After a simple breakfast at the hotel of orange juice, pound cake, poached eggs and coffee (Koffee, in Dutch) my batteries were charged and I was ready to get to work. One of the things I do as part of my job is inspect hotels, restaurants and services that I may recommend to the clients of travel 4 real (http://www.travel4real.com/) Yes I know, it’s a great job.. and everyone on the planet I meet makes sure to tell me.
So there was a one star hotel I wanted to see and it was on the way to one of my favorite pastimes; photography. As you may see from this blog, I am a shutterbug. My gear is a Nikon D200 pro digital camera and a small Kodak point and shoot; together they give me the most shooting flexibility. The Nikon is BIG and cumbersome to lug around and is a theft target too. The point and shoot is great for taking quick “ohh got to have that shot” photos and for inspecting properties and restaurants.
So I hop on my trusty bike and head down the narrow canal streets to take on the day.
Travel TIP: When renting a bike in Amsterdam you have two choices; back petal brake or hand brake. I think back petal I experienced once when I was 5 but mostly I believe Americans have used the hand brake. Since you will be biking around a city you have no idea how to navigate make sure your bicycling experience is as pleasurable and safe as possible and get the break the way you know it.. The other bike decision you will need to make is to get a “HEY, EVERYBODY, IM A TOURIST” colored bike or an incognito one. There are two bike companies that tend to rent bright red or bright yellow bikes to tourists. Not that you will have any problems but its like the cheesy guy with the bright yellow sports car.. why yell when you can blend in. Go for one of the incognito black bikes that you can rent at the smaller bike shops.. they are a much better choice for looking like a traveler and not a tourist.
So if you like photography like I do, taking it and viewing others, then there are two fantastic photography museums you should check out and one traveling show. Amsterdam is one of the few cities I have been to that give weight and creditability to the art of photography. Many believe due to the fact you can buy a digital camera at the supermarket means anyone can be a photographer and many galleries do not feature works by photographers; not in A’dam.
The Huis Marseille Museum for Photography is located on Keizergracht 401. http://www.huismarseille.nl/ and is open Tue-Sun 11-6. This museum is located in an old but wonderfully renovated canal house. It features works from famous and infamous artists in a wide range of disciplines. It’s a small museum so you should be able to do it justice in under an hour.
Foam – Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam on Keizersgracht 609. http://www.foam.nl/ open daily from 10-6. This is a progressive gallery that has a good amount of space and a cool café. Foam features popular works and works from new artists in the following disciplines: fine art, applied, documentary, historical and contemporary. I would allot an hour for Foam.
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World Press Photo http://www.worldpressphoto.org/ is one of the events I look forward to each year. This is a global competition during April and May each year is from press photographers all over the planet and is an amazing look into the current events of the world. Because the artists are working for the press the images are mostly of current events which means they can be a little heavy like the war in Afghanistan, social issues and the like, but it is the quintessential example of modern historical and documentary photography. It is held in a great old church called Oude Kerk http://www.oudekerk.nl/ which is adorned with amazing wood work, ancient organ (1724) (that they still play) and wonderful stained glass. It is the oldest church in A’dam dating back to 1250. In the floor there are 2500 people entombed including Saskia, Rembrandt’s first wife. It also has the largest and oldest timber roof in Europe. Because of the amazing church surrounding the exhibit, I would give yourself about 1.5 hours, unless you really get into the photos and then it becomes a time sucker.Travel TIP: To find things to do during your stay in A’dam make sure to pick up one of the local papers in English which list what is going on during the week you are there. Locals love Amsterdam Weekly found all over town for free. http://www.amsterdamweekly.nl/
So, I’m inspired, filled with art and its not even noon. Time to do some inspections… or work as its called in the real world.
There are two areas I really like to focus on in A’dam.. the Jordan and Museum districts. The Jordan is just magical. Filled with crooked canal houses, small cafes, bookstores and art. The area feels like a upper scale artiest neighborhood. The corners and streets of the Jordan are so picturesque, just lovely. This is why I like to search for hotels in this area. The museum district is a little farther away from the “canal belt” but offers a quiet area with galleries, boutique hotels and cool apartments for rent.. both are just wonderful.
