Breukelen

We went down to breakfast at 8am and it was less frenetic than last night in the restaurant.  However, by the time we left about three-quarters of an hour later, the restaurant was starting to fill up.  The selection was huge.  There were about six different types of cereal, with a variety of dried fruits, nuts and seeds to add if desired, as well as four different types of yoghurt in big bowls.  There were different varieties of rolls and bread, croissants, sweet pastries and rolls.  The cold selection was amazing - things like ham and processed meats, slices of rare roast beef, hot smoked and cold smoked salmon, several different types of cheese, plus pickles, tomatoes and cucumber.  There was also bacon, sausages, fried eggs (both sunny side up and “over easy” I think the Americans call them), scrambled eggs and baked beans.  There were chunks of different types of melon and pineapple, plus red grapes.  And, of course, many different varieties of tea, four coffee machines to make your own coffee, plus little cakes, muffins and chocolates as well.  We were very restrained, others weren’t.  The funniest thing was realising that the table immediately in front of us were three Kiwi ladies, so we had a nice chat with them.  As we left the hotel to walk into Breukelen and have a look around, one of the waitresses was filling at least 100 glasses with Champagne, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.  They don’t do things by halves around here.

We had a lovely walk around Breukelen.  It’s a very nice town on the banks of the river Vecht.  Strangely, there’s no pedestrian path alongside the river, so we mingled in with the bicycles and cars for a while.  There are some wonderful houses along the banks of the river.  Back in the town we found a little park that fronted onto the river, so we spent a very happy half hour there in the sunshine watching the boats going past.  We also found a gorgeous little place to have a coffee.  We sat outside, but when we went inside to use the bathroom we were taken aback at how lovely it was.  The owners have been there two years, but the house dates back to 1898.

We walked back to the hotel to relax and catch up with emails, etc., before walking back into the town across the very big canal to have a drink and a meal.  We went back to the little place where we’d had coffee earlier.  They couldn’t do us a proper meal as the chef was ill, but they asked if we’d like a bowl of soup, a cheese and ham toastie and some salad.  We couldn’t say no, so that’s what we had and it was delicious.  While the soup and toastie were being prepared I had a G&T and MrMacD had a beer, that he was very pleased with.  The soup was a chunky tomato soup, the toastie was hot and not dry and we had a lovely time.  The music was excellent and, being the only people in the restaurant, we even got up and had a dance, much to the delight of the host and hostess.  They were lovely people and we hope they succeed as it’s such a lovely place - an experience to remember.  Breukelen is a lovely place and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed our time here.

The main blip shows houses and interesting sights. The extra shows a large body of water, which is the Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal and a smaller body of water, which is the river Vecht.  There are also photos of the Wijnbar ‘t Stichtse Pakhuis