We knew we would be up unreasonably early on Friday, so we planned to get out and take advantage of the sleeping city on an early morning canal cruise.

Our day started with the hotel’s excellent breakfast buffet. What a spread! I’ve never seen anything like it.

After a quick breakfast we were off to our early morning canal cruise on Captain Dave’s Royal Jonckvrouw. We chose the cruise specifically because it departed at 8:00 and was on a small boat/in a small group. It was perfect for us…relaxing and quiet. We enjoyed sitting outside and being one of a very few boats on the canals.

I’m going to deviate a bit from my normal chronological blog posts today, and skip to lunch and dinner before I fill in the hours in between.

We had lunch at a delightful little cafe in the Jewish Cultural District. It was an adventure because we really weren’t sure what we were getting! I thought my flatbread was close to what I thought I would be served, but Jim’s Louman Meatball with Amsterdam Pickles (they’re actually onions) was a surprise!

Dinner on Friday was a delight! We ate at Restaurant D’Vjiff Vlieghen, or The Five Flies. Thankfully we didn’t see any flies during our meal! The restaurant is the oldest in Amsterdam, and is located in a series of canal houses that date back to the early 1600s. (The street has been filled in, but it was once a canal.)

Walking through the door to the restaurant is taking a step back in time to an era of low ceilings and exposed beams. The building was fascinating and we thought the food and service was excellent.

After many miles, smiles, thoughts, and delicacies we were happy to go back to our hotel and fall into bed!