When Team Beck left you at the end of yesterday's post, we were on the platform at the Zaanse Schans, heading back into Amsterdam. I know you can't believe there's a Part 3 to this day, but after the Rijksmuseum, the Van Loon mansion and Zaanse Schans, Team Beck needed some sustenance.
We looked longingly at this cool waiting room/coffee shop, which as you can see was disappointingly, definitively and decidedly closed.
Let me take a stab at a translation without consulting any of the Google family, and see what the Dutch-speaking Steemians think – “Welcome to the most beautiful waiting room in the Netherlands. Having something to eat or drink isn’t compulsory, but you don’t know what you’re missing.”
The fellow in the Amsterdam tourism office had highly recommended we eat in the Hallen-kwartier in the west of the city.
We hopped on the train and were soon back in the city.
The Foodhallen
By now I’m sure you know how we got to the Foodhallen – Madame Google, of course. When we stepped in we understood why the Amsterdam tourism fellow had said it was a cool place.
Because it’s a cool place
It was a Sunday night, probably about 9:00 by that time, and the place was packed to the rafters.
And there was a bike in the rafters, I guess in case ET needed to make a quick escape.
There were counters offering food from many places around the world, and a central bar (which I’ll come back to in a little while).
We figured out that one person would save our seats on the benches, and the two others would scatter to procure food and beverages from the various counters and the central bar.
We had some unexpected but welcome furry company at our table.
Each table had interesting decorations.
The place was full of knick knacks and fun details.
Pictures of food
That’s @tim-beck’s Big Daddy (or something like that).
Emma had this delicious looking concoction which she said cost about half the price of the G&T she was brandishing.
I tried to get an ostrich burger but they were fresh out, so I went for a classic burger.
That burger place was truly out of this world. They may be short order cooks at that counter, but they are craftsmen of note. Watching the team put the orders together and cook the burgers was mesmerising. Waiting around in line to order was also enjoyable, as everyone in line bantered a bit with each other. And look at the bag they give you!
Whoa Nellie! What was that doing on the table?
Of course there’s a South African connection
While Emma enjoyed a G&T, the other two members of Team Beck went for the classics, wine and beer. This meant one or two trips to the central bar.
Yup – working at the bar was a young South African. He and Emma chatted for a couple of minutes about how he had managed to secure work in Europe, and unsurprisingly the answer turned out to be because he had European family so already had the right to work there. Oh well, at least we bumped into a fellow Saffer on our last night!
Before we left the Foodhallen
And this was the last thing we saw before leaving the Foodhallen. Sorry, I have no idea what it was, but it was eyecatching!
Homeward bound
Sadly, it was now time to head back to our Airbnb.
By now we knew what we were doing with the bus and tram system. We grabbed the bus after a short walk, got off after two stops, walked another couple of minutes, and we were back at our Airbnb.
What Emma saw on the way back:
Tim and I must have been blurry because we were walking so fast ;-). We do walk quite fast, and a view of our backs was pretty standard fare for Emma!
The streets are really safe, so even though there was nobody out at that time on a Sunday night, we felt secure in a most un-South African way.
A quick rooftop chill
Our delightful hosts had mentioned a rooftop terrace in the building, which seemed just the place to end off a perfect day in Amsterdam – our last as this squad of Team Beck. Up we climbed two flights of stairs...
...up...
...a bit more (Hitchcock, anyone?)...
...until we reached the roof and a surprisingly large, open rooftop terrace, furnished with a comfortable settee and chairs. How lovely is this?
We shared the last beer @tim-beck had bought in Paris and lovingly transported across European borders for just such an occasion.
No, Tim wasn’t peeing - get your minds out of the gutter! He was opening the beer. Apparently it had been a member of the French Resistance.
Yup, that's @kiligirl's bum. Not going to crop it out.
We watched planes fly back and forth to and from distant Schipol Airport, their lights winking silently in the night sky.
We were impressed at how quiet it was up there on the roof of the fourth floor, although we were very much in the city. We felt we were the loudest beings in the neighbourhood that evening.
Bed toe gaan
With the rigours of the day’s tourism gradually leaving our tired bodies, we called it a night and traipsed carefully the two storeys down the steep stairs back to our apartment.
...eyaaaaa...
...more eyaaaaaaa...
...and a bit more for good measure.
Our last sleep in Amsterdam
It was deep. We were sorry to be leaving, but...
...>sknnnnnnxxxx<
Images pretty much all by Emma Beck except where she's the subject of the photo.
Other posts to date on our trip:
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-11-part-2-team-beck-tilts-at-windmills-in-zaanse-schans
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-11-part-1-team-beck-hits-the-rijksmuseum-and-other-stunning-amsterdam-attractions
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-10-team-beck-comes-to-grips-with-amsterdam
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-10-team-beck-travels-from-hardelot-to-amsterdam-alternative-title-groundhog-day
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-9-team-beck-in-bruges-and-dunkirk-so-not-a-movie
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-8-team-beck-does-a-bit-of-rest-and-restoration-in-le-touquet-and-hardelot
https://steemit.com/family/@kiligirl/day-7-team-beck-attends-the-wedding-of-the-century
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-6-part-3-of-the-beck-trek-to-france-bruges-and-amsterdam-superkiligirl-saves-the-mother-of-the-bride
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-6-part-2-team-beck-takes-a-reflective-turn-in-delville-wood-somme-region-of-france
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-6-the-beck-trek-hits-the-north-of-france-amiens
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-5-team-beck-moves-from-paris-to-pas-de-calais-in-the-north-of-france-and-nobody-dies
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-4-in-paris-for-team-beck-notre-dame-the-musee-d-orsay-and-le-marais
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-3-in-paris-for-team-beck-hop-on-hop-off-bus-tour
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-2-in-paris-for-team-beck-boat-cruise-down-the-seine
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/day-2-in-paris-for-team-beck-a-visit-to-the-louvre
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/two-weeks-ago-yesterday-we-were-wandering-around-the-centre-pompidou-in-paris
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/paris-day-1-part-2-of-several-posts-on-our-trip-to-paris-pas-de-calais-bruges-and-amsterdam
https://steemit.com/travel/@kiligirl/whirlwind-tour-of-paris-pas-de-calais-bruges-and-amsterdam
Team South Africa banner designed by @bearone
Hey my friend! :) How you doing?
