Amsterdam ~ our picks from a long weekend

Amsterdam ~ our picks from a long weekend

We spend the Easter days this year in Amsterdam – knowing that most museums and shop are open even on public holidays. As usual we didn`t make too many plans ahead, because we always love to discover a city by strolling through the streets…

That`s where we figured out the nicest bouroughs, found the cutest little boutiques and enjoyed refreshing drinks and delicious food in quite some cafés, bars and restaurants.

Regardless what are your plans, you definatly must rent a bike! At least for one day, to get the best overview of the city. But please, watch out – the traffic (bikes versus pedestrians! ) is heavy!!!

However, as you all probably have either a guide or searched the internet for appealing tipps, we just want to share with you a few highlights only – mainly by photos!
Talking through pictures;-)

The most popular shopping area ist within nine little streets of the Old Town, called The Nine Small Streets (De 9 Straatjes). The 9 Small Streets are actually three streets crossing two canals: Herengracht a Keizersgracht, which makes up for nine small streets. They are surrounded by Prinsengracht canal from the west and Singel canal from the east.

Marie-Stella Maris
A cosmetic label which donates one Euro from each sale to clean water projects in the developing world. Their products include scented candles, room spray, soaps and lotions. Downstairs they are serving coffee and branded water.

Catwalk Junkie

Affordable everyday pieces beautifully arranged in front of whitewashed brickstone walls. Created for those who want to make a statement, sometimes with a little twinkle. My daughters urged me to buy this swaeter…“always late“. What I told is I am rather beautiful arriving late, than in time, but ugly 😉

Pont 13
An old  boat, that was ferrying people to IJ, but is now anchored to the remote Haparandadam jetty. The interior is quite industrial and very charming. As the sun was out we started with a sundowner on the top deck! Inside you see many of the original features. The little tables on the windows towards the water are so romantic!
We ordered burger, fish, oysters and kale/hummus. Everything was delicious!

Wyers
Usually we are not fond of the classic hotel restaurant, but made an exception for this one. Very stylish and masculine eaterie, where the portraits by Dutch photographer Maarten Schröder caught our eyes. Again we had a delicious choice of different dishes, like burger (yes, again!), fish and salad with beetroot and kale. Most appreciated by the girls was the dessert – a very artsy plate of all kind of temptations.

Koffiehuis ‚De Hoek‘
A pittoresque little Café, that we found by accident, searching desperately a place for 6 persons to have breakfast! Not easy at 11.00 am on weekends!
Finally seated, we ordered about 20 beverages and dishes at once with the result that we had to eat in shifts ;-), because the table was too small!
Anyway, we really enjoyed the friendly atmosphere and – above all – the sensational French Toasts.

Café-Restaurant de Plantage
We highly recommend this place in the lofty conservatory, next to the historic Artis Zoo. Despite it`s size, it is very cosy inside, in the bar and coffee area right behind the entrance as well as further on in the restaurant.
I guess, it must be outragous to sit outside in a large tree-lined square during the warmer season.
Well, next time in summer….

Finally the Rijksmuseum – a must for any Amsterdam trip!

We surely don`t have to tell you what you will see when visiting this famous museum.
But among the fantastic objects from the Middles Ages to the 20th-century modernism, you shouldn`t miss out to take a glimpse at the most extensive art history library in the Netherlands. The view from the ceiling is breathtaking (if you love books like me!).

To be honest, there are two boroughs we liked best – De Pijp and Jordan. Still now, ut we can`t decide which one is number 1!

You should definately take a couple of hours for both. We had drinks in De Pijp, close to one of the busy markets, and couldn’`t decide which bar to choose – such a choice! On Saturday morning we went to a nice market, the Noordermarkt in Jordan and discovered cool cafés and some nice little boutiques. All visited by a quite beautiful crowd, mostly habitants.

The most popular shopping area ist within nine little streets of the Old Town, called The Nine Small Streets (De 9 Straatjes). The 9 Small Streets are actually three streets crossing two canals: Herengracht a Keizersgracht, which makes up for nine small streets. They are surrounded by Prinsengracht canal from the west and Singel canal from the east.

Finally, these were only a few picks we shared with you in this blog post – so much more we experienced. But you will surely have your own rythm and make your own path through this vibrant and beautiful city!

Please, don`t hesitate to contact us for any question or information;-)