After a satisfying Surinamese lunch, we made our way to the fashion and museum district. The Museum Quarter was where the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Concertgebouw (Concert Building), Nederlands Filmmuseum, Coster Diamonds and Vondelpark were located in.
We spent some time taking photos in the Museumplein (Museum Square) since there were a number of scenic sights in that area. Pictured above was the Rijksmuseum, a Dutch national museum which was dedicated to arts, crafts and history. Unfortunately due to time constraints we did not visit the museum.
We walked further south and reached the Concertgebouw. The Concert Building was considered as one of the finest concert halls in the world, due to its highly regarded acoustics.
In the same area we also visited the Van Gogh Museum. Entrance to the museum was priced at €14 per person. The museum contains the largest collection of paintings by Vincent van Gogh in the world. The permanent collections includes The Potato Eaters, Vase with Twelve Sunflowers, the artist’s Self-Portraits and etc. It was a very unique experience which we enjoyed, although some of the paintings were beautiful but sad. More information about the museum can be found on their website. Pictured above was the interior of the museum, photos of the paintings were not allowed in the museum.
After visiting the Van Gogh Museum, we strolled around Vondelpark and came to the Nederlands Filmmuseum. The Film Museum is the national centre for cinematography and it possesses more than 35,000 film titles which add up to more than 60,000,000 metres of film.
When we finished exploring the museum district, we took the tram and travelled to the Koningsplein neighbourhood, where the Bloemenmarkt was. The Bloemenmarkt is the world’s only floating flower market.
There were a number of florists, garden shops and souvenir shops in the flower market. Various flowers, plants and seeds were available for sale and this includes the well-known traditional Dutch tulips.
When we were done with our sightseeing it was almost evening and time for dinner. After choosing from the list of restaurants that we read from Lonely Planet and TripAdvisor, we decided to visit Kop Van Jut, since it was located in De Weteringschans neighbourhood, not too far from the floating flower market.
The restaurant was small but cozy and dimly lighted. We enjoyed the ambiance there.
We began our meal with an Amsterdam triplet. Priced at €6, we were served with two types of croquettes and a bitterbal. We had a goat’s cheese croquette and a Dutch shrimp croquette. They were both nicely deep fried and the outer layer remained crispy while the inner filling was moist and juicy. The Dutch bitterbal was something new to us. It is a savoury Dutch meat-based snack typically made out of beef, flour and butter. It was a nice snack to bite on.
For our mains, we had a Porkschnitzel with fresh lemon priced at €14.50. The pork fillet was served with fresh salad, homemade fries and mayonnaise. The pork fillet coated with breadcrumb was mediocre, we thought it was a bit dry.
We also had the Grilled Dutch Peppersteak with Creamy Peppersauce for €16.50. The steak was admittedly not the best around. It was served well-done as we were not asked how we would like the steak, therefore the meat was rather tough. The peppercorn sauce was quite average and could have done with more of a tang. All-in-all, the steak was simply okay and it was a bit hard to go down.
Our favourite item from the restaurant would be their homemade fries. They use fresh potatoes and cut the fries fresh everyday, even their mayonnaise was homemade. Definitely a must try from the restaurant!
Service was very good as the waitress was very nice and friendly. We liked the appetisers and the fries, unfortunately not the mains. Find out more about the restaurant on their website. Stay tuned for more adventures in Amsterdam on our second last day of our visit!
Restaurant Information
Leidsekruisstraat 24
1017RJ Amsterdam
Netherlands.
Tel: 020 320 77 22
