Highlights of Amsterdam’s Canals: The Music Boat
The lilting sound of a trumpet echoing out over the water shakes passersby from their reverie. Distant looks give way to wonder. Tourists and locals alike stray from their intentions and drift over to the water’s edge to discover what kind of happening they’ve stumbled upon today. “Magic,” they mumble when they see what’s on […]
What animals live in the Dutch canals?
Sure, the Dutch waterways are artificial and look as appetising as the trash can at a diaper-changing station, but a surprisingly large range of animals live there. That’s for two reasons: One, though they are entirely manmade (person made?) they’ve been around long enough that many animals have adapted to living there. It’s comparable to […]
5 alternative attractions in Amsterdam where you’ll avoid the tourists
Have you noticed how few Amsterdammers you find sitting in the cafes and bars on Dam square? There aren’t many of us in the Red Light District either. The reason? There are so many other places for us to go! The city is a warren of back streets filled with hidden gems. And so, when […]
7+ Fantastic places to swim in natural water in Amsterdam
Wow, is the weather nice! And like always, the Dutch are just soaking it up. Sick days have soared, businesses are closed and terraces are so packed it took us 40 minutes just to find a table yesterday. Even better, as it has been hot for a while now, the water temperature is getting to […]
What to do in wintery Amsterdam
There is a good reason people say you shouldn’t visit Amsterdam in winter. That’s because, though people might imagine it’s a wintery wonderland, it’s nothing of the kind. Instead, for most of the time, the temperature stubbornly hovers just above zero while wind, rain and sleet make life miserable. (And no, we very rarely get […]
How Amsterdam protect’s itself against the water
Water. It has been Amsterdam’s lifeblood ’s since the city’s inception. In truth, the canals were a truly revolutionary technology when they were built; allowing the city to move goods by water instead of horse and cart and through that become one of the world’s greatest trading cities. And yes, the word ‘technology’ is certainly […]
5 Fascinating Facts About the Dutch Canals
Oh, the Amsterdam canals! They sure are picturesque, aren’t they? So much so, that if all the mood shots, selfies, and panoramas taken from the city’s bridges were printed out and piled up together they’d weigh more than some of those bridges! But the waterways are so much more than just a pretty picture. There […]
What is it like to live on a houseboat in Amsterdam?
In Amsterdam, you can’t miss the houseboats. They’re everywhere; including nearly every picturesque photo you’ll ever take in Amsterdam! Picture of sunset over a canal? Houseboat. Selfie on the skinny bridge? Houseboat. Anna Frank museum? Houseboat. Yes, that’s right. Her book is set on one! Bet you didn’t know that! Okay, largely because it isn’t […]
How The Dutch Won Their Independence
By the time the Dutch war of independence ended those who had started it were pretty much all dead. Not because they were all brutally murdered (though, no doubt, some were; it was a war) but because it took so damn long! How long? Eighty years. Yes, that’s long. To put that in perspective, since […]
Bikes!
Have you ever wondered how many bikes
fall into canals of Amsterdam every year?
Is it the Dutch version of the mid-life crisis sports car in the garage?
Find out in this blog.
