Amsterdam- t' Arendsnest
Returning to Amsterdam after 3 years away was like slipping on an old pair of slippers, a comfortable feeling that I was in one of the few places I could happily call home. After pottering around the Dam square area in the morning, we headed off towards Cafe Gollum for lunch, one of my old stomping grounds, where the heady mix of great Blues Music and great beer put it in my great bars of the world list. Unfortunately I forgot it doesn't open till 4 o'clock. Drat. This particular Dutch cloud did however have a silver lining. Casting my eyes over the road I chanced upon a fine looking beer emporium called the Cracked Kettle . Not only do they have a tremendous selection of beers, but they also do mail order, which is nice to know. The chap behind the counter,it transpired, was from Kirkcaldy in the Kingdom of Fife. It's a wee world. Moving on from the Cracked Kettle, clutching a couple of newly acquired bottles of my favorite Trappist beer, Westvleteren, we moved on to anot...