Honeymoon Nov 10, 2012

SATURDAY NOV 10

WIW: blue and red check shirt, muted blue trousers.

WRW: striped shirt (red, blue, green, and navy on a white field), argyle cardigan, grey trousers.

Today was the day we took our day trip to Amsterdam to see my Dutch cousins. We got up at 5:40 AM. We couldn’t figure out the shower so we sort of took a bath. Our trip to the Gare du Nord was smooth and devoid of drama. Even buying the Métro tickets was a cinch. We took the Métro to the Gare de l’Est, knew that the Gare du Nord was nearby but didn’t know where to find it. We left the building and found three guys smoking, who appeared to work there.

ME: Pardon - - nous cherchons le Gare du Nord, ou pouvons-nous le trouver?

HIM: You take a left over zere, zen you go up a set of stayers…

I was so put out! Here I was speaking French and he answered me in English. But sure enough, that’s how you get there. We were about a half hour early so we went to a shop and got a couple of ham and cheese sandwiches, a cup of coffee for Richard, and an Orangina for me. We were starving. We got on the train to find out they serve a full breakfast, included in the ticket price! I was able to force down a chocolate croissant. I took a little nap, so refreshing. I woke up, had a cup of coffee, turned to Richard, smiled, and said, “Hello.” This often happens.

I asked the server if they’d be serving dinner on the return trip. She said she thought so, but she’d double check and get back to me. Clearly she did her customer service training at the same place as the staff at Newark International Airport, because I never heard another word from her.

We got to Amsterdam and found Nieske, Hans, and Anke. Nieske and Anke are sisters, Hans is Nieske’s husband. In the first picture we have Anke on the left, Nieske in the middle, and Hans on the right. And another picture of me, Anke, and Nieske.

A couple more cute pictures of Richard and the two of us. I look good in a pea coat.

Nieske and Anke (and the third sister, Anne Marjke) are my second cousins once removed - - they’re my mother’s second cousins, their grandmother and my mother's grandmother were sisters. The three girls came to the US for a visit about 35 years ago, we were crazy for them and vice versa. My mom and brother Howard and I took a trip to Germany and the Netherlands about four and a half years ago, we spent a long weekend with them and had a great time. And as fate would have it, Richard had a business trip to the Netherlands six months later, and spent a couple days with them. Of course they were crazy for Richard, how could you not be?

We went across the street to a coffee shop, everyone but me had coffee (I had sparkling water). They brought us some Dutch cookies and a little bottle of Fries booze. They live in Friesland, which is the northernmost province of the Netherlands. They’re Dutch, but it's more precise to say they're Fries. I compare it to people from Sicily - - it's accurate to say they're Italian but they might prefer to be billed as Sicilian. Anyway. We got all caught up, they gave us the latest on their parents and Nieske and Hans’s kids, Sanne and Thomas. Nieske reminded me of a few bits of news in my own family, that was amusing. Anke said it was interesting that we met 35 years ago, saw each other again 30 years later, and now we see each other so often! And stay in good touch and have such a nice time together, like we’re old friends.

We went to a street fair, all kinds of stuff for sale. Best of all, Hans asked if we’d ever had poffertjes.

Naturally we’d never even heard of it. I’d describe it as a little teeny pancake, like the size of a silver dollar. These were being made in a street food truck, in a special poffertjes pan. The guy who was making them (who, it must be said, was really cute) would squirt a little oil in the individual cups, then plop in some batter, and when it was ready he’d spear them out with a fork and put them directly onto a paper plate, in sets of six, and sprinkle on some powdered sugar. I decided to put some chocolate syrup on mine, too, to gild the lily - - it cost an extra 50 cents, but was well worth it.

We walked around the city, decided to get away from the touristy area and find a place for lunch. We walked around for an hour and Anke and Nieske said they were getting hungry. We walked around for another half hour and Hans started looking for a place to eat. Which Nieske says is like looking for a parking space - - there’s always a better spot around the corner. He found a place that looked promising. We walked in, we walked out. He found another place, we walked in, I was about to put down my bag and said, “Oh, look at the sweet kitty!” Hans and Nieske were already down the street looking at another place, they couldn’t have left that restaurant any faster, they were so horrified that a restaurant would have a cat in it.

We walked into a third place, and this seemed like it was going to work. We chose a table, took off our coats, and sat down. We started looking at the menu.

HANS: You won’t believe this.

ANKE: What?

HANS: There’s a cat.

ANKE: You’re kidding.

HANG: No, right behind you.

NIESKE: Oh my God, I can’t believe it.

RICHARD: [laughs]

Now you have to know that Hans and Nieske, like my beloved husband, are kidders. So I was skeptical about turning around. But I did. And there was a cat. We did not leave. Pioneer stock.

Anke, Nieske, and I had the goat cheese salad - - greens, warm goat cheese, pine nuts, various bits of fruit (orange, apple, raspberry, and kiwi). So delicious. Richard and Hans had the grilled tongslip, which is similar to a sole or a flounder. Served with the skeleton, but being men of the world, they effortlessly lifted the skeleton away from the fish. Richard said it was wonderful.

Nieske and Anke and I talked about their visit to the US back in the 70s, they talked about a night we all went to the Playboy Club in Lake Geneva. They insisted I was there, but I was just a kid, I’m sure I never would have been allowed into the Bunny Hutch. They said they were singing something really loud all the way home - - they sang it for me, and I didn’t recognize it (Howard later said it was “Feels So Good” by Chuck Mangione).

We walked around a while more and Hans suggested we take a canal boat tour, which was fun. It’s such a beautiful city and this is the perfect way to see it. We called my mom when the tour was about to start, that was fun for everyone. We had a little time to waste before getting back on the train, so we went to a cute little bar and had beers (Anke had red wine) and some liverwurst and cheese, served with brown mustard. All of it delicious! Richard was amazed I was eating liverwurst, but ya know, when in Rome.

They walked us to our train and Anke and Nieske spent about five minutes waving and being goofy outside our window, while the train was just sitting on the track. They are so adorable. Here are a couple of pictures they took of us and a picture of Richard on the train:

An announcement was made on the train that due to an unavoidable error, the dinner service would be limited and wouldn’t happen until Brussels. Brussels came and went, and no dinner. Some yahoo went through the car and put a stamp on everyone’s ticket, showing there was no meal service, and we can use this to (somehow) get a refund. Richard found it worrisome that this happens often enough that a) they have a pre-recorded announcement about the dinner service being limited and happening in Brussels and b) they have a stamp to verify it. Thankfully Richard bought a small can of Pringles early in the trip, so we ate that. How ironic that we had an extra breakfast that morning, but no dinner.

We got back to Paris and got two incredible hot dogs on our way back to the hotel - - a hot dog encased in a loaf of French bread, encrusted with swiss cheese. We walked around a bit, over the Pont Neuf.

Next day...