One thing to know about hotels in Amsterdam is that they come in three sizes. Commercial or chain hotels in large buildings in the city center, canal houses that have been turned into hotels or hotels that have renovated one or two adjoining canal houses for more space. The latter two are my recommended choices. Sure you can get a chain hotel and maybe score some frequent fl yer points, but is that Amsterdam.. no. Amsterdam is the home of the famous canal house… a narrow tall, thin, skinny, not wide building. Depending on the property they will have stairs so steep that it will give you vertigo (check out the photo)
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The only time I find the stairs to be an issue is when you arrive with your luggage. Imagine Mount Everest from the base camp. Someone gives you a loaded Samsonite and says take it to the summit! Now if you are savvy like me, you will look for small boutique hotels that have taken two; sometimes three canal houses and gutted them to make one large one. These are great because you get an elevator!! Larger rooms and still have the cool neighborhood outside. These types of hotels tend to be 3 star or higher which equals more expensive. One and two star hotels can be quite wonderful, expect no elevator and most one and two star properties only have a few rooms with bathroom. These hotels take a little more research and first hand inspection to find a good one.. many can be quite run down; but when you find a good one.. ahhhh what a find. A room without a bathroom has always been a “no no” for me except for Amsterdam. It seems the hotels that offer rooms without bath sometimes do it right. “Right” means only one bathroom and shower per two rooms on a floor and a sink in your room so you can brush your teeth or freshen up without going into the hall. If its done right you will only be sharing the facilities with one other room which equals cleaner. The hotels that I have stayed at in A’dam that do this it was almost not noticeable that I did not have my own bathroom; it was just one door away, always clean and I saved quite a bit of change. As you read this you are probably wondering “hey what are the names of these great hotels” well I am a businessman, so if you want to book one of the great places I find then call my office; I got a baby to feed! http://www.travel4real.com/ 1-800-554-5170 or 001-425-355-3711.So I spend much of the afternoon on my bike checking out hotels… I'm starting to get tired of peddling and need a cool drink with a good view. If you are out in the Waterlooplein area head for one of the best outdoor decks around at Café Dantzig. I had a seat in the sun and watched the world go by for an hour or so. A plate of Dutch cheese €3.25 and an iced tea €2.25 were all I needed. The Dutch cheese is brought to you in one inch squares with strong Dutch mustard and they bring you allot. The first bite reveals a hard, crumbly texture without much flavor, then it starts to melt.. ahhhhh the flavor explodes and you mouth is coated in a cheesy warm goodness.. yum. The Dantzig café also has the best iced tea I have ever had in A’dam; so good I had two! I could be there all day, but I’m only in town for a few days so I motivate to get back out.
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Lets go see my friend John over at Grey Area. http://www.greyarea.nl/ Oude Leliestraat 2 . I like Grey Area. Its located in the cool Jordan neighborhood and is about the size of a walk in closet. John is from Rhode Island and for some reason the Grey Area attracts “less touristy” Americans and hip Europeans. It also attracts the famous such as Willie Nelson, Woody Harrelson and Lou Reed. I go for the conversation and there are always lots of laughs. If you are into checking out the coffeeshops of Amsterdam this one is a must! When you go; ask John why he pays €20 Euro for all of the pizza’s he orders no matter the size (inside joke)With a smile on my face I head back out into the sunsets of A’dam. The sun in Europe has a yellow glow that makes for great photography so get out there and take advantage of the evenings. Before the shops closed I wanted to get a cool “something” to bring back home.. no, no.. not another rasta man ashtray or snow ball canal scene; I wanted something unique. I tapped into a local Dutch artist named Mark Raven. Mark started out as a street artist and now has worked his way up over 20 years to have his own gallery just behind Dam Square. As an art lover, and someone who likes t-shirts (the classy ones not the cheesy ones) the combination is a good one. Mark takes his scenes of Amsterdam’s canals and everyday life and puts his artist thing on them and sells prints and t-shirts with his work. You cant buy them online or any other place on the planet except at The Mark Raven Shop Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 174 next to Magna Plaza Shopping Center. Daily 11-6. http://www.markraven.nl/
Its about 5:30 now and I must return my bike by 6, this is the saddest part of the day.. its like giving up your mobility. My bike shop is near Dam Square in the center so I start the purposely slow ride back.. I check in my wheels and start walking back toward my hotel. I hate walking!!! Especially if it is after biking for two days. It feels like someone took my jet pack off and replaced it with a rock; it slows me down. You can’t see 1/10 of what you can see on a bike on foot, and it feels like I'm making no ground.
Need to find some dinner. Since I don’t have any wheels and I don’t want to taxi everywhere (but there’s the tram, says people who have been to A’dam) yes, but its not fun, its just transportation, biking is fun.. I want to bike..
Amsterdam is a melting pot of smells and flavors, you can find almost any cuisine here. For a good American burger head over to the Hard Rock Café, it may be a tourist spot but it actually has the best burger in town. Max Euweplein 57-61 www.hardrock.com/amsterdam
One thing you will see a ton of are Argentinean steak houses, Indian food and fast food. The steak houses an Indian are good bets almost anyone you go to. For fast food check out Wok to Walk. Choose your base, noodles or rice, add your veggies or meat and then the sauce. Its all whipped up right in front of you in all its healthy glory. They are all over town; I go to the one at Leidsestraat 96 open 12-12, no credit cards.
I decided to keep in simple and around my hotel since my ride to the airport was at 7 the next morning. I'm one of those types of travelers that makes a complete mess of their hotel rooms and then packs it all up just before bed the night before my flight. I decided on Café-Restaurant De Oude Wester. Rozengracht 2. This is a neighborhood spot with simple but homey interior. The menu is very Dutch, lots of pancakes and stews. I went for a ½ pint of Amstel beer €1.90, bitterballen which is soft meatballs coated in crunchy crust and fried €3.50 and for the main course Goelach which is like Russian stew (meat, tomato base, rice) €15.50. Diner was good, needed a little more flavor, but bland is typical here. The atmosphere was great, watching locals bike past, people walking their dogs and boaters with wine and cheese cruising the canal in front of the restaurant.
With a full day behind me I head back to my hotel, pack, write and sleep.
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