My weekend in Amsterdam

Goede morgen mijn Vrienden, this is Dutch and means Good morning my dears.... or "Guten Morgen meine Lieben" in German.

As I want to talk about my experiences in Amsterdam and the people I met there, I write in English today, as I don´t speak Dutch and they don´t speak German......

You know, that I love baking and always looking for some highlights. I have seen quite often cakes in very cute forms and was wondering, where people buy these baking pans. So I searched the internet and found the american company named Nordic Ware *klick Nordic Ware is family owned since 1946 and produces most of it´s products still in America. They are based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Surf a bit around on their website, they produce so great stuff. For me for sure, their Oven products *klick are most interesting. Great then, I found the products and I would have loved to buy some, but could not find any place in Germany😢. But as I had planned to go to Amsterdam for a business trip plus a free Saturday I thought why not searching for a shop in Amsterdam. And guess what, I found one - DUIKELMAN *klick. Internet site is in Dutch, but as pictures are understandable in every language 😂, I saw that they are selling plenty of Nordic Ware stuff. So it was clear for me, that I would have to spare some time on Saturday to go there. The shop is not in the city center, but from the Rijksmuseum *klick it is only a 10min walk. The district name is De Pijp.
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My Amsterdam experience was great and full of coincidences. On Thursday one of my colleagues invited us to her home and we did a litte lake tour by motorboat. See some impressions below. Fun thing and first coincidence was, that her nanny is German, lives close to my hometown and guess what - loves cakes and baking - so a new follower for my blog 😊. Mabel, I am looking forward to see your first comments....

When I posted this picture on my internet site, close friends wrote to me - we are heading Amsterdam tomorrow - do we want to meet? So this was the second coincidence.

I asked my colleague about some tips for Dinner, breakfast and some must does. They were all so great - thanks Anouska!.
As I also want you to have a great experience, here are the tips:
1. Dinner: Seafood bar, Spui 15 *klick. When you are a seafood lover - this is the place to go and try the ​​Combination fruits de mer & mixed grill for two - you will love it!
2. Breakfast or Lunch: Cafe de Jaren, *klick, I personally recommend to try the Apple Tart or the Lemon Meringue. When you prefer something more healthy 😂, then go for the homemade Granola with Gingertea. 
3. Yellow Bike tour,Nieuwezijds Kolk 29 (near by the Central Station) *klick. I took the 2 hours tour, starts at 10:30 every day. It is a super great experience, you will see a lot from the city, they explain some of the history and it is so nice to cycle around. See picture with the map. 

After my bicycle tour I walked around a bit and visited the Nieuwmarkt nearby the Weigh House *klick. On Saturdays there is Farmer Market where you can buy fresh Bio products. I bought there some cheese and bread from vanmenno *klick. Unfortunately I did not ask for the name of the cheese producer. When you have the stand of vanmenno in your back, go straight and then you see the stand on your right side. They are in the second row, when they always are on the same place. Try the young - very creamy - and the middle age Gouda - a dream... I know, I know, I only write about eating and drinking, but good food is my addiction... 😋

After that it was time to walk to the Rijksmuseum, about half an hour, when you don´t look around all the time and take pictures at every corner like I did.....😂 Then I spend some time there in the Garden to rest and then was walking to the DUIKELMAN shop. Funny enough, in this area are lots and lots of little cafés and bakery shops, so worth spending some time in this area, even if it´s a bit far away from the mainstream area. As a third reason, you find in the De Pijp the famous Albert Cuypmarket, *klick. When you go there, you must try the Stroopwafels *klick

After all, I arrived at the DUIKELMAN shop and the third and very best coincidence happened. In front of the shop a young lady was showbaking. I said hello, but the one and only thing I was interested that moment were my Nordic Ware pans. When i opened the door to the shop I got flashed. It is a quite big one and you feel like in heaven- when you love cooking and baking at least. You can find whatever your heard wishes. Just swing by at your next Amsterdam visit and you will understand what I mean. So it was hard to decide which Nordic Ware pans I should buy, as I came to Amsterdam with the plane and could not carry too much in my hand luggage. But anyway- this is for sure an good reason for coming back. I finally decided for the famous Heritage Bundt Pan and the Quartet Bundt Pan from the 70th year celebration edition. See yourself... 

I can´t wait to try the pans out and to bake some great new cakes. All my dear friends, you can look forward to get invited to Sunday afternoon visits :-)

After this satisfying shopping I went out of the shop and started to chat with the young lady in front of the shop. Her name is Saakje and I was for sure curious to learn more about here. She started together with some friends after study with the little "bakbar", then opened a shop, offering catering - sweets and cakes only - and now she just wrote her first baking book. Yesterday she was in Amsterdam at the DUIKELMAN shop to promote her book. What a lovely career. She and her friends are based in Arnhem in the Netherlands. Here the Internet site of their shop: www.bakbarwinkel.nl *klick More about her and the team you see at: www.bakbar.nl. *klick
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​I took these two pictures of her in front of the shop yesterday and she allowed me to use this pictures on my blog. You can see in her face, how much fun she has in her job and she is hoping, that the book inspires a lot of people to bake more. Unfortunately all we non dutch speaking people have to wait a bit, as the book is only published in Dutch. But I am sure that over time it will get translated into English as well. By the way - the cookies tasted fabulous - Saakje, unfortunately I forgot the name of the cookies....

So I really hope, that you enjoyed reading my little story about Amsterdam, my tips where to eat and to go to and also the great coincidences which happened to me the last three days. When you like my blog and my recipes, I am always thankful to share it with your friends, that more and more people enjoy baking after my recipes.
I finish for today with some additional pictures of Amsterdam. It is really a great city to experience with very friendly people, great food and a great spirit of life. 

Have a great and sweet Sunday - Yours Mona(li)
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