A night in Schiphol Airport

It’s a common travel story: delayed flights, overnights in airports. It’s certainly not the ending I had planned for my two+ week trip to Greece. We were supposed to fly back to Amsterdam, have an overnight in the charming town of Haarlem, and board our flight back to the U.S. the next day…but that’s not how it turned out.

Our flight from Athens to Amsterdam was delayed 12 hours, bringing us in at 2:00am Amsterdam-time. Too late to check into our hotel, and not worth the taxi ride there – everything would be closed and we would have to ride right back at 8:00am for our next flight, so we basically spent the night in the Schiphol Airport.

Now, I have my griefs with Schiphol. The security line is so long and slow that I called it “Shithole Airport” under my breath. But once we were through security in the wee hours of the night, we entered into the newly remodeled and gorgeous international terminal, and I was regretting my comment. Of all the airports to spend six pre-dawn hours, this was one of the best.

Not only was there abundant seating, but they even provided outlets to charge your smartphones and laptops! Also, we founds some lounge chairs overlooking the runways and far from the hustle and bustle of shops, which provided a few hours of rest before our next flight.

main lounge with tons of seating

main lounge

charging station for phone, ipod, laptop, etc. 

clear floor shows conveyer belts moving the luggage

lounge chairs for resting

massage chairs

lots of seating

the clock was an art video of a guy painting the hands each minute

view from the lounge

dawn view from the lounge

Openbar Library in Amsterdam

I’ve been to a lot of libraries in the world, but Amsterdam’s might be the only one with a bar on the top floor. What can I expect from a library called “Openbar.” The fact that it is centrally located in the heart of town is also another clue. Typically libraries are local affairs, and a city would waste valuable real estate on something that isn’t going to bring in tourist money. But Amsterdam is a different kind of city, and Openbar is a different kind of library.

Though the interior design of the library is nothing astonishing, in terms of size, it is probably one of the largest libraries I have ever been to, reaching seven floors. At the top, there is a restaurant and bar that overlooks the water canal. Does it get more amazing than that?

What Did I eat in Amsterdam?

In only two days in Amsterdam I had to be picky. At the top of my list was Indonesian food. Why? Because I love Asian food and it’s famous in Amsterdam. Due to colonialism, the Dutch brought back recipes from the east Indies and have incorporated it into their national cuisine. Having been to Indonesia, I was curious to taste some familiar flavors and to try the Dutch version of these dishes. The thing to order is a Rijsttafel, which means Rice Table. It’s an order of white rice with a dozen or so little samplings of meats, curries, and vegetables. I was surprised that although some of the spices were familiar the dishes themselves were not.

The second thing on my list was herring. I like seafood and pickled things, so I thought it would be a win-win. We were lucky enough to be staying near a famous and popular-with-the-locals herring cart. We ordered it Amsterdam-style, which comes with pickles and onions. I was surprised at how soft and flavorful the herring was, and not at all pungent or sour. The crunchiness of the onions and pickles really complimented the soft chewy fish. It was so good we went back the same day and got it again. 

The third things is pancakes. I heard that Dutch pancakes were definitely something to experience, so as soon as we landed I leaded to Pancakes Amsterdam. I ordered a savory pancake with Camembert and a sweet pancake with apples. I love the thinness of the pancakes, which are more like crepes. 

Jumbo Grocery Odyssey

The parking lot as we approach the entrance of Jumbo

With only two days in Amsterdam, visiting a grocery store was not on my to-do list. Don’t get me wrong, I love grocery stores in other countries because they are so revealing of the culture. But two days in a city with tons of museums and coffee just didn’t seem like enough time to do it all, let alone wander around a store. Thankfully, I did end up at a Jumbo (pronounced Yumm-Bo) and it turned out to be the best experience I had in Amsterdam.

 On this particular trip to Europe my father came with us, and my the second day he was already stressing about where to buy gluten free bread in preparation for our visit to the remote island where my extended family lives (with no gluten-free bread).  Hearing that Amsterdam had a large supply of gluten-free products in their grocery stores, we walked fifteen minutes from our airbnb apartment to Jumbo. My expectations where low; I expected a small disorganized market. But when we approached the large industrial structure with an enormous parking lot my hopes soared.

Welcome to Jumbo Foodmarket

Jumbo was an incredible adventure. Not only is it gorgeous and sprawling and clean and well-designed (what did I expect – it’s the Netherlands), but it had an assortment of groceries that delighted me with their unique Dutch-ness.

Aisle after aisle of cheese

Overwhelming selection of cured meets

A kind of cake no one at the bakery could describe in English

Gigantic meringues!

So much Gluten-Free food

A posh bakery inside the store

Old Amsterdam Cheese - the best!

Fresh orange juice squeezed by machine right in front on your eyes

It was the best orange juice I ever had

Rijksmuseum Library in Amsterdam

Does it still count as a library visit if it’s a library inside a museum?

Now, it’s not secret that art museum have some of the best libraries in the world. Most of them are pretty small. Most of them have limited hours, or limit their attendees to art students or museum  members. I have gazed in the windows and behind the gates of many such museum libraries, but I have never seen a library that was an exhibit of its own.

When Pierre Cuypers build the museum in 1885 he designed it with the library in mind, and to this day it is the largest library of art history in the Netherlands. Indeed the library was a very deliberate part of the museum, and was always intended for use my individuals eager to learn.  For a long time, the library was inaccessible to the public while it was being restored, but since 2004 it has returned to it’s original purpose, and the public may come in, browse, read, and study…sort of.

The first floor of the library allows visitors, albeit incredible quiet ones. The books on the first floor are modern and able to be picked up and read.  No photographs are allowed on that floor and you are being watched the entire time.

But the second floor is where the real beauty is. This is were visitors are allowed to photograph to their hearts’ delight. But you can’t go beyond the small balcony, walk down the aisles, browse the centuries-old books. You can just look and photograph. So this isn’t a true library in that sense. But it is a remarkable piece of architecture and design.