I just finished a quick 24 hour stop in Amsterdam on my way back to Milwaukee via Chicago. Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities in Europe, because It has a certain charm, attitude, and a rhythm that I can get accustomed to. The idea for this latest trip was to arrive in Amsterdam on Thursday, stay the night and leave for Chicago the following day. This 24 hour layover gives me more than enough time for a quick departure from the norm and a nice transition from Barcelona to Milwaukee. The plan for this trip is to keep it simple, limiting myself to going to the Rijksmuseum, stopping for some Frites with mayonnaise, finding the famous chocolate cookie, and a quick stop for a Jenever before logging into work in the evening. Simple enough!
Everything was reserved and paid for including time/date entrance to the Rijksmuseum, roundtrip train ticket from Sciphol airport, and a reservation for lodging at the St. Christopher Inn. Since I didn’t check any bags this trip (70 Euros each way), the plan was to store my carry on bag at the airport storage lockers and travel with a backpack into Amsterdam with my laptop and a change of clothes. On all international flights, I always take a change of clothes with me. You gotta be prepared for the worst and after 50 you just can’t trust a fart anymore.
Leaving Barcelona
My flight to Amsterdam was scheduled for 10:05am which meant I needed to get up 6:00am, shower, coffee, and take the metro to Plaza Espanya and catch the Aerobus to Terminal 2. My paranoia around traffic always forces me to arrive at the airport with lots of time (too much time) to spare. The BCN to AMS portion of my journey home was operated by Transavia and the AMS to ORD portion was operated by KLM. At check in, the agent asked if I didn’t mind checking my bag for free. Sure! Thank you! The flight took off on time and arrived on time in Amsterdam. I waited and waited for my bag to come out at baggage claim and nothing! WTF?!? I talked to the agent in Amsterdam to figure it all out and he says that my bag got checked all the way to Chicago. It says it right there on my bag claim attached to my boarding pass. Awesome; but, WTF! The agent in BCN should’ve made that clear.
Atomic Habits
I’m a fan of libraries. They are full of books and the best part is they are free and you only pay when you don’t return your stuff on time. The even better part of libraries in the digital world is that you can check out digital versions of books and audiobooks. Sometimes you have to wait a few months to check out a book so I stack my library app (Libby) with over 10 books and wait for them to become available. It saves me a bunch of money on books that I want to read, but don’t want to really buy.
A week prior to the trip I started reading Atomic Habits, because I’m trying to understand how bad habits form and why I carry forward with my bad habits. There’s a part in the book about how trains in Japan are the safest in the world because they “point and call” everything. Everything is important. Nothing can be taken for granted and everyone is responsible for safety. This resonated with me a lot, because I catch myself taking things for granted and end up missing open net goals and easy layups. There’s also another part in the book that I found humorous is a pre-school teacher that left teaching for a corporate job and asks coworkers if they washed their hands after using the restroom or a lifeguard that tells kids to “walk” outside the pool.
What I did not know when I arrived in Amsterdam is the trains were on strike. The workers that are responsible for safety are asking for a 15% raise, but the government is offering 8%. After reading about Japanese trains and that horrible train derailment in Greece that killed so many, you would think the fight for a little more money would not be so difficult. Governments inherently waste tax payers money all the time. Why not give the people responsible for safety a few extra euros and sleep better at night? The train union was being nice by limiting the number of trains per hour going to the airport and Central Station. Fortunately, I was able to catch a train into Amsterdam with ease. They could’ve said, Fuck Off and went with the scorched earth approach and shut it all down.
