Leaving springlike Barcelona for shivery Amsterdam in January might seem to be backwards way to take a holiday, but that's just what Victor and I did last weekend. We stayed with friends and bundled up, then spent our days moving between cafés and museums and anywhere that had Glühwein.
This was my fourth visit to Amsterdam but the first one in winter. I found it a bit hard going (if I ever go back to Canada I'm going to die I think) but that the rewards made up for it: fewer people, less chaos, an equal number of murderous cyclists, and endless excuses to eat cheese and apple pancakes (ever since my first trip, ten years ago, when a Dutch family introduced me to this flavour combination, it's been the only one I order).
I had the most delectable cherry-infused gin
