Euro Diaries 2026 - Chronicle II (Streets of Amsterdam)

 

I don't really plan on editing any of these entires, nor is there any kind of theme or narrative I'm aiming to explain. These are just tales, recollections of interesting moments or observations I'm encountering on this journey way off on the other side of the world. Besides, there are lots and lots of pretty pictures to accompany them too. 

It's difficult to overstate how objectively beautiful as a city Amsterdam is. The canals give it this irresistible romanticism, especially in a twilight sky like you see above, that combined with the typical old world charm of most major European cities... well it's probably the best place in the entire world to get lost in (that I've yet been to, at least). It's rather funny that the two things the city itself is probably best known for are far from its best qualities. 

The food scene is not really one of those things either but nevertheless! I did a little bit of research and found a few places that felt more authentically Dutch than about 98 percent of what the city appears to offer (more on that later). This here is Fabel Friet, a local mini-chain specializing in fries and... um... fries. You can guess what "friet" translates into English as. 

These here are their fries with the additions of shredded parmesan cheese and a hearty dollop of truffle mayo sauce... seeming to be both their most popular combination and the one I individually figured would be the best. Plus a beef croquette because screw health I'm on vacation damn it... plus I averaged like 15000 steps a day while in the Netherlands. 

Fabel Friet doesn't have inside seating (in fact none of the other locations I passed by seemed to either). Not a big deal when the nighttime weather is still mild and the scenery this appealing. 

These are fairly thick fries and very fresh tasting, just simple straight forward potato flavour. A touch of salt but very little. They're not particularly oily either, which is good when you consider the obscene amount of truffle sauce and parmesan on here. So very decadent.  

This beef croquette (which I'd completely forgotten I'd ordered until they gave it to me, damn jetlag) was most definitely an unusual surprise. As you can see, the texture of the beef is extremely soft and mushy, moreso like a meaty paste than anything. A bit of an odd salty, almost sour taste to it... not that I'm a conosssoiur of this particular item but I imagine a mince-meat pie is similar in flavour and texture. 

I wasn't in love with this one, although the crispy exterior of the croquette was absolutely delightful. Fabulous crunch all over, and the bites wherein the balance of beef paste and crunch was more even... quite tasty. The bizarre texture though was just a little too much for me. 

Seeing as I'd only previously spent about twenty hours total in Amsterdam and most of it in the more residential, south-east part of the city... I'd never realized until this second, more extended trip, how shamelessly touristy the core of the downtown is. Every major city is going to have your typical pandering for out-of-towners, like your souvenir shops, your tacky/gimmicky attractions, a McDonald's or three... but central Amsterdam goes full frontal on all of that and then some. On my second day I managed to slip out from that part of the city and experience some actual authentic culture (or at least drink some, heh)... but on this first night I simply didn't have the energy for that and kept my wanderings pretty close to my hostel. 

This meant passing by an endless string of Irish pubs, smash burger spots (seriously Amsterdam has like three zillion burger joints), cannabis paraphernalia (they outnumber the actual "Coffeeshops" like four to one), designer fashion stores, Italian eateries and, of course, McDonald's. However I think what was most confounding of all were the sheer amount of Argentine steakhouses consistently scattered throughout the downtown core... I swear I must've seen at least ten. Do The Netherlands and Argentina have some kind of historical connection I'm unaware of? Because if not then I'm at a complete loss in regards to how the heck to explain that. I can't even think of a single Argentinian steakhouse in all of Toronto, which is both considerably closer to Argentina than Amsterdam is and as a city about five times larger. Weird!

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On my second (and only full) day in Amsterdam, which was a Sunday, I had a ticket booked at the Heineken brewery/"Experience" which led me into the more southern part of central Amsterdam... thankfully a far less 'pandering to tourists' type of area. In fact there are a bunch of art galleries and museums very closeby... but beer first.

Actually no, first I had to navigate a way through this marathon that was happening this particular afternoon (I'd actually overheard a couple dudes in my hostel room who were in Amsterdam to run it). This was incredibly amusing as this exact same day was one of the biggest Toronto marathons as well... I guess mid-October is a good time to run obscenely long distances? Tip of the cap to anybody and all who can actually do this stuff... I ran 5km once earlier this spring and near the end of it I thought my legs were going to hold a referendum on separating from my body in protest.  

Heineken! I confess it isn't a beer I seek out all that often (although their zero percent beer was quite refreshing during my sober summer of 2025) but it's also a beer I've generally enjoyed anytime I've gotten my mitts on one. I'm also fairly confident, without looking anything up, that Heineken is indeed the most popular beer in the world. I've been to a dozen countries now in my life and it's the only beer I've seen in every single one. That's unsurprising in Europe and North America, sure, but I also saw Heineken a fair amount when I was in Thailand sixteen years ago too. My options for beer in Thailand were either Chang or Leo (both of which are unspeakably awful), Singha (which is okay-ish) or the premium shit... Heineken. That was indeed a very sober seven weeks in Southeast Asia, let me tell you. 