St. Christopher Inn
Once I arrived in Amsterdam, I had to check in, drop my bags, and hike it over to the Rijksmuseum for my 3:00pm timed entrance. The St. Christopher Inn is a short 10 minute walk from the train station. It’s really a hostel with a few private rooms with private bathrooms. The lodging is inexpensive, a bit spartan with a hippie vibe to it. There’s a restaurant called Belushi’s on the main level that has live music at night. It’s a pretty happening place that smells like hippies. This is the second time I’ve stayed here. At check in they give you two free drink vouchers. To my surprise, they gave me the same Room 502 that I stayed the last time. I dropped my bags, put all my valuables in the safe, and started on my +20 minute walk to the Rijksmuseum. i could’ve taken the tram, but I prefer walking.
The Rijksmuseum
I haven’t been the Rijksmuseum in decades so it was like I was going there again for the first time. I arrived at exactly 3:00. There was a couple in front of me from the states that didn’t have a timed ticket and could not visit. The timed ticket is pretty standard across all of Europe to keep the crowds to a minimum. I already downloaded the Rijksmuseum app on my phone and had this visit planned for weeks. Keep this in mind if you plan to see the Mona Lisa at the Louvre or a DaVinci at the Uffizi gallery in Florence you need to get a timed ticket and visit in the winter either early in the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid the crowds.
As much preparation that I did for the visit, I was not prepared at how incredible the Dutch Masters truly were. Rembrandt, Vermeer, and a modern art piece by Karel Appel, Square Man were on my list of things to see. The galleries are set up with a lot of space to walk around. I was really looking forward to Rembrandt’s Night Watch and was surprised to see it behind a specially designed glass chamber. I thought they put it there to stop those maniacal climate change protesters that vandalize art to save the planet. It was put there because The Night Watch is undergoing an extensive study that started in 2019 and they are doing it in full view of the public. You’ll find a lot of still life paintings, a crazy swan (my favorite), a ship, a library, and a doll house that cost more than a real house when it was made for some rich people. I didn’t give myself enough time in the Rijksmuseum. I needed at least two more hours.
Frites
As anyone now knows after watching Pulp Fiction, Vincent Vega tells Jules how they put mayonnaise on their fries in Amsterdam. He says, “They drown them in that shit!” It’s true and they put mayonnaise on pretty much everything in Europe. You have to ask for ketchup and the ketchup in Europe doesn’t hit like it does in the states. There’s a lot of Frites places in Amsterdam to try, but I’ve been always coming back to Vlaams Friteshuis Vleminckx. This place has been around since the 50s. They have a pretty wide selection of sauces to put on your frites. I keep it simple with just mayonnaise. If that little wooden spear they give you to eat your frites with was just one centimeter longer, I wouldn’t get mayonnaise on my fingers from the sides of the cone while I’m trying to dig out the last frites at the bottom of the cone or I could just fold the bottom of the cone one centimeter from the bottom to access the last frite. I just figured this solution while writing this.
Jenever
One thing you need to know about Amsterdam is a lot of places close at 6pm. The one hour spent looking for my bag at the airport put a wrinkle in my plan. It’s like a butterfly flaps its wings and a typhoon happens on the other side of the world. The plan was drop bags, then cookie, then Rijksmuseum, then Frites, finish with a Jenever, and make my call at 6:30. After the Frites, I could’ve backtracked to the cookie, but that would’ve taken me off course for 20 minutes. This is exactly where a basic understanding of economics comes into play. Opportunity cost is the value of the next best alternative that is given up when a decision is made. Let’s say I run for the cookie, find a line outside the bakery and have to wait an additional ten minutes for a cookie. If this happens, I lose the jenever and chaser. After careful analysis, I opted to not get the cookie and keep the course for the jenever.
What is Jenever?
Amsterdam gin jenever is a clear, malty spirit with notes of juniper, citrus, and malt:
- Flavor: A smooth, velvety gin with notes of juniper, malt, and fresh citrus
- Appearance: Clear and bright with a slight viscosity
- Production: Made from malted barley, rye, and corn, and triple distilled with a unique botanical mix
- Origin: A gin jenever is a gin-like spirit that originated in the Netherlands in the 13th century
- Distinction: Unlike most gins, gin jenever is a blend of two spirits: a botanical-infused neutral spirit and malt wine
- Taste: Some say it tastes like a mix of gin and a light Scotch whisky, with subtle undernotes of herbs and spices
- Jenever is traditionally served in a tulip-shaped glass, and can be served at room temperature or cold. It can also be served with beer as a chaser.
