blijburg (amsterdam)

Welcome to Amsterdam Insights, the October edition! You can see a roundup of all my September posts for more ideas of things to do in Amsterdam, but I’m excited to keep exploring the city and sharing events/ideas with you. Previous Amsterdam Insights have mainly featured things in the city, and now I want to share with you something a little ways out, a short bike ride from the city center… the IJburg “strand” or beach, Blijburg! The other weekend I biked with a few friends out to Blijburg (about a 45 minute bike ride from my apartment in Amsterdam West), and we were surprised to find a “Kofferbakmarkt” or car trunk market on Sunday afternoon…

There were lots of great things for sale and this market felt very different to the other flea markets in Amsterdam, like the Noordermarkt and Waterlooplein flea market…

Here’s a photograph of a couple sitting in their car trunk, with a display of old trinkets/goods laid out in front of them…

I loved this purple van, they were selling homemade apple pie and coffee!

And there were plenty of children out to play…

We then walked towards the beach…

Where families were spread out on picnic blankets, children were playing in the sand…

And we had a lovely lazy afternoon complete with a picnic (and more homemade apple pie!)…

I don’t think you’ll be seeing sights like this in the upcoming months…

But Blijburg stays open in the winter. On Friday through Sunday, the restaurant (featuring a winter menu) will be open from 10am for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Be sure to check out their agenda for upcoming events in the weekends. And for information on how to get there, click here.

Click here for more Amsterdam Insights, published every Wednesday.