Tot straks

See you later ! After four weeks as my home base, I say good-bye to Amsterdam. It was a most enjoyable and relaxing stay. People are extremely friendly and affable (and everyone being conversant in English helped a lot too!). The relaxed pace, the bicycle bells, the warm smiles, the amazing seafood and Indonesian cuisine, the pastries from Holtkamp and Pompadour, Heineken beer, cheeses, and of course, the canals! Zie je later! I stayed at two wonderful well-located apartments during my stay in Amsterdam. Both were from Pied a Terre Properties of Amsterdam. The first apartment was located on the second…

Bicycle Bicycle Bicycle

June 20, 2013April 4, 2014 Categories: Amsterdam · Europe · Netherlands · TravelTags: Amsterdam · Bicycles2 Comments

“I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike…” [lyrics from Bicycle Race by Queen] Amsterdam is a city with a mass legion of bikers. If you are a pedestrian – watch where you are walking!

Architectuur

June 18, 2013April 4, 2014 Categories: Amsterdam · Architecture · Europe · Netherlands · TravelTags: Amsterdam · architecture

For people interested in architecture, Amsterdam is one of Europe’s foremost architecture and design city. The city has so much to offer ranging from classicism, gothic and renaissance, to canal house architecture, to art deco and obviously, the architecture of the Amsterdam School, up to the current modern architectural forms. It is a feast for the eyes of the archi-tourist. The Architecture of the Amsterdam School was brought about by the industrial revolution at the end of the 19th century with architects seeking new elements for decorating building facades. This is characterized by exotic rooflines, ornamental brickwork, cornices, window frames…

De Pijp

June 16, 2013April 4, 2014 Categories: Amsterdam · Europe · Netherlands · TravelTags: Albert Cuypmarket · Amsterdam · De Pijp

“The Pipe” is a neighbourhood connected to central Amsterdam by 16 bridges and fondly alluded to as the area behind Heineken brewery. Often referred to as the “Latin Quarter” of the city, it was a 19th century working class area with shoddy tenement blocks built to ease overpopulated Joordan. Today, it is a very vibrant and multi-cultural neighbourhood with its blue-collar roots mixed in with students, artists and young professionals. The artist Piet Mondrian used to live here. Funky boutiques stand beside falafel food stalls and Surinamese shops. The Albert Cuypmarket is located here – Europe’s largest daily street market…

To God and King

June 15, 2013April 4, 2014 Categories: Amsterdam · Architecture · Europe · Netherlands · TravelTags: Amsterdam · Church · Koninklijk Paleis · Our Dear Lord in the Attic · Royal Palace · Sint-Nicolaaskerk1 Comment

What major city in Europe would not have churches and palaces? During the Middle Ages, the Netherlands was a bastion of Catholicism. However, from the end of the 1500s, Calvinism took hold with Protestant opposition to Spanish Catholic rule. There was the Iconoclastic Riots of 1566 when the decorations of Catholic Churches were destroyed and lost forever. And in the early 1600, when a blind eye – in return for payment – resulted in clandestine churches. Formerly the town hall, the Koninklijk Paleis (Royal Palace) is still used by the Dutch Royal Family. Designed by Jacob van Campen, the neo-classical…

Museums (More!)

June 13, 2013April 4, 2014 Categories: Amsterdam · Architecture · Art · Europe · Netherlands · TravelTags: Amsterdam · Amsterdam Museum · architecture · Museum Van Loon · Museums · Netherlands · Scheepvart Museum · Tassen Museum of Bags and Purses

There seems to be no end to the astounding line up of museums in Amsterdam. Aside from the Big Four museums (Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Stedelijk Museum and Anne Frankhuis), there are the Canal House mansions turned museums, historical museums, and many other specialty museums. I noted a sign for a Tulip museum, one for a Cheese museum, and another for a Torture museum. Whatever your interests may be, likely there will be one that will cater. Nederlands Scheepvaart Museum (Maritime Museum) – once the arsenal of the Dutch Navy, the classical building was designed by Daniel Stalpaert in 1655…

Van Gogh Museum + More Art

June 11, 2013April 4, 2014 Categories: Amsterdam · Architecture · Art · Europe · Netherlands · Photography · TravelTags: Amsterdam · De Appel · FOAM · Huis Marseilles · Museum · Museumkaart · Van Gogh Museum

The other “must see” museum in Amsterdam is the Van Gogh Museum. Opened in 1973 to house the collection of Vincent’s younger brother Theo, it is home to 200 paintings and 500 drawings by Vincent and his contemporaries such as Tolouse-Lautrec, Monet and Gaugin. The original building was designed by Gerrit Rietveld and opened after his death in 1973 (with renovations undertaken in 1998 by Martin van Goor) and a new exhibition wing designed by Kisho Kurokawa was added in 1999. This year marks the 40th year of the opening of the museum and the 160th anniversary of Van Gogh’s…

Of Canals & Houses

June 9, 2013April 4, 2014 Categories: Amsterdam · Architecture · Europe · Netherlands · TravelTags: Amsterdam · Canal House · Canals · Gardens

“Gracht” is the Dutch word for a canal. The canals in Amsterdam came to life in the early 1600s, after the city’s population grew beyond its medieval walls and city planners put together an ambitious design of concentric waterways for expansion by draining swampland. In 2010, UNESCO finally declared the waterways a World Heritage Site. The architectural charm of a Canal House are in the intimate details rather than in grand effects. The facades were largely uniform in size and built of brick or sandstone, with large windows. The use of decorative gables and cornices, ornate doors and varying window…

Negen Straatjes

June 7, 2013April 4, 2014 Categories: Amsterdam · Architecture · Europe · Food · Netherlands · TravelTags: Amsterdam · Haarlemmerburt · Negen Straatjes · Nine Streets2 Comments

The well known “Nine Streets” represent a very dense concentration of retail shopping in the Canal Ring of Amsterdam. These small pretty streets, each only a block long, are very popular with the locals and tourists alike. Specialty boutiques and shops, cafes and art book stores provide countless shopping therapy. Located west of Amsterdam Central Station is one of the city’s smallest neighbourhoods, the Haarlemmerburt. Comprised of a long lively street bordered by quiet and charming lanes, the area has a mix of trendy stores, bakeries and cafes blending with the original shops. The neighbourhood focuses on “one building, one…

Docklands

June 5, 2013April 4, 2014 Categories: Amsterdam · Architecture · Library · Netherlands · TravelTags: Amsterdam · Eastern Docklands · EYE Building · Library · Noord · OBA

Amsterdam’s biggest redevelopment project is the Eastern Docklands. The man-made peninsulas were originally seaports but have now been transformed into urbanized residential use with a cultural quarter. The left side of the island is still being utilized for cruise ships. The OBA (Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam) Central Library in Oosterdockseiland opened in July 2007 and was designed by Jo Coenen. With an area of 28,000 square meters, it is the largest library in the Netherlands. On the other side of the River IJ is Noord. This is where the EYE Film Institute Netherlands relocated in Spring of 2012. The Vienna office…