If all were to go swimmingly…

Here we are sitting at De Blaffende vis, (a local café, The Barking Fish), the cheapest Amsterdam café that we have seen in a while. A nice coffee costs only 1.50 euro, and a cappuccino or Koffie verkeerd (~latte) just 1.70 euro. We have the pleasure of sitting at a table next to a Dutch father and son, who seem to be out in Amsterdam for a nice tosti lunch. 

The father orders- a coffee, of course; a cheese tosti; and then turns to his son, who is about three years old, and asks, Wil je een koffie? Do you want a coffee?

This takes me a bit by surprise, considering his age, and because he was so little that he was struggling to climb the stairs to the top floor of the café. But soon, I realize the strategy of the Dutch father.

Ya! says the little boy. (Of course).

So, a coffee for me, and a coffee for him, says the father loudly in Dutch to the waiter. And as the waiter turns to go, he quickly slips in, (much more quietly) But make his just warm milk with a bit of foam on the top.

Ah, fatherhood. There’s always a way.