The Flying Dutchmen have a fabulous shop and gallery on the Oudezijdes Achterburgwal, in the Red Light District of Amsterdam. The Flying Dutchmen Seed Company is world famous for breeding strains of Cannabis like &
Info:
Open 7 days a week from 11 am until 7 pm.
The Dutch Resistance Museum (Verzetsmuseum)
The museum itself provides the best description:
“The exhibition tells a chronological story from approximately 1930 to 1950, in which information is offered in various ‘layers’. A visitor striding through the exhibition will get an overall picture of a rather indolent Dutch society in the thirties, experience the shock of the unexpected German invasion, then discover that both the oppression and resistance to it gradually intensify in the occupation years as the war progresses, finally to realize that experiences of this period are still playing a role in today’s society. A visitor looking a little more closely will be able to gather more detailed information, particularly from individual examples.”
Info:
Located near the Hortus and the Artis on the east side of Amsterdam. To get there take tram #9 or 14 to Plantage Middenlaan and walk two short blocks to the door.
Amsterdam’s finest museum of the antiquities, and especially noted for it’s Egyptian displays (including a complete mummie), as well as a fine library, auditorium and research facilities. The museum has lived in several locations since it’s inception during the 1920’s. Originally on the Weesperzijde, then on Sarphtistraat, and is now in the former headquarters of the Nederlandsche Bank. This rather opulent building, located on the Rokin, is just past the Dam Square, on the left side of the canal when walking from Central Station. There are a number of trams that stop directly in front of the museum (4, 9, 16, 24 and 25).
Admission is quite reasonable, adults pay 4.30 euros for entrance. Children and seniors are less.
Closed Mondays and on Holidays, the museum is open generally from 10 am to 5 pm.
There is no parking in the area, except for a handicapped spot right in front of the door.
If you are curious about how Dutch nobility lived in centuries past you may visit the Van Loon Museum on the Keizersgracht at number 672.
The double-sized canal house was constructed in 1672. The first person to live here was the painter Ferdinand Bol, one of Rembandt’s most famous pupils.
In the sixteenth century the Van Loon’s moved to Amsterdam from the south of Holland to flee the Spanish occupation and became respected members of Amsterdam society. Several Van Loons are former mayors (burgemeesters) of Amsterdam, and the last resident was Thora van Loon – Egidius. She was Dame du Palais of Queen Wilhelmina for forty years.
The house is filled with an amazing collection of artwork, and has exhibitions on a regular basis.
An added bonus here is the spectacular gardens behind the house, which have been extensively renovated over the centuries into an amazing creation, in formal Dutch style of course.
Info:
Open Fridays through Mondays from 11 am until 5 pm. Admission is 4.50 euros for adults. Museumjaarkart holders are admitted free, children under 12 are fee.
This tour was highly recommended in BOOM magazine. Randy is a pretty cool guy! This tour focused on the humorous and contemporary stories of the red light district. He kept us entertained by showing us where Quentin Tarantino wrote Pulp Fiction. Eminem and Mike Tyson’s favorite coffeshop. We even saw the club with the darkroom floor that Jean Paul Gaultier passed out on (and woke up stuck to)!
We saw a lot of window prostitutes and learned about X-rated bookshops, live sex shows, magic mushrooms and smart shops. Warning: there was also some Amsterdam history on the tour.We had a lot of laughs and came away with a better understanding of not only the red light district but also the Dutch culture. Highly recommended!
Info:
The meeting point is in front of the Victoria Hotel across from Central Station at 8pm, and 10pm on Fridays & Saturdays.(Damrak and Prins Hendrik-kade). It lasts 90 minutes.
Resevations are recommended!
The Jordaan was build at the large expansion of Amsterdam in early 17th century, as a district for the working class and emigrants. The population increase during the next centuries was enormously, caused by the stream political refugees like protestant Fleming, Spanish and Portuguese Jews and French Huguenots who mainly settled in the Jordaan. It was a poor district with small houses and slums, every little room stuffed with families and lots of children. The entire area was one ghetto with open sewers, canals served for both transport and sewer, and no running water. Around 1900 there lived about 80 thousand people, nowadays about 20 thousand.
I passed by this inviting place on a cold rainy evening and decided to give it a try. One of the Thai women working there was standing outside the door, as is the custom in this very competitive restaurant district. Business was slow, as this was a Monday and it was pouring rain.
She graciously welcomed me and took my umbrella, saying it was too wet to bring inside! Perhaps she needed it herself, I figured. I sat down and ordered dinner from the menu. Soup was a must to warm my insides, so I decided on Tom Yam Kai, the delightfully spicy lemongrass soup with chicken and mushrooms. It was done perfectly.
As Royal Thai specializes in seafood, I followed that up with Pla Chuchee, pieces of fish, deep fried and covered in a spicy red curry/coconut sauce, which I would classify as Penang (my favorite Thai sauce). There was a LOT of fish, about 6-7 medium pieces, and it was so much I couldn’t finish it. It came with a huge silver colored bowl of rice that I barely made a dent in. The fish was good, clean tasting, and went well with the sauce.
To drink I ordered a jasmine tea, which was served in glass mug instead of teapot, but they did add more hot water, so I got a couple of glasses for 1.90 Euros. A small heineken set me back 3 Euros (big ouch!). The soup was 4.10 and the fish 15.50. Considering how much fish there was, and how good it was, it was well worth it. I’d normally recommend two people split it with another dish.
The decor was a pleasant notch up from most Thai restaurants in Amsterdam. The theme is Thai musical instruments and there are beautiful examples on display as well as other exotic object d’art.
The service here was excellent, but then again, it was a slow Monday evening. As I left the restaurant, the friendly Thai woman handed me back my umbrella and we talked for awhile. The chill of the evening had evaporated…
Check out their very informative website to see the whole menu! Nice photos of some of the dishes. Watch out you don’t drool over your keyboard!
Stadsarchief Amsterdam is on the Amsteldijk upriver from the Carre theater, on the other side of the Amstel River.
This is where the official archives of the City of Amsterdam reside, and there are exhibits open to the public, with interpretations in Dutch, of course.
Info:
Stadsarchief Amsterdam is on the Amsteldijk at number 67, 1074 HZ Amsterdam.
Amazing bookstore, filled with ancient treasures on the Oude Hoogstraat in Amsterdam. Here you will find books and prints dealing with almost every subject relevant to Amsterdam and it’s history.
Info:
Located between the Kloveniersburgwal and the Oudezijdes Achterburgwal on the Oude Hoogstraat. The Damstraat begins at the Dam, opposite the Royal Palace and continues through some of Amsterdam’s most colorful neighborhood to the east.
Open daily during the summer for tourists, the Royal Palace is not the home of any royalty, it’s a museum and venue for important state events held by the Dutch royals. Recently renovated and spruced up for the wedding of Willem-Alexander and Maxima this place is worth a visit if you haven’t been inside before.
Of note are rooms replete with their period furnishings, carvings, bas-reliefs of bizarre historical notes and artworks left behind when the royals abandoned the place.