Now that we got that out of the way, there is a place in Amsterdam that is known for its Jenever called De Drie Fleschjes (The Three Little Bottles) that has been around since 1619. I walked in and the bartenders were very kind and walked me through the different Jenevers and suggested me to pair it with a pilsner. I usually go to The Nomad in Milwaukee to get the PBR and shot of Jameson combo and this was similar to that; but, a lot classier and with a lot more history. Along the walls behind me are old wooden casks containing Jenever. I’m in there enjoying my Jenever and decompressing from the day and this guy walks in and shows the bartender a little key. Immediately, I’m intrigued. The key was really small and looked like it could open a young lady’s diary and all the secrets it kept; but, the key he presented opened up something much greater. It opened one of the barrels of gin on the wall. This guy not only showed up with a key for the gin. He came with a lady friend. I was so envious of this guy. It’s as if he had everything. My Jenever and beer cost 7.40 euros. I left a 10 and called it a day because I had to go back to take a call for work. I will definitely be coming back here again.
The Morning After
The best decision I made was not going out that night. It was a pretty long day and I was just not motivated to even go downstairs to redeem my free drink tickets. I’ll use them in the future as an excuse to visit Amsterdam again. I woke up at 6am and started to get my things together. I noticed my AirPods weren’t in my case. I used them for the Rijksmuseum tour and I got into the habit of putting them in my pocket. I made a mental note not to do that anymore. This is a bad habit. I checked out and got my 1 euro deposit back for the key card and walked to an excellent breakfast place called Omelegg that serves omelets. I arrived there at about 8:30am and I was one of two tables seated in the place. Within fifteen minutes of my arrival, the place was packed and a line was forming outside. I walked out there at 9:00am and headed to the train station to get to the airport with time to spare. Again, I have extreme paranoia because of the rolling train strikes in Amsterdam.
Atomic Habits Explained
After a bit of confusion on which train goes to the airport on the platform, I arrive to the airport with almost three hours to spare and I’m pretty proud of that. There’s an Albert Heijn supermarket outside the airport where you can collect snacks for the eight hour flight home. In the supermarket, I’m weighing my options trying to create the perfect balance of salty and sweet. I walk past the beer fridge and see all these dutch beers and I am captivated by them all. I figured since I ate a big breakfast and already had my coffee and arrived to the airport with a lot of time to spare, I should be rewarded for that with not one, but two beers. I went outside with my goodies and took a seat on a park bench near other distinguished gentleman and cracked a beer.
While reflecting on the park bench, the reality set in that KLM has me seated in a middle seat. I can a do middle seat for up to two hours. Not a minute more. Feeling good about life in general, I pull out my phone and make the change from 33B to 24G and pay the $52 for an aisle seat and crack the second beer. I drink the second beer, get up and give a friendly nod to the other gentleman on the park benches, and proceed to put some jams on the Spotify. I go to open the AirPods case and “NO AIRPODS”. WTF!!! I frantically search all pockets, rifle through my back pack and nothing. I go back to Albert Heijn and ask the guy helping at self checkout if anyone has seen any AirPods. He says yes and sends me to the other cashier and I recovered the AirPods. He told me it happens all the time as if to make me feel better. Unbelievable, so I had to get one last beer to celebrate finding my AirPods. It’s so weird that I would’ve taken the airpods out and left them at the self checkout after I told myself to stop doing that earlier in the morning. I breeze through security, take my aisle seat, and continue reading more Atomic Habits. I arrived in Chicago and luggage is already waiting for me after an hour long wait to get through passport control. Looking into getting Global Entry.
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