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.

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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.

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A reminder of the Amsterdam tourism centre at the Amsterdam Centraal Station

We hopped on the train and were soon back in the city.

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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.

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And there was a bike in the rafters, I guess in case ET needed to make a quick escape.

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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).

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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.

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Emma scattering

We had some unexpected but welcome furry company at our table.

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Each table had interesting decorations.

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The place was full of knick knacks and fun details.

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Pictures of food

That’s Hive account@tim-beck’s Big Daddy (or something like that).

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Emma had this delicious looking concoction which she said cost about half the price of the G&T she was brandishing.

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I tried to get an ostrich burger but they were fresh out, so I went for a classic burger.

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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!

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Whoa Nellie! What was that doing on the table?

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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!

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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.

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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...

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...a bit more (Hitchcock, anyone?)...

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...until we reached the roof and a surprisingly large, open rooftop terrace, furnished with a comfortable settee and chairs. How lovely is this?

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We shared the last beer Hive account@tim-beck had bought in Paris and lovingly transported across European borders for just such an occasion.

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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 Hive account@kiligirl's bum. Not going to crop it out.

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We watched planes fly back and forth to and from distant Schipol Airport, their lights winking silently in the night sky.

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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...

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...more eyaaaaaaa...

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...and a bit more for good measure.

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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:

Team South Africa banner designed by Hive account@bearone

Day 11, Part 3 - Team Beck's last supper (in Amsterdam)