It's near impossible for any brewery tour to top what Guinness does (which legitimately felt like a trip to Willy Wonka's factory for suds fans) but Heineken nevertheless provides an insightful experience. There's your typical history of the company lesson (founded the same year as Canadaian Confederation!) and the explanation of the brewing process yadayadayada... but there's also some uniquely funky (and rather corny) parts of the tour as well. There's a bizarre room wherein everybody stands in groups of four as an immersive wall and ceiling of screens simulates the process of you being brewed and bottled as a Heineken beer (super weird), another where you can ride a branded bike behind a green screen showing the streets of Amsterdam, and of course lots of socc-I-mean football related posters and activities.

I paid a little extra for the rooftop experience (which gets you another drink as well) and I must say this would be a pretty sweet place to enjoy a pint on a breezy July evening, rather than a dreary damp day in mid-October. Thems the breaks I guess. 

What is cool up here, however, is that they call this their "Heineken Studio" which is essentially their umbrella name for these experimental brews you can only find in this one place! (I'm assuming). This beer above is their Heineken "Bold"... which I dunno kinda reminded me of a Belgian ale? Like Leffe but a bit smoother with less flavour? Not bad but I wouldn't be rushing out the door if it ever appeared in stores (pardon the rhyme)

Another innovation are these flavoured foams the bar could add to a typical pint of Heineken, the two options being a blood orange or an espresso thingy. I went for the espresso and lemme tell ya... this actually works. It gives the beer a type of rich bitterness that supercharges the flavour into a totally different stratosphere. Coffee-flavoured beers do exist, after all... it's just that typically they tend to be among darker brews like porters or stouts. The fact you get this type of taste in an otherwise standard lager is a bit bizarre at first (especially since it lacks the more full-bodied feel of those darker beers) but after the adjustment I found myself liking this a lot. 

A close friend of mine insisted I check out the Van Gogh Museum and if she's reading this I totally would've, honest... but they're closed on Sundays and that was really my only window to do it. Nevertheless, slightly buzzed and in the mood for some culture, I made my way from Heineken to the nearby Moco Museum... located in this neat part of town wherein you enter through that grand entranceway and there are like half a dozen art galleries or museums within a five minute stroll. Moco is one of the more unique ones, operating out of this elegant century-old townhouse you see above.  

I'm not going to bore you with any descriptions of the art I saw, as that would be both boring for me to write and I wouldn't really know what I'm talking about anyway. Instead, enjoy the pretty pictures! 

Art! 

I will say I'd definitely seen the diamond mirror room somewhere before, probably on some form of social media. As always, photos can only capture so much and this was but a tiny handful of what they have in there (I didn't even take any photos of the Banksy stuff for instance). I definitely recommend checking out this gallery if ever you get a chance. 

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Some final random bits before I finish this chapter. First of all, this flag which you see a fair bit all over Amsterdam:

At first I was a bit uneasy seeing it so much, what with far-right extremism making such an unpleasant resurgence throughout much of Europe at the moment. Red and black and "X's" hardly seem like an inviting or inclusive combination, right? 

Well actually, this is the official city flag of Amsterdam! The three "X's" are rather St. Andrew's Crosses and is really more like a coat of arms type of thing, while the black stripe might represent the Amstel river? I'm only going off of a Wikipedia glance here so maaaaaybe don't take what I'm saying at full value. Nevertheless! It becomes a much cooler, less intense flag once you realize it isn't representing some kind of nasty thing.  

So many canal boats! Considering most of the bridges over Amsterdam's canals aren't particularly high off the water, I'm certain a taller fella like me would have to duck a lot if I ever were to go for a little water cruise. 

I have little else to say beyond this beer is goddamn amazing and I definitely need to bring some back to Canada. 

I did walk a little bit through De Wallen (the infamous Red Light District, also not pictured above because it's illegal to take pictures there) and I didn't much care for the experience. Not because I'm a prude or anything (at least not a big prude) moreso that it's a pretty lively part of the city (especially on a weekend night) and being surrounded by dudes gawking at the windows definitely made me feel... I dunno, gross by association? 

Instead I checked out this cool experimental jazz band. Kind of like if Amnesiac-era Radiohead had only trumpet, drums and jangly guitar. 

Plus they had this beer on tap, which is also excellent. 

I was pretty hungry by the end of this night and needed a quick bite. These little pepperoni pizza bites were actually better than they look (lots of gooey cheese inside) but the experience is more notable for the dude behind the counter who served me: he noticed I was from Canada and asked me a bunch of questions about Toronto, like the weather, what neighbourhoods are cool... apparently Toronto was one of his top choices to move to but he settled on Amsterdam. Super nice guy and it was a neat little moment to reminisce about home to somebody who had never even been there. 

Euro Diaries 2026 - Chronicle I (Arrival)

I thought it might be fun/interesting this time around to chronicle the experiences of my European adventure... you know, for any of you out there who enjoy my descriptive side-tangents about the mood and vibe of a place rather than the actual nuts and bolts of the food reviews. Sign up now! Don't worry, there are a lot of random restaurants I tried and there will be thoughts on those as I go. Everybody wins!

Unfortunately the very first experience worth noting is the truly dreadful flight I took that got me across the ocean in the first place. 

