A few days ago I was in the city of Leiden visiting with trippist contributor Janelle who makes her home there. Being October, it was a grey and rainy day, and besides tourism and catching up, we decided our primary mission was to find good apple pie and hot chocolate.

But things don't always work out as you plan them, and as we made our way from café to café, everytime we asked about pie, the answer kept being - NOPE, sorry. Until we finally arrived at the Bijlen. Tucked just past one of Leiden's historical and beautiful windmills, Bijlen has plenty of elbow room, kind staff, and indeed, pies on a daily basis. But again, you can't always get what you want; we asked for apple pie but were told there was only choco-cheescake. What would you do? We went for the choco-cheese. A wise choice.

We left happy, warm, and yes.. with a slight stomach ache from way too delicious pie. It wasn't the original mission, but at the very least I could come back to you and recommend the Bijlen as a place for drinks and pie, thought not necessarily apple, in Leiden.