Desiree Koh:
Good bread. Good cheese. Good coffee. Fresh local produce. Fresh news. Way to go, morning!
Desiree Koh:
The National Monument by The Dam, where the city was born, where pigeons keep watch over the memory of those who were lost during World War II.
Desiree Koh:
The Dam is also officially home to Queen Beatrix, so I was expecting some medieval gravity. When I saw this, my first thought was, "What in hell is going on?"
Desiree Koh:
These waffles deserve a gallery of their own in the city's famed Rijksmuseum.
Desiree Koh:
De Nieuwe Kerk - New Church, but only because it's 200 years older than the Oude Kerk (the 1500s are like, so last decade).
Desiree Koh:
On Torensluis, one of the oldest and widest bridges in Amsterdam, Multatuli - a Dutch literary master - cranes his neck.
Desiree Koh:
Amp'd in Amsterdam.
Desiree Koh:
At Singel 404 "lunchcafe", some say the city's best deli, where "old cheese", alfalfa, tomato slices, cucumbers, sliced boiled egg, and pecans are clearly on top of freshly baked farmer's brown bread.
Desiree Koh:
Bicycles waiting patiently for their owners taking care of business in Amsterdam's brown cafes.
Desiree Koh:
Gember koek at Lanskoon, a bakery that has been in the same spot on Singel canal since 1908.
Desiree Koh:
Hi Heibrug bridge!
Desiree Koh:
Looking down Prinsengracht canal, Westerkerk church down the horizon, Rembrandt's tomb is somewhere inside.
Desiree Koh:
The upside of biking.
Desiree Koh:
Looking across Prinsengracht canal in Amsterdam's Jordaan neighborhood, a bobo enclave.
Desiree Koh:
Pretty bike - I'd love one.
Desiree Koh:
Townhouses along Keyzergracht built during the Dutch Renaissance of the 1500s.
Desiree Koh:
Easy rider.
Desiree Koh:
Another chintzy canal, adorned with carvings.
Desiree Koh:
My first dinner in Holland was at La Falote, a neighborhood diner serving heaps of Dutch comfort food and gezellig (the local version of the Irish craic).
Desiree Koh:
You'd never eat Ikea meatballs again once you've had chef/owner Peter Van Der Linden's, but the star of this dish is the carrot-potato "smash".
Desiree Koh:
La Falote owner, chef and court jester Peter van der Linden takes a musical interlude from the kitchen for some enchanted evening serenade.
Desiree Koh:
Behind the scenes at La Falote, a one-man kitchen show - that's reality.
Desiree Koh:
At Olympic Stadium two days before Amsterdam Marathon - on Sunday, this would be filled with start corrals and most importantly, the finish line.
Desiree Koh:
Slivers of steep steps leading to Pannekoeken Upstairs, a danger worth risking one's life for to get to some of the best pancakes in Amsterdam.
Desiree Koh:
Pannekoeken, handcrafted.
Desiree Koh:
Tomato and cheese pannekoeken - so simple, yet the formula of flavors and fragrance in the pancake was complex, aroma bubbling out of every crevice, at Pannekoekenhuis Upstairs.
Desiree Koh:
Set again an Oilily-worthy tablecloth, the famous Amsterdam apfeltaart held center court at Taart van m'n Tante, stealing mom's thunder.
Desiree Koh:
Lemon tart, not necessarily the next best alternative to key lime pie, but nicely tart enough to be its own tart at Taart van m'n Tante.
Desiree Koh:
Confections this pretty at Taart van m'n Tante belong in Barbie's house, except you best belief they are real and edible. Thankfully so.
Desiree Koh:
Down in De Pijp, Amsterdam's bohemian enclave of new immigrants, old intellectuals, working class hipsters, non-working artists, and everyone else that doesn't fit the bill, the Albert Cuyp market is a daily fixture (as is cheese).
