For my final full day in the De Pijp neighborhood (I'm going to spend my final night in Amsterdam at the airport hotel tomorrow), we took a side trip the "cheese town" of Alkmaar, a thirty minute train ride from Amsterdam.
Jana had been here earlier but had spent the entire trip, apparently, at an outlet store shopping for clothes. This time, we decided to visit the town proper first (although there was a return to the outlet store later). It is a little out of season, so the cheese market was closed. Instead we walked through the calm streets and canals of town.
Andy and I had lunch at an outdoor cafe while Jana looked after Karsten who had refused to leave toy store filled with toy trains. I ordered a sandwich of raw beef. It was very good, but I am still worried about the foolishness of eating raw meet just before making the long trip back home.
After lunch, Jana headed back to the outlet store while Karsten looked for more toys. I wandered over to the local Media Markt, a sort of Circuit City or Best Buy but twice as big. I may be off on my currency conversions, but even given the extremely weak state of the dollar, prices seemed very reasonable. I passed through rows of plasma televisions, DVD players, computers and computer accessories, movies, and music. Returning to such close proximity to electronic gadgets left me feeling refreshed and energized. An English group (I never did figure out who) played a short live set and then started signing records.
I worked my way through the Top 10 CD list, looking for Dutch names to add to my collection of local music from places I visit. The top slot was occupied by the still inexplicably popular Robbie Williams, whose new album is being featured all over the city at music stores, book stores, even department stores. Andre Hazes's (the statue guy) collection of greatest hits was there, and I made sure to pick it up. The CD in second place, while all in Dutch, sounds like it is a children's CD, so I don't think I will be playing that one very much. The final CD I purchased was an English language album from a singer with a very Dutch name--I think that counts as legitimate addition--but I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet.
