waterlooplein (amsterdam)

I mentioned last Friday that I went to the Waterlooplein flea market with a friend of mine, and then visited Cup a La Cake and sat along the Prinsengracht canal. So I thought I would share a few pictures from the flea market…

As you know, I’ve been trying to visit the different markets around town – the other weekend I explored the Noordermarkt and the Nieuwmarkt on a Saturday afternoon, but these were mainly biological produce markets. The Waterlooplein market is a real flea market, you’ll find stall after stall of vintage clothing, trinkets, books, CDs/DVDs and antique furniture, especially when you on a sunny day like I did.

A little history about Waterlooplein: the square was actually created in 1880 with the Leprozengracht and Houtgracht were filled in, and a market has been held here since 1893 when it was the largest and most important Jewish market in Amsterdam. The market disappeared in 1941 during World War II, but re-established itself after the war, in the 60s and 70s, and has been a flea market ever since.

We then went to Soup en zo, around the corner from the market on the Jodenbreestraat for a quick bite to eat.

It was so hard to choose a soup but I eventually went with the Moroccan Chickpea Soup with Spinach and a dollop of yoghurt, served with a large chunk of brown bread. It was unbelievably delicious…

Then back to the market for a little more browsing and came across some jewelry…

… And old Dutch tins (for coffee, cookies, etc.) that I’m obsessed with, but the ones at the Waterlooplein were a little too expensive for my liking. I missed last weekends‘ IJ-Hallen flea market in the Amsterdam Noord, or “Amsterdam North,” but I’ll definitely go the weekend of October 8-9, maybe I’ll find some cheap tins there. Or the Noordermarkt flea market, held on Monday mornings… I’ll let you know when and where I find them!

The Waterlooplein can be found around the corner from the Jodenbreestraat, where you’ll also find the Rembrandt House Museum. Other sights in the area include the Nieuwmarkt, the Jewish Historical Museum (one of my favorite museums in Amsterdam), the Portuguese Synagogue, Artis Royal Zoo and Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam (one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world). The Waterlooplein flea market is open Monday through Friday from 9am to 5.30pm and Saturday from 8.30am to 5.30pm.

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