings. If I was a digital nomad, I would never leave.
First, we grabbed lunch in the Markthal. We went to Andalus fish, which had some incredible looking Andalusian seafood as well as some herring options. I wasn’t super hungry so I went with the herring. But I saw a few fried fish platters that looked just like the meralutha I had as a child. Sometimes, I wish I would just force it down. But the time change and the heat have really affected my appetite this trip.
I took some pictures of the Markthal. Many of the stalls contain 1-4 vendors and then there is seating on top. Some stalls have owners that are very protective of their space and don’t want you to go up just for pictures. How do I know this? Hmmmmmm….
Then! We went had stroopwafels, which were made on the spot! There were little disks of dough that the woman pressed out in the wafel maker. Then she laid the wafel out, cut in half which was very impressive, and then laid a big scoop of stroop in between to make the best wafel sandwich. They were delicious! It was such a treat to have a warm, freshly made stroopwafel!
Next, it was off to the cube houses designed by Piet Blom. They were super cool to look at and so disorienting, that we had to go inside to figure out the layout. One of the homes is open for a 3E price tag, which we thought was totally worth it.
Even once we were inside on normal horizontal floors, it was still slightly dizzying to look down the windows at an angular view. It is a really neat concept and I’m definitely glad we went inside, in addition to taking a lot of pictures outside!
Then, we took a water taxi back to the hotel. Wheeeeeeee! Then we rested for a bit. Our vacation has been a little mellow on the outdoor activities because honestly, it has been really hot. And even though we’re weather-delicate Californians, I think a lot of locals and visitors have found this September to be a little warm.
For dinner, I made a reservation at the Sailor and his Girl (De Matroos en het Meisje). It was another amazing dining experience that deserves its own post. So until later…
After dinner, we walked along the harbor on both sides of the bridge to our hotel. It was a gorgeous night and so many people were out. It was a delightful day and I’m a huge fan of Rotterdam now!
