Today we went to this park on the way back from Albert Cuyp Market ( where by the way I nearly made myself bankrupt! AJ will definitely kill me when he sees his bank balance! ). This was probably a small neighbourhood park with swings and slides, there was also this small lake there with lots of ducks and one stork. Me and Abir went and sat very close to the ducks next to the lake. These ducks just kept on feeding on the grass almost ignoring our presence. They almost were not scared of us. Not almost, they were not. This city, and maybe this country and the government must be like this. Letting everyone be. Not afraid of anyone, so not reacting to anyone. I have rarely seen a brawl here, noone raises their voice. The only time I did see someone furious was at the Central Station where there are too many foreigners and difficult to figure who is a native and who is not.

My brother told me that once in his office a colleague of his, a Dutch native, took 2 -3 days off and everyone was wondering what was up with him. Maybe someone wrong with a family member, maybe some other trouble at home. The day he got back to work, he said, you know - I had the worst time of my life, I am really in a fix! When asked what had happened, he said, you know my Dad's cat, she fell sick and I have been running to the Vet everyday coz of that! Oh well... people probably really have no issues here. And seriously, if you look around, you'd realise that there is very little reason to! Its all so calm and beatiful and serene. Almost feels like a fairytale land. I have no experience of any other foreign country or city, but maybe that truely makes my view uncoloured. I would come back here to Amsterdam anyday! Dutch immigration beware of me!

The Pancake Bakery in Westermarkt, Amsterdam!

Today was one of the better of these anyway fantastic days. Started off with the local flea market near my brothers' house. It was fun and interesting, one coz i found so many Indian shopkeepers there talking to us in Hindi and freely giving discounts to their countrymen and two, coz this is probably the only place where one can shop without going bankrupt! So shop we did, I shopped for clothes and my brother for clothes for her girlfriend back in India. Next we went to Amsterdam Central to get tickets for Paris. We were given this token number and it took almost an hour for our turn to come. Bad news this time. The ticket prices we were expecting had shot up considerably and it seemed almost unaffordable. So after waiting that long we had to go back empty handed, with very little idea of how to reach Paris! Bus was an option or cheaper deals on the net. Amstel Bus station was a tube ride away, but somehow we were just not in the mood to carry on there.

Instead, we went to Westernmarkt, probably the most beautiful area of Amsterdam I have seen so far. At the face of it looks like all of the other canal lanes near Amsterdam Central but it just had a different feel... something quieter and more quaint. The Anne Frank House is in Westernmarkt. I did not go there today, did’nt plan to – but I could not help wondering how she and so many others felt being transported for no fault of theirs from this idyllic, beautiful place to a concentration camp. Made me realise there is a painful past to these cities. Like all other cities I guess. But this one is almost so painfully beautiful that any tragedy seems kinda out of place here.

Alright now! The main purpose of today’s blog – hmm! Yumm actually! The Pancake Bakery. Walking through one of the lanes off Westernmarkt by the canal you come across this really old antique looking door. Not ornate antique, but humble antique. I am so glad I did not just pass it by! It seems kinda dark when you peep inside to have a look. But once you do peep inside, well, you cant not go inside! It just has this warm inviting feel. We had to wait a minute or two to be seated. Pancakes. I don’t think we have explored the true potential of the humble pancake. Atleast not in our country. The only restaurant trying to do something interesting is probably crepe station, but it so not comes even close to what this restaurant is! I am being ridiculous just saying the two names in the same breath ! We ordered a ham and cheese and onions pancake, just one to split. And thank god for that! It was huge, much bigger than a big size pizza! And boy, it melted in your mouth. The cheese had become a little crispy on the top... and that was so awesome. There is probably not a better marriage possible than ham and cheese! And ham and cheese on this yummy pancake – I have no words ! Just that my mouth is watering again thinking about it! Gotta think about going there again soon!!

And yes! I forgot to mention the really cute ice cream they got for Abir with a small sparkler on top! Abir was fascinated! They had a separate children's menu and got Abir books to see and a really sweet wooden baby chair too!