Amsterdam Noord: Take me to the other side

Getting a place to stay in Amsterdam in summer, four weeks before arrival can be a real challenge. Well, the good thing: you look beyond your own nose.

…and voilà: you find yourself in an upcoming neighbourhood including the adventure of taking a ferry to get to and from your home for two days: Sweet Dreamz (Meidoornweg 2; Phone:020-4940684) in Amsterdam Noord. Two oldschool stylish bikes per room are included in the price. The rooms are spacious, each of the three rooms is well curated and sunny. There is no breakfast, but an Albert Heijn supermarket is only a stone’s throw away, so you can either grab some food and cycle around till you find a nice spot by the canal to eat or if it’s rainy eat your self-brought breakie in your room.

Eating
Industrial flair in this old boat house directly at the waterkant: Hotel de Goudfazant (Aambeeldstraat 10 H; Phone: 020 – 63 65 170)
Ate best oysters of my life!

Don’t feel confused on your way to the restaurant: Yes, it is in a rural industrial area. Just follow the music of the next door boulder center. If your budget is low, just come here with your picnic from Albert Heijn, sit on one of the public benches and get in touch with the locals.

Shopping
Fleamarket at IJ-Hallen (Tt. Neveritaweg 15; Phone:+31 229 581 598)

Biggest fleamarket I have every seen: Full of old industrial furniture for incredibly cheap prices. Come here with a huge car!  Vintage hunting makes hungry so take the chance to try the Poffertje’s (Dutch pancakes) situated at the entrance to the big hall.

On the other side

Fall in love with this picture from artist Stiger Woods I saw at the concept store Hutspot (Van Woustraat 4; Phone: 020-2231331) in de Pijp…

Quick fruit boost at Pluk (Reestraat 19). The two smoothies are very tasty and the interior design is too good to be true. A bit irritating was that even the staff took pictures of the food they sold with their smart phones…

Drinking an organic coke at “La Tete” directly at the ferry stop “Westerdocksdijk”. A modern version of the chippy selling loose tea, selfmade granola and wraps with hummus. Very relaxed atmosphere.

..before heading back to my hood…

A short sociological observation for the hipster in us:

Amsterdam = Hipster heaven: Beautiful and well dressed people, eating organic food, drinking the most healthy green smoothies not missing a good portion of chia seeds, going shopping in well curated concept stores of course (mmh, which coffee table book should I buy?) and hunting industrial vintage furniture at the flea-market, or better, a curated vintage furniture store…
One thing makes the hipster sad…This is all mainstream in Amsterdam.