if it’s tuesday, this must be helsinki (part i)

I’ve missed you all this month–it’s been a crazy and wonderful time. After a tornado of activity the first half of May, the four of us took flight for parts far flung. Beginning with Amsterdam and continuing north, we spent two weeks cruising the Baltic sea. Seven countries in two weeks can make your head spin. Especially when you’re getting up at the crack of dawn each day in order to squeeze out every ounce of culture you can manage in a few hours. To be able to distinguish each city we visited–and try to make them more memorable–I was on a mission to lead us to a quintessential lunch spot in each locale that would offer a true sense of that nation’s flavor. And, I do believe, I did succeed!

Landing first in Amsterdam, I immediately fell in love with the charming canals lined with eclectic houseboats, quaint gabled architecture, stunning museums, and hip shops of design. 




But, with all that rich culture, it was disappointing to discover that the local cookery was, at best, hodgepodge. Plenty of coffee shops (ahem), cafes serving up subpar meat and fish, and restaurants peddling Greek, Italian, and Indonesian specialties. Where was the true Dutch cuisine? 

I discovered that one authentic Dutch dish, Poffertjes or pancakes, were offered in abundance, so we headed to a popular spot, The Pancake Bakery, to get our fill–and fill it was. More like a giant crepe than the stack of pancakes we’re familiar with here, Dutch pancakes are served with both savory and sweet toppings. Savory versions run the gamut from bacon and cheese to chicken and mushrooms; powdered sugar sprinkled sweets were offered with banana, nutella, and lemon and sugar. And then there were some unusual sweet with savory numbers–does bacon and banana sound good to you? I was astonished by the size of my giant ham and cheese pancake, but it was a little heavy on the cheese and way too much to eat by myself! 

After a couple of days exploring the wonderful sites of Amsterdam, we boarded our ship. Our first port of call was wonderful Copenhagen. It was a beautifully sunny day as we walked from Tivoli Gardens and snaked through the center of town, exploring all along the way. I was excited about my plan for lunch–we were going to experience a Danish tradition: smørrebrød, or open faced sandwiches, at the very restaurant that invented them 250 years ago, Ida Davidson. We struggled with our map to find the place: trying to decipher those long Danish street names is quite a challenge. And then, when we finally found the restaurant, it was booked!


Not to worry–we’d seen a place just down the road with a lovely garden, that also offered smørrebrød for lunch. We circled back and snagged the last outside table for four at Amadeus, a cafe/bakery, before perusing their menu. The combinations were tempting and astounding. We weren’t quite sure how many open faced sandwiches to order, but settled on two each and planned our order carefully so that we’d be able to taste as many varieties as possible.

And here was our scrumptious lunch: herring prepared three ways–marinated with dill and sour cream, with aniseed and chili, curried with apples and capers; smoked salmon with apples; roast beef with horseradish cream; roast pork with cabbage and cucumber salad; curried chicken salad with mango chutney; shrimp and eggs with mayo. All of these were artfully garnished and arranged atop the bakery’s magnificent home baked rye bread. Not sure Ida Davidson could have topped that. Aren’t they gorgeous? And they were even more delicious than they look–we reflected on those magnificent herring many times over the trip. More on these delectable delicacies in a future post….

Ah, Berlin. This city provided somewhat of a challenge for us as it is pretty large and very spread out. After visiting several monuments and historical buildings, we hiked to the old center of town, known as Nikolaiviertel.

There, we quickly found the traditional gasthaus I had researched. Zum Nussbaum is a charming old tavern with some lovely tables in its garden, but it was a hot and sunny day, so we opted for a table in the cooler dining room. There we ordered beers all around–actually we paired lunch in each city with beers, trying to sample as many of the local brews as possible. The kids had a hankering for sausage, and here it was authentically delicious, alongside sauerkraut and buttery mashed potatoes. My husband, hoping for a replay of the heavenly herring of the day before, tried the German version, which was good but not great, served with an onion cream sauce and boiled potatoes. English is not well-spoken here (and apparently my German sucks), so my order of “meatballs” actually turned out to be a very tasty hamburger topped with a fried egg. We were all pleased.

As filling as our lunch had been, we couldn’t resist when a few hours later we happened upon an oyster bar in the belly of the massive and eye-popping food hall in Galeries Lafayette department store back in the center of town. Served with black bread and butter, we each happily slurped down a couple of these plump and salty Fines de Claires mollusks before it was time to head back to the ship. What a great snack!

Tallinn, Estonia is a charming, medieval town by the coast, which is unfortunately overrun with tourists. At least it was the day we were there. Not only did we have to contend with hoards of bus tours and the herds from ours as well as other ships, there was a huge festival going on in the center square. Though the winding cobblestone roads and expansive views were beautiful, we were a bit turned off by the numerous stands, stores, and restaurants that pandered to the crowds. We had half a mind to head back to the ship. And then we turned a corner and found a lovely, quiet street filled with artistic, trendy shops, antiques, and quaint cafes. There was a hip gastropub, Clayhills, serving updated versions of classic Estonian fare. It was a charming spot that had an outdoor deck fitted with multiple banquette tables, complete with fleece blankets to keep you warm in the chill. We happily grabbed a table.


The special of the day was homemade pork and apple sausages served on whole grain mustard mashed potatoes with onion gravy and that suited me just fine–I was sorry I had missed the sausages in Berlin the day before. Apparently, it suited all of us because we all ordered the same. The dish was beautifully plated and we enjoyed the very tender sausages and flavorful mash, along with our Estonian drafts. We had a new and higher opinion of Tallinn.

And that was just the first half of our trip. I have many more culinary tales to tell–next up, Russia! Stay tuned for more adventures….