It's been a while. Been missing you on my latest content :D Your rewards are doing great by the way!
I made you this thumbnail for being a Lady-Boss :) Keep it up.
Hey Zane, great to hear from you! The last few posts have been excruciating to get out and have taken a full day each instead of a few hours due to image hosting services getting cranky and non-functional on me. I also help out a fellow Steemian who's based on Marion Island at the moment - he doesn't have the bandwidth to handle images or formatting, so I do that for him, and Tuesday I helped him out with another post.
I finally got things sorted by switching to imgur so today's post was a breeze. I have a LOT of catching up to do on other Steemians' posts! It's been all I could do to catch up on comments and upvotes - and then there's the old day job in between.
So many thanks for catching up with me! That is one kickass thumbnail - thanks so much!! You rock!!
Vertigo! Thanks for reminding us about Hitchcock . Lol. What a nice view to have a last refreshment before heading home. Great trip for all of us. Thanks my friend. Ellie Mae🐓🐓
Thank you so much, Ellie Mae....😘😘
Hello friend....how are you? Loved reading your post...so nice to see your family enjoying the tour ...upvoting and resteeming it...have a great day ahead..
Thank you so much, @momi5, really nice to hear from you. I was so happy to be able to post this most recent post before 8:00 in the evening! Enjoy the rest of your day, and I appreciate your kind words - family and loved ones are so important 😊😊
Thanks for sharing good vibes with us!)
It was a pleasure, @nikita.onopko! A simple meal with people you love - what more is there to life? 😊😊
awesome!
Have loved traveling with you every step of the way @kiligirl been a fun adventure and memories too, your way of telling is special too.
So glad you shared an entertaining holiday, Europe is so different and Holland a special place to visit.
Thank you so, so much, @joanstewart, it's been lovely having you along for the ride. I've deeply appreciated your supportive feedback and company in the storytelling part of the journey. 😊😊
Travelling is always a fun.
But it becomes sad when you have a return ticket in your hand and needles of your watch tells you this is the end of the tour.
The memories which last till the last breath. Stay young energetic and enthusiastic @kiligirl.
Photos of road, railway track and clouds are used to be my favorit.
You are so right, @muhammadsaqib, those return tickets and watch needles are bringers of sadness. Thanks for the kind wishes 😊. Your photo interests are cool - roads and railway tracks are built by humans to take humans and their "stuff" from one place to another, while clouds are free and fly over roads and railways....😊😊
"the Hallen" live in that street! fun that you went, will go there Saterday again. and yes... those stairs dont even get me started live on the 3th and 4th floor, typical Dutch.
That's so cool! We could have passed you on the street that evening. Oh well. Enjoy it tomorrow!
Oh my gosh, 3rd and 4th floor, you have my undying admiration. I didn't mention anything in my posts about how people get furniture into those upper stories....
Watching peole move is very fun to see, builings were taxed on the width of the building when they were build thats why they are so narrow.
Narrow and really long - how funny! Thanks, I hadn't picked that up during the canal cruise. May have been a bit distracted by the Muslim choir ;-)
"No, Tim wasn’t peeing - get your minds out of the gutter! He was opening the beer." pfff hats off to a guy that can open a beer with his appendage thats all i can say :)
😂😂
Great travel post and pictures. Keep Steeming! Looking forward to your next post.
Thanks so much, @firepower! Tomorrow is about going home...but first we have to get to the plane - seen this roundabout before?
Fascinating post - thanks @kiligirl .
Thank you, @capari 😊😊
The food looks amazing!
Simple and delicious, in a great setting with fantastic company. What more can anyone ask for? 😊😊
I agree! How was Amsterdam?
Short and sweet! But it took 4 posts to tell the story of one Saturday afternoon and one full Sunday there, so never boring :-)
Awe! That sounds amazing. I cannot wait to see Europe.
😊😊
Upvoted and RESTEEMED :)
Thank you, @smartdeveloper! 😊😊
upvoted&followed, look at my photos :)
upvoted&followed, look at my photos :)
Thanks for sharing. Good post. :) I'm following. Please follow me...
Wow great post. Amsterdam is really really beautiful :-)
Hi, @leo-tmp, Amsterdam is a really cool city. We enjoyed our whole day and a half there tremendously! Thanks for stopping in 😊😊
This deserves some attention. Upvoted and resteemed :]
Thank you, @insiders.
Congratulations @kiligirl, this post is the tenth most rewarded post (based on pending payouts) in the last 12 hours written by a Hero account holder (accounts that hold between 10 and 100 Mega Vests). The total number of posts by Hero account holders during this period was 217 and the total pending payments to posts in this category was $3498.18. To see the full list of highest paid posts across all accounts categories, click here.
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Thank you so much, @barca! Feels a bit sad watching the journey come to an end for the second time, but such is life. Appreciate the resteeem! 😊😊