Amsterdam: February 2020
Starting the trip off with a new (or possibly previously forgotten?) discovery: s'mores cupcakes!
Wouldn't say it was the best, but for airport food, it was a pleasant surprise. And actually more tasty than some of the other items on the menu. After leaving LAX and landing at SFO, it was a short layover and then a surprisingly scenic evening takeoff from San Francisco to Frankfurt. Flight itself was uneventful, with the usual edible (adequate, indifferent, etc.) food and a pretty solid hard product. Another surprisingly scenic landing (with snow!) in Frankfurt. The usual layover in the Lufthansa Senator Lounge with an unexpected Augustiner bier tasting right before I left. YUM!
Arrival in Amsterdam was much more exciting. Shiny new Lufthansa Airbus A321neo got to exercise its big P&W turbofans on a missed approach, then after successfully landing on the second approach, it was a ridiculously long taxi from the runway to the gate. The airport itself was pretty ordinary, although the directly-connected train station was surprisingly pleasant despite the horribly delayed trains.
First steps in Amsterdam proper were right into a huge puddle. *grins*
Stepped into a crowded kebab place for a quick snack before the hotel, with the crowds and the narrow streets were clearly in evidence. The architecture was a little harder to appreciate at night and in the rain, but the uneven streets were harder to ignore.
Friends finally made it in a few hours later, and it was time to start properly exploring.
Cheap local beer, a bustling bar/restaurant, and a kilogram steak-- Cannibale Royale had a late dinner opening so we booked it. Didn't expect much except a spectacle from a 1kg (over 2lb) steak for EUR 55, but did end up surprised that the garlic broccoli was the most tasty item on the menu. As Cannibale Royale is right in the red light district, next stop was to wander the red light district. I think the girls got more of a kick out of the sex workers than the guys did. It's a much bigger area than you might expect, although the blocks in Amsterdam are actually all pretty small, so it works out in the end?