Kasta
Love my children and husband, friends, family. Need indulgences in good food and wine. Like to be surprised, stimulated, challenged and productive. Like to be around water, trees, other living things.
Amsterdam
Recent Activity
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Think European Deli meets Tales of the City at this centrally-located cafe in the Museum quarter. Located at Van Baerlestraat 67, Renzo's is open Monday to Friday from 11am to 9pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 7pm. The decor is kitch and colourful and lots of nooks and crannies give it a hippy-like and cosy atmosphere. The coffee is superb, a compliment in the coffee-challenged city (you can get coffee everywhere but often it's pretty bad) and the fresh food selection is mouthwatering. Anything from delicious pasta to filled bread rolls to marinated ribs.
Renzo's is also great if you want to put together a picnic. Select a few different dishes and head off to Museumplein (in front of the Rijksmuseum and adjacent to the Van Gogh Museum) and pick a nice spot on the grass there. There are outdoor cafes near all the museums but they aren't great so it can be worth the extra five-minute walk to Renzo's.
Posted 20 Feb 07
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This shop is easy to find because it's on one of the main roads in the city and located near landmarks like Anne Frank's Huis and the Westerkerk (Rembrandt is buried here and the church has the highest steeple in the city). Trams and buses also stop out front.
Lots of vinyl, plastic, lurid prints and religious iconography (think the best and worst the Catholics have given the world) is for sale here. The prints and designs are eye-catching and decorate kitchenware such as crockery, glassware and serving dishes. Other homewares such as curtains and rugs, and hardware like brooms and bins are also on offer. There is also a good selection of children's toys, dress-up costumes and quirky games, as well as stationery and books.
The shop is colourful, with inspriration from South America and Spain, and it's also the place to come to get your "Day of the Dead" merchandise if you want to celebrate with the Mexicans.
Find it at Rozengracht 8-12, Amsterdam (Tram 7 or 17).
Posted 20 Feb 07
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For many flower fans the annual Keukenhof Gardens (www.keukenhof.nl) exhibition has pilgrimage status. As we were in the Netherlands last spring it felt apt that we should head off and see what all the fuss was about. We had in-laws visiting, one of them an avid gardener so we suggested it as an easy day trip from Amsterdam.
We caught the tram to Centraal Station and then caught a train south to Leiden. The journey was breathtaking. Commercial bulb fields laden with blooms stretched out in earnest toward the horizon. Hot pink, lush red, bright yellow, vibrant orange, it was beautiful.
We arrived in Leiden and stood in a queue to buy bus tickets for the shuttle to the Keukenhof. It was Spring but freezing. The wind chill brought the temperature down to around 5 degrees celcius.
We realised we had a made a mistake as the gardens loomed closer. Fields were dotted not with tulips, but tour buses. From Germany, England, Hungary, everywhere. Hundreds of them.
The moral of the story is if you love tulips and gardening spectacles seek out the Keukenhof. Try and go early in the morning, before the hordes arrive.
If you are like me and have a fleeting interest, take the train from Amsterdam to Leiden, marvel at the colour out the window, and then spend a day in Leiden. Rembrandt was born there and it has a good museum devoted to it's famous son. There is a high street well stocked with big name shops, as well as a few surprises. Have lunch at one of the cafes alongside a canal. Much more civilised.
By the way, other friends of mine caught a train to a nearby town (I think it was Utrecht) and then cycled through the pretty fields. A much nicer alternative to visiting the Keukenhof.
Did you know? Tulip is Turkish for turban? The bulbs were first cultivated by the Turks as early as 1500. In the 1600s tulips became overvalued in a highly speculative marketplace. The bottom fell out of the market. Similar to the Dot Com crash!
(Both bits of trivia courtesy of Lonely Planet, The Netherlands.)Posted 29 Jan 07
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Mmm. You could get a train from Waterloo through the tunnel and in to Belgium. Then change trains and head up to NL. Or if you are anywhere near Newcastle in the north of the UK get the hydrofoil to Ijmuiden. I think there are a few ferry options from the UK to NL.
Posted 21 Jan 07
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The Netherlands is closing down some of its infamous sex havens in the Red Light District. Are we seeing a more conservative trend developing there - a place previously renowned for being open-minded?
They are doing it because of alleged money laundering through the businesses. These "open shops" need permits so operate in a regulated environment - therefore, with checks and balances in place to keep them clean and safe for workers and clients.
If they take away the permits will it stop prostitutes from working or clients from seeking out paid sex? I doubt it. It will just be hidden away, making it more unsafe for them. Meanwhile, whoever has been lining their pockets illegally will just find another way to do it.
This industry attracts illegal activity. This won't make it go away. It will just make the whole thing unsafe for many who still need to work.Posted 29 Jan 07
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No. Anne Frank's House is a must. You can't beat personal accounts of important historical events and this is one of the best.
Posted 20 Jan 07
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Amsterdam is a cosmopolitan city with many great restaurants. I found dining out there to be quite a culinary adventure. I noticed a strong French, Belgian and Turkish influence.
De Belhamel is a favourite, largely because it is reasonably priced and diners can look out over the pretty Brouwersgracht canal (named after the beer brewing factories which lined the banks of the canal. Apparently the population drank beer rather than the dirty water because it was bug-free).
http://www.diningcity.com/ams/debelhamel/
How does this dessert sound? Creme brulee of star anise with cardamom icecream and almond biscuit? Or a main; Farmer's pig with rosti, chicory and an armagnac plum sauce?
Posted 18 Jan 07
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