Windmill Wwoofing

Join me as I travel across the Netherlands while working on farms

Jetlag and Indonesian food in Amsterdam

After landing in Amsterdam yesterday (Tuesday) morning around 9 am, I had the entire day to explore the city. After I checked into my hostel next to Vondelpark (one of the city’s large green spaces), I spent the first few hours just walking around, familiarizing myself with the concentric arcs that make up the fabric of streets and canals in the inner city.

For a light lunch, I had an espresso, grilled cheese (apparently the thing to get) and dutch apple pie at Winkel 43 (also apparently well known).

In the early afternoon, I learned more about the history of the inner city along a walking tour. Honestly the tour was not super exciting, but I’ll share the only fun fact I still remember:

  • Almost all of the narrow homes situated along the canal network have a small beam at the top of the frame of the home. Since the staircases inside the houses are too steep and narrow to transport furniture to the upper floors, the beams are used to support pulley systems that carry furniture up. I’ve yet to see this in action, but will keep you guys posted if things change.

I did get to talk to an Australian during the tour, and it was interesting to hear about her perspective traveling to Amsterdam and the broader European continent. She had never been to Europe before and was spending a few months to visit every place she could. Dublin had been a highlight so far, yet London fell below expectations. It was interested to hear the perspective of someone visiting many cities for a few days at time, rather than the longer stay in one place I had decided on (see Why am I wwoofing for more on this if you haven’t read it already). As it is her first time on the continent, it makes sense to want to see as much as possible, even if it comes at the expense of not gaining a deeper understanding of each city.

After the tour, I returned to the hostel to shower and figure out my dinner plans. At this point, I hadn’t slept in 30 hours (I don’t sleep on planes), so I knew that an early dinner then heading to sleep was the best plan. Well, I didn’t end up finishing with dinner until after 9pm.

I ended up finding another person in my hostel who was interested in getting dinner together, but we had to find a good place first. I remembered the walking tour guide earlier remarking on the number of Indonesian restaurants in the area (Indonesia was a Dutch possession [called the Dutch East Indies] not that long ago [up until 1949]; many Indonesians immigrated to the Netherlands) so we decided to find an Indonesian spot. Okay, so I guess I learned 2 fun facts during the walking tour, not 1, my bad.

I used my little-known pro strategy (google maps lol) to find a good looking Indonesian spot, and low and behold there was a line out the door when we got there. After waiting about 20 minutes, we got to the front of the line and inside the restaurant. Both Liam (my eating partner) and I had never eaten Indonesian food before, and were both excited yet unsure how to order. Thankfully, the restaurant seemed to be known for its pre-fixe option (source: the 5 tables around us) where you could get 10 bowls of tapas-style dishes. We ordered the non-vegetarian pre-fixe option, and were insanely surprised by the amount of food we got. After an appetizer of lentil chips and sauces (the peanut sauce was the best), we got 10 generous portions of the dishes.

I can’t say I remember the names of any of the dishes, but they were all very unique and delicious in their own way. There was a good mix of beef, chicken, tofu, and vegetable dishes. I’d say the most dominant flavor was peanuts/peanut butter, but every plate still felt like a new flavor experience. I’d say that Indonesian food felt like a much sweeter version of Thai food, minus any noodles. That being said, the sweetness could just be an attempt to satisfy the Dutch palate, which unfortunately hates any moderate amount of spice.

Talking to Liam was interesting as well. He’s from New York and is traveling at the end of his gap year between high school and college. The list of European countries he’s visited and intends to visit are quite impressive (I say “intends” rather than “plans” as he continually emphasized how he doesn’t plan stuff until the week or even days before, which is extremely impressive [but mostly stress inducing]). Some of the highlights of his trip thus far have been Montenegro and the Azores. He spent an extended amount of time in the Balkans as he wants to travel for more than the 90 day EU tourist visa (many of the Balkan countries are not in the EU). Like my conversation earlier in the day, it was interesting to hear how someone prioritized the quantity of places they visit in a trip. I asked Liam more directly if he felt he was sacrificing deeper experiences on behalf of maximizing the quantity of countries he visited, and I got sort of a yes and no answer. On the one yes, his stays in each country were not as meaningful as they could be with longer visits. However, he knows he’ll want to return to Europe for study abroad and maybe a masters program, so this will help him determine where to stay. I saw this as a very respectable answer.

We grabbed a quick drink at a bar afterwards, then headed back to the hostel, where I went straight to bed after a long day.

2 responses to “Jetlag and Indonesian food in Amsterdam”

  1. Debby Avatar
    Debby

    Thanks for taking us with you on your trip! I’m already looking forward to tomorrow!

  2. Manu Avatar
    Manu

    Dang, now I want Indonesian food.

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