It's not as though I typically find traveling by airplane an especially comfortable time (definitely a scenario wherein being considerably taller than the average human carries severe disadvantages)... but this particular trip must've check-marked every single "bad flight" cliche on the list. Screaming baby behind you? I'll take two orders please. Somebody constantly kicking the back of your seat? Chef's speciality. Seats crammed so tight in the aisles that even without luggage it's difficult to get in or out? Smells great. No space in the overhead? Have to try that, just shove a bunch of toilet paper out of the way and wiggle it in awkwardly. 

You get the idea. Being so tightly squished in and barely able to move, resulting in your legs twitching and spasming... it's a great way to make a six hour flight feel like sixty (and you can obviously forget about trying to sleep in such circumstances). I didn't even mention how gassy the in-flight meal made me (sorry not-sorry to the passengers around me). By the time we landed in Amsterdam I got off the plane and just sat in the airport for half an hour, my brain too burnt out and my body too fried to process any other way to proceed. 

The only positive being this bronze medal I secured among the trivia-inclined passengers aboard the plane. Or perhaps all-time? I tried a few hours later, my second effort much more pathetic (jet-lag exhaustion I swear) yet the standings were unchanged. Hey... I'll take anything good out of this awful draining flight that made me wonder if taking the Titanic to across the Atlantic Ocean might've been a more relaxing choice.  

Not a great start! Fortunately that tiny rest was able to recharge the batteries somewhat (like recharging a dead cell phone briefly to like 5 percent) and I navigated my way out of Schiphol towards the central part of Amsterdam where I'd booked my stay.  

(don't understand why the central Amsterdam train station insists upon this to the point of having a sign... must've been those secret balloon massacres we never heard about here in North America)

So I have to describe the unique sensation I have now felt twice upon seeing Amsterdam, both times while exiting the central train station. Some cities take their time to reveal themselves when you visit, gradually showing certain cards if you're willing to go deeper into the hand. Others (London for instance, or New York) are immediately all in as far as being this big, awesome behemoth that is simultaneously charming and infinitely intimidating. 

For me anyway, Amsterdam has been an instant love-at-first-sight every time (which is only twice) I've left the train station and I think it's just a beautiful old simplicity. Here are some aged buildings along lots of water, bike lanes flooding your senses (which certainly appeals to me), every sidewalk looks a century old and yet the city itself has a constant vibrancy to it. A youthful energy continuously refreshing the air to make these lovely old bricks breathe new again. 

(MORE burgers??? I can't get away!!!)

 

It's a strange city to describe and also completely different from what I remember... my 20 hour cameo last year is a worthy tale to be told but a suburban one that doesn't at all capture what the centre of the city is like. 

I mean... staying so close to that central hub train station... this is a city very much designed for tourists. Hey, like downtown Toronto or New York or insert your hometown here isn't... this is the nature of the game. To describe it, this particular area in Canadian terms... it's like a less pretentious Yorkville but a much more refined Niagara Falls... with way way more cyclists. Like if cyclists had the right of way, city streets were old and yet designed with them in mind, and thus every bike or vehicle never went faster than like 30km per hour. Hell, right? What the fuck! We have places to go and fast fast fast! How dare this gentle and safe flow of traffic exist! I even noted that like one out of every 70 cyclist wore a helmet, almost like they're less afraid of drivers veering into their space dangerously? My word! The Dutch are clueless dopes out of their minds...    

Amsterdam is a wonderful city. The blatant pandering to tourism in this particular central zone of the city has to be its only weakness. I arrived on a Saturday (with a marathon the next afternoon I later learned) and the international tourists (myself one of them of course) filled up every crevice of any charming walkway remotely close to the central hub of Amsterdam. Wandering more away from the train station, the crowds would thin and the amount of (apologizes) pandering food places diminished significantly. There would be people, but you could actually stretch your arms out a little bit. 

   

I've never been one for tourist traps, unless they're really good ones. An advantage of being a solo traveller is going off by yourself, getting somewhat lost in a city you barely know... then the process of finding your way back teaches you about the city itself. A place reveals itself most to you when you have the littlest idea what it is. 

Also sometimes the phone can't pick up internet right away in a new country, so you're navigating where you need to go via a map in your head. The lesson is! Always have a map in your head. 

I have a pretty good sense of direction even within internet-seperartion (born in the 80s yo) thus I managed to navigate, with some directional luck, where my hostel was. I'm so good at this that I still had two hours to kill before I could check into said hostel! So I found a little cafe* on the corner of Joe Nieuwendyk** lane and drank in the atmosphere. 

*cafes in the Nederlands are actually bars, like coffeeshops are actually... magic dragons

**obviously not named after him and the spelling is off... but come on how could I turn down a Joe Nieuwendyk reference?. 

Drank some variations of Grolsch: a Rose (interesting though a bit too sweet) and an unfiltered Wit (which was very citrusy and refreshing) while taking in the busy atmosphere both inside the cafe and outside along the laneway... I even met a Red Sox fan! Sure didn't expect that. Finally 2pm came along. Into the hostel, got the internet working.... away we go into the next adventure! 

Well, after a much deserved and needed nap at least.