Right away, you can probably tell from the architecture that this post doesn’t come from Scotland or even Britain. No, this post from the Queens Tearoom comes from Haarlem on the outskirts of Amsterdam.

It comes courtesy of a combined effort from our Utah and Idaho correspondents. After spending a couple of weeks in Scotland, they decided to visit Amsterdam on their way home. Diligent, as always, they ended up here at the self-proclaimed ” home of afternoon tea”. Quite a bold claim considering where they are, but then again, they are no strangers to bold statements. They offer “tea, decadence and sympathy”, and they also feel that their scones may be an antidote to the state of the world stock market.

According to our correspondents, that claim may have had some justification. In their own words, “This was a fantastic scone, lemon and blueberry, scone of the month.  Warm and crusty on top. It came with jam and clotted cream“. It looks great and with that ringing endorsement could well be a topscone. We will never know, however, until Pat and I get over there to judge it. Five years ago, the last time we were in Amsterdam, we ended up in Winkel eating apple pie…not a scone in sight!

We are grateful to our correspondents for seeking this place out. It’s over and above the call of duty, but you did a great job..

Is it a little odd that Queens Tearoom here in the Netherlands is so celebratory of something so quintessentially British as scones?  And perhaps a little infatuated with the British Royal family. Of course, they are not alone, many others are similarly afflicted. It’s perhaps ironic that, today, Britain holds its first summit with the EU since Brexit five years ago. We will have to wait and see what transpires, but hopefully, some of the damage caused by leaving the EU can be reduced.

2011 PW     tel +31 23 529 9290       Queens Tearoom.

///factories.return.salutes