round up february & more (amsterdam)

February, month six! How did that happen? Unlike January, February was a real wintery month – freezing temperatures, plenty of snowfall and frozen canals. An actual winter wonderland. And for the first time in 15 years, some of the canals were frozen enough to skate on. It was an Amsterdam experience I’ll cherish for a long time to come. A few photographs from this month…

Featured above are photographs from the following posts…

• Amsterdam in the snow and the beautiful Brouwersgracht;
• Amazing chocolates from Puccini Bomboni (Singel 184);
• The temporary fashion/photography shop Fashion&Foam (Vijzelstraat 78), just around the corner from the museum (Keizersgracht 609; see previous post);
• I couldn’t get enough of skating on the canals (recent in 5);
• More skating on the canals and hot chocolate at Cafe Spanjer en van Twist (Leliegracht 60);
• A lovely lunch at the ‘open kitchen’ of the Bijenkorf (Dam 1);
• Hot chocolate at Two For Joy Coffee Roasters (Haarlemmerdijk 182) and venturing out to the Jewish Historical Museum (Nieuwe Amstelstraat 1; see previous post) for a lecture by 89 year old American photographer Saul Leiter in this weekend post;
• Coffee, sandwiches and Latte Art workshops at the unique coffee house Screaming Beans (Hartenstraat 12);
• Visiting the NeighbourFood Market at the Westergasfabriek in the Westerpark this weekend post (photos coming up next month!);
• The Westerpark in the snow after heavy snowfall and winter temperatures!

And here’s a roundup of the past six months, September, October, November, December, January and February…

• Coffee/Cafes: an afternoon coffee at Cafe de Pels (Huidenstraat 25), evenings at Cafe Koosje (Plantage Middenlaan 37), coffee, sandwiches and coffee workshops at Screaming Beans (Hartenstraat 12), hot chocolate and apple pie at Cafe Spanjer & Van Twist (Leliegracht 60), a coffee and a slice of cake at Tearoom Lanskroon (Singel 385) and best coffee in the city at Two For Joy Coffee Roasters (Haarlemmerdijk 182 & Frederiksplein 29);
• Food: delicious falafel at Bazar (Albert Cuypstraat ), upscale cafeteria-style lunches at the Bijenkorf Kitchen (Dam 1), gourmet burgers at Burgermeester (Plantage Kerklaan 37), brunch at Cafe George (Leidsegracht 84), fresh Dutch frozen yoghurt at FROZZ (Rokin 30), scrambled eggs at Greenwoods (Singel 103), pistaccio-flavored ice cream at IJScuypje (Prinsengracht 292), home-made hummus at Latei (Zeedijk 143), delicious brie and grilled chicken sandwiches at Singel 404 (Singel 404) and small food businesses and caterers at YES WE CANTEEN;
• Markets: fresh biological produce at the Nieuwmarkt and Noordermarkt on Saturdays, trinkets at the Sunday Market and the lively Waterlooplein flea market;
• Museums: photography museum Foam (Keizersgracht 609), and the other photography museum Huis Marseille (Keizersgracht 401), beautiful exhibitions at the Jewish Historical Museum (Nieuwe Amstelstraat 1), a real canal house the Museum Van Loon (Keizersgracht 672) and Temporary Stedelijk 2 at the contemporary and modern art museum (opening soon!) Stedelijk Museum (Paulus Potterstraat 13);
• Shops: artist-made books at the artist-run bookshop Boekie Woekie (Berenstraat 16), photography books at Fashion&Foam (Vijzelstraat 78), beautiful shops on the Haarlemmerstraat and Haarlemmerdijk, the grocery store Marqt (Utrechtsestraat ), great finds at the newly opened store Options! (Damrak 49), homemade bomboni at Puccini Bomboni (Singel 184), home deco and furniture at Raw Materials (Rozengracht 231), the lovely store Sukha (Haarlemmerstraat ) and great coffee table books at the TASCHEN bookshop (P.C. Hooftstraat 44);
• Others: Amsterdam-Noord, Amsterdam-Oost, Brouwersgracht, Prinsengracht, a collection of quiet places in Amsterdam and the Westerpark “Cool Globes” exhibition and the Cultuurpark Westergasfabriek (and more Westerpark here).

If you’re visiting Amsterdam in the near future, check out recent “Coming Up” posts, and keep visiting for more Amsterdam Insights, published every Wednesday!