IES helps a bit with that from time to time. Most of the excursions they plan are to places a bit out of the Amsterdam city limits – to places like the Zuiderzeemuseum and Hoge Veluwe, etc, that we might not normally get to see otherwise. But the week after I returned from Paris, Chantal, Eva, and Margarethe had planned a very cultured night for us in the city.
They had arranged for us to go see a performance at the Concertgebouw, with a nice dinner at an Indonesian restaurant beforehand. Now when I say “arranged” I mean we paid them to do this, but it was money well-spent for a classy night out. On that Wednesday night we all got dressed up and made our way first to the restaurant, which was called “Kantijl en de Tijger” and had a funny little shadow-puppet logo:
Dinner was served “rijsttafel” (rice table) style, which meant that many small dishes were passed around for the entire group to share. It’s a similar idea to a tapas restaurant. We had a huge variety of dishes, including different types of rice, fried noodles, satay, kebabs, salads – the dishes kept coming and coming. I tried a little bit of just about everything that came my way, and I can officially say it was delicious. The Netherlands is known for having some of the best Indonesian food outside of Indonesia, a quirky little distinction due to the substantial population of Indonesian people in the country (a result of its days as a colonial power).We finished up dinner with coffee and some kek lapis – a traditional Indonesian layered spice cake that takes over two hours to make, as each layer is baked on over a griddle. It was a beautiful and delicious dessert.
Internet stock photo of kek lapis. Isn't it pretty?Following that, we boarded a tram that would take us down to Museumplein and the Concertgebouw. Het Concertgebouw (which literally translates to “The Concert Building”) is a lovely old concert hall that is home to the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. This orchestra has been voted “the top symphony orchestra in the world” for two years running, now, by top music critics in Gramophone magazine. In other words, they’re kind of a big deal.
That evening the orchestra was going to play four pieces of Mozart for us, but they were joined for two of the numbers by a guest pianist, Maria Joao Pirez, who is apparently also highly acclaimed. I confess I know very little about classical music, so I can’t attest to the subtle refinement of the performance or anything. I enjoyed it very much, however, and I can attest to the fact that a man sitting across the aisle from me was moved to tears by it, and both pianist and orchestra received a standing ovation.
That evening the orchestra was going to play four pieces of Mozart for us, but they were joined for two of the numbers by a guest pianist, Maria Joao Pirez, who is apparently also highly acclaimed. I confess I know very little about classical music, so I can’t attest to the subtle refinement of the performance or anything. I enjoyed it very much, however, and I can attest to the fact that a man sitting across the aisle from me was moved to tears by it, and both pianist and orchestra received a standing ovation.
Other highlights of the evening (besides good food and beautiful music) included free beverages served in a posh concessions area during intermission (fancy!), being complimented on my “smart” plaid tights by my slightly crazy (but mostly lovable) art history professor, who was also at the concert, and seeing Christmas lights already starting to pop up over the city during the ride home. I returned to Funen feeling full, happy, festive and very cultured. Not bad for a Wednesday evening in Amsterdam.
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