Update on local elevation: we discovered a larger summit than Mount 76.  The local pancake café sits atop an actual hill.  It took a number of steps to climb it. We have christened it Pancake Peak. We have not yet sampled the pancakes.

However, we did take a bus to Amsterdam today (for a fraction of the price of the train – Flixbus runs multiple times daily between Rotterdam and Amsterdam, and takes about the same time).  Over the years we have found ourselves passing through Amsterdam – either at Schipol Airport, or the railway station – without having time to explore it.  The last time we did so was back in 1992, on our first trip to Europe, which was a Contiki tour (remember those?)  So today it was Amsterdam or bust.  Or, Amsterdam and bust.

After leaving the bus at Sloterdijk, and taking Tram 19, we headed straight for Pancakes Amsterdam for lunch.  They tasted even better than we remembered, and after eating an enormous plateful each, we were ready to bust.  A good shake-down walk was called for.

We have no idea where we walked, but we saw many canals, bridges, boats and bicycles.  The Amsterdammers are fond of flowers (not just tulips).  We passed long queues at the Anne Frank House – you have to buy tickets weeks in advance.  We found ourselves at Dam Square, and headed randomly down one of the many streets leading from it – a potential Vortex of Doom.

We skipped the Rijksmuseum and just admired the art of the Dutch (Lego) Masters, featuring Vermeer and Van Gogh, at the Lego store on Kalverstraat. Ian indulged in some shopping.

Later, as we neared Centraal Station, something amazing happened.  A woman on the extremely busy street emerged from the crowd and came towards me, exclaiming “Debbie! It is you!” I recognised Gracelyn, a friend from work who I haven’t seen since I retired 8 years ago. We had a quick catchup and took photos together.

Amsterdam is tough on pedestrians.  The streets are uneven, many cobbled, and the footpaths tend to disappear without warning.  As in many European cities, bicycles rule, and you have to learn to look for them coming at you from any direction. But here there are also quite a lot of cars trying to negotiate the narrow streets – everyone is fighting for limited space.  We spotted a car that would be perfect.

Finally we made our way back to Tram 19. Except that we jumped onto Tram 7 by mistake.  In fixing our navigational error, we fortuitously walked through a fresh produce market that was packing up and selling off stock at bargain prices.  We brought home a large punnet of delicious strawberries for the huge sum of 1 euro – cash only. I gave the vendor the coins I’d been saving for the pay toilets.

Dinner was a huge plate of pasta, sauce, mince and vegies, as we attempt to eat the contents of the fridge and pantry shelf before Sunday.  The strawberries went beautifully with chocolate pudding. Once more we are busting.