round up march (amsterdam)

Featured above are photographs from recent posts. Here’s a full roundup of the past six months and the months September, October, November, December, January and February.

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!

round up january (amsterdam)

January was my fifth month of Amsterdam Insights (see the September, October, November and December round ups). This month was a little busy, non-Amsterdam Insights speaking: I had to complete a month-long Research Practice Seminar before my master program commences in February, and I was busy finishing my internship at Time Out Amsterdam, the magazine… It was a lot. BUT I was still able to visit a few new places that I’ve been happy to share with you here. Here’s a round up of January…

Featured above are photographs from the following posts…

• Books at Mendo (Berenstraat 11) featured in this recent in 5 post;
• The lovely garden of the photography museum Huis Marseille (Keizersgracht 401);
• A coffee and a slice of cake at Tearoom Lanskroon (Singel 385), across the canal from the lunch cafe Singel 404 (Singel 404);
• An exhibition worth traveling to The Hague for, ‘Paris: City of Modern Art‘ at the Gemeetenmuseum Den Haag;
• Browsing the beautiful collection of products, home deco and furniture at the store Raw Materials (Rozengracht 231);
• Lovely red, whites and blues in this recent in 5;
• An afternoon coffee at Cafe de Pels (Huidenstraat 25);
• The wonderful Two For Joy Coffee Roasters (Frederiksplein 29), also from this recent in 5 post;
• A peak inside a real canal house, the Museum Van Loon (Keizersgracht 672) of the former Van Loon family (aka Willem Van Loon was cofounder of the Dutch East Indies Company back in 1602);
• And it SNOWED in Amsterdam last week, just a sprinkle but enough to make up for the lack of ‘winter’ this year.

Next month there will sure to be more coffee dates in warm cafes, museum visits (oh, there are so many more in Amsterdam!), new neighborhoods (‘Oud Zuid,’ anyone?) and weekend strolls along the canals. 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!

round up december (amsterdam)

December has been a busy month and I haven’t had that much time to find new places for Amsterdam Insights. I’ve really enjoyed Amsterdam Insights (see the September, October and November round ups) and I’ll be sure to carry on through the new year. Here’s a summary of this month…

Featured above are photographs from the following posts…

• Lovely brunch at Cafe George (Leidsegracht 84);
• A few quiet places in Amsterdam, to escape the Christmas craze;
• And a few more of the Begijnhof;
• A beautiful view of the Amstel River;
• Another quiet place in Amsterdam, the Brouwersgracht, around the corner from the Haarlemmerstraat/Haarlemmerdijk;
• A new hotel opened on Damrak, Hotel The Exchange (Damrak 50), with a shop and cafe, Options! and STOCK;
• A view of the Kloveniersburgwal in the evening;
• The Nieuwmarkt and surroundings (more Nieuwmarkt);
• A few photographs around Dam Square;
• An afternoon at Roest;
• Lights along the canals;
• The Negen Straatjes, or ‘Nine Streets’ Christmas lights;
• And the most amazing Amsterdam sunset.

And if you’re visiting Amsterdam in the near future, check out recent “Coming Up” posts. Keep visiting for more Amsterdam Insights, published every Wednesday!

round up november (amsterdam)

September, October and now November? Where has the time gone? I’m still really enjoying my weekly Amsterdam Insights posts and hope you are too. Here’s a summary of this month…

Featured above are photographs from the following posts…

• Did you make it to this years’ Museumnacht on November 5th? 45 museums in Amsterdam opened their doors after hours, and you can imagine it was a great time. Stay tuned for next years’ event!
• Head to Burgermeester for a delicious (and cheap) unconventional burger – dare I try a salmon burger?
• Explore Amsterdam-Oost (they have the zoo, the Rembrandthuis, Waterlooplein flea market, Soup en Zo, the Hermitage and more!)
• Grab a Saturday brunch or afternoon High Tea at Greenwoods.
• And an afternoon ‘borrel’ at Cafe Koosje!
• Browse books made by artists at Boekie Woekie.
• Try a few of the smaller food businesses/catering companies in Amsterdam that were part of YES WE CANTEEN, a student-initiative to change the face of the school cafeteria.
• Check out these ‘recent in 5‘ posts taken in Amsterdam: recent in 5 #8 (of Museum Willet-Holthuysen, the Utrechtsestraat and Sissy-Boy Homeland), recent in 5 #5 (of the Westerpark, breakfast at Greenwoods and the Noordermarkt) and recent in 5 #4 (of the Jordaan and Cafe van Zuylen).
• And visit the beautiful photography exhibition, ‘Saul Leiter: New York Reflections‘ at the Jewish Historical Museum.

And if you’re visiting Amsterdam in the near future, check out recent “Coming Up” posts. Keep visiting for more Amsterdam Insights, published every Wednesday!

round up october (amsterdam)

Can’t believe another month has come and gone, it feels like just yesterday that I posted my Amsterdam Insights: Round Up (September). It’s been a lovely month: the seasons have finally changed and the leaves have officially changed color and fallen from the trees, the Amsterdam Marathon came and went (and so did my sister). I spent lovely weekends with friends and family, found pumpkins, spent evenings at home and afternoons in The Hague and enjoyed a quiet Halloween weekend carving pumpkins and eating the most delicious apple crumble. Lazy days wandering the small streets of Amsterdam and visiting new museums (and coffee places, of course). Check out some of my other Amsterdam-related adventures below…

Featured are photographs from the following posts…

• I can’t believe it was still warm enough to the go to the beach in early October!
• Stop by the next Sunday Market at the Westerpark on November 13th;
• A preview of beautiful shops on the Haarlemmerstraat and Haarlemmerdijk;
• Mmm amazing sandwiches for lunch at Singel 404;
• Stop by Two For Joy Coffee Roasters for delicious coffee and tasty home-baked goods;
• Buy your next coffee table art or photography book at the TASCHEN Bookstore;
• Need a pick me up? Frozz frozen yoghurt is the place to go!
• Stroll through the Jordaan and admire the views of the Westerkerk on the Prinsengracht;
• Lunch at Latei is another great lunch place (and maybe you’ll get lucky and purchase something for your home – mug, chair or wall decoration?)

And if you’re visiting Amsterdam in the near future, check out recent “Coming Up” posts. Keep visiting for more Amsterdam Insights, published every Wednesday!

round up september (amsterdam)

Wow, I can’t believe it’s the last day of September. This month has just flown by, I can’t quite wrap my head around it. It was about a month ago that I mentioned I would be starting Amsterdam Insights, a weekly collection of posts of things to do in Amsterdam. I’ve had such a great response from my readers (do you remember my “Cool Globes” post that was featured on WordPress’ Freshly Pressed page?), so I’ve decided to continue with these posts in the future (plus, it’s been too much fun creating them!) Here’s a collection of some of my favorite photographs from my Amsterdam Insights…

Featured are photographs from the following posts…

• The Westerpark “Cool Globes” exhibition and the Cultuurpark Westergasfabriek;
• Several markets including the Noordermarkt, Nieuwmarkt and Waterlooplein;
• The grocery store Marqt, great ice cream parlor IJScuypje and the fabulous Middle Eastern/North African restaurant Bazar;
• The Stedelijk Museum (and their annual book sale);
• And the lovely store on the Haarlemmerstraat, Sukha.

And if you’re visiting Amsterdam in the near future, check out recent “Coming Up” posts (4, 3, 2 and 1). Keep visiting for more Amsterdam Insights, published every Wednesday!