I had read that that the train station was undergoing major renovations, due for completion in 2017. It seems the work is complete, and what we encountered was a very modern, and spotless new, station. It's big too, clearly a hub for train travel to many nearby places. Note in the photo below, the armed military guys guarding the station.
It took us a while to figure out how to exit the station, in the end we had to ask directions, such is the size of the place. The exit walks through to Hoog Catharijne, the largest mall complex in The Netherlands. This also appears to be vast, and very newly expanded, with many new shops soon to open. So it took us a while to navigate through this, out into the open of the old town which is just a short walk.
Although it was late morning, the shops were still just opening up. Once outside, we found a square with Saturday markets in full swing, selling all sorts of wares including clothing, toys, fresh meet and fish, vegetables and fruit, along with the usual bakeries, food trucks etc. We passed through this quickly and through a narrow street, where we found the canal.
Unlike Amsterdam, the canals are very high, and there are lower terraces mostly lined with seating for cafes and restaurants. There are various staircases that allow access down below.
Most cafes were still opening up so we walked until we found one with many customers, and settled on that for brunch. Unlike Amsterdam, and menu was only in Dutch, so we had to do our best to decide on what we wanted. Then the waiter brought us an English menu, which I told him spoiled the fun. Anyhow we had read the menu correctly and our first choices were spot on.
After brunch, we spent the remainder of the day just walking around the old town, up and down the canals and back streets. It really is a beautiful town with a different feel to Amsterdam, more locals present, less tourists. And everyone speaks Dutch by default, whereas in Amsterdam most people speak English by default.
A focal point is St Martin's Cathedral, which has a very tall tower. However, the tower is not attached to the church, instead separated by a courtyard where once the two were connected until a powerful storm on 1674.
We discovered a clothing store called "NZA - New Zealand Auckland". Further research online indicates this is a Dutch clothing chain, seemingly no connection to New Zealand apart from them basing their marketing themselves on the perceived image of our country. Personally, I don't see the connection.
Along the canal are many flower vendors, and really not expensive for what they are offering.
Once our feet were tiring, we wandered back toward the Hoog Catharijne mall, stopping to purchase a few edible treats at the market.
Inside the mall, we went to MediaMarkt, a giant equivalent of our Noel Leeming or Harvey Norman stores. This was a big store, very tidy, with a wide selection of products. Their home theatre section was quite impressive as was their array of gadgets. Check this out, an entire row of smart watches!
Once done here, we made our way back to the train, and home to Amsterdam around 5pm.
For dinner, we returned to the local pizza restaurant, knowing we could expect a nice meal, no taking any risks this evening!
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