flygirl

I guess I should give some thought to this weekend!

A friend celebrates his anniversary in the Netherlands every few years. He is Dutch and his wife is American.

So I will be with them and all of their friends and family in Egmond aan Zee. I will be trillying around looking for windmills to photograph as well as a day in Amsterdam.

My last visit there was in 2011 for the tulips. I've seen the highlights but it's been a few years. I'll be doing a lot of wandering...

Any last minute tips? Food/restos/exhibits?

Thank you for any thoughts.

flygirl

ps. does anyone know if it is possible to find Westvleteren beer in Amsterdam?

hetismij2

Westvleteren beer is only available in Belgium and is not sold in shops or pubs other than the two approved by the monks.

There is a mill in Egmond aan de Hoef which you can photograph. There are others in Noord Holland. If you do a search for windmills in Noord Holland, or even windmolens you will find a list.

flygirl

Thanks "me"!

I am going to overdose on speculaas for sure...

hetismij2

You are welcome. I really like Egmond aan Zee btw.
My youngest son used to go up there just to ride horseback along the beach!

Looks like you will have good weather!

Edward2005

Excellent fondu at Cafe Bern in Amsterdam.

yorkshire

A food highlight for me was Indonesian at Blauw. I wish I had reserved for the other night--we ended up eating at a Brewery, which was fine, but there are many places where a reservation is needed (I love the book Must Eat Amsterdam, which profiles many special spots http://mendo.nl/books/must-eat-amste...=whats-cooking).

menachem

Yes to Bern! But book ahead because it can be tough to get in

flygirl

Horseback riding? Cool! I wonder if it is still easy to find a stable there for that... What else do you know about Egmond? Thanks!

Thank you for the resto recos, I will check them out. Last time I just wandered and found good places...

hetismij2

There are two stables - Maneges in Dutch in Egmond aan de Hoef.

Both do rides out. Their websites are only in Dutch I'm afraid, but you could try calling or e-mailing them.


http://manegedehoef.nl/index.php/buitenritten/

http://www.manegegroot.nl/pages/buitenritten.php

My son went with one of them (don't remember off hand which) once, then got himself a gf with her own horses (shires!) so they would occasionally take them up in a box for a ride.
Both are now too busy for such frivolities, but she still rides regularly, and is an equine vet so is constantly around horses.

menachem

The Bern connection:

http://sensitiveskinmagazine.com/sav...y-eddie-woods/

http://www.cafebern.com/location/

ribeirasacra

Gasthof 1618 restaurant in Diest, Belgium serves Westvleteren bier. Nice restaurant situated in an old part of the city. Makes for a good location stop over.
http://www.gasthof1618.be/

Been to Egmond aan Zee during the winter and you will find the beach quite empty even during a sunny day at a weekend. summer it can get quite loaded with people.
http://egmondonline.nl/en/
https://www.facebook.com/webcamegmond/

flygirl

I have been busy - the stables has a ride on Saturday at 11 which I hope to go on, and, I found a cafe in Amsterdam which sells Westvleteren and they are holding some for me behind the bar. Yeah!!

flygirl

I am back.

I got my Westvleteren in Amsterdam (at 22.50 euros for one bottle!), but no horseback riding. They were full when I went to check them out - I didn't reserve when I heard from them.

It was nice to see my friends and his extended family. The party Saturday night was a lot of fun.

I did a TON of walking - 32L steps on the day I landed - yes, despite being jetlagged and no sleep - I walked 16 miles that day. Ooof!

ribeirasacra

As for the beer you should have gone to Diest as I suggested above. costs around 9€ . I would never pay the price you did for a bottle of beer. But hopefully it did not sour the taste so much.

hetismij2

Diest is a long way from Egmond when you only have a weekend.

hetismij2

Shame about the horse riding, but I am glad you had a good time. Did you have fog or the lovely warm sunshine I had?

flygirl

Yeah, I don't think going to Diest in order to save 13 euros would have been an economy. ???

We had both! Sunday was very foggy along the coast. I went to Amsterdam and it was blue sun and skies. Saturday was sunny on the coast and I spent the day Friday in Amsterdam where it was quite nice.

I had a wonderful room in Hotel Zuiderduin. Big suite with huge hot tub and big balcony overlooking the sea. And it was only 255 for three nights for all that! Granted I think they upgraded my room when I arrived - I would have had sea view but not that suite I don't think had they not done that. 85E a night for such a nice room, wow.

flygirl

ps. I had Indonesian food at Sampurna on Sunday. This overlooks the flower market. It's open from noon-onwards on Sunday which is nice b/c many other Indonesian places on Sunday were only open at 5 PM.