Out and about in Amsterdam with Tessa
Tessa has been living with her sweetheart in The Hague for a few years now, but she still has her old hometown of Amsterdam in her heart. She can therefore take us on a trip to Amsterdam like no other and discover the city through her glasses. So join Tessa on her Amsterdam tour and be surprised!
Not the inner city for once
Of course it’s fun to store downtown, but it so standard. When I still lived in Amsterdam, I regularly went to the ‘9 streets’. The narrow streets with the authentic canals create a cozy atmosphere. The stores offer you something just a little bit different. Original clothes and accessories that not everyone walks around with.
A few recommendations
Are you a Fab fan? You’ll find their flagship store on Hartenstraat. Products like purses and bags. And if you want to make your own cute bracelets or necklaces, you really need to go to Huidenstraat. This is where Beadies is located. A cozy craft shop full of beads and charms.
On Runstraat, you’ll find Skins Cosmetics Lounge. A delightful store full of natural beauty products. Exclusive makeup, perfume and skin care products. In the Runstraat is also Darlings. A very cute store full of clothes, accessories and you can eat cupcakes. Further down the street is then Mint Mini Mall. There you can go for home accessories and baby stuff. An incredibly cute store to browse around.
After the Runstraat you walk onto the Berenstraat. If you like pancakes, you can eat them there at Pancakes Amsterdam. Further down you’ll find Mendo, a bookstore full of unusual and creative books. And if you’re looking for a gift, the store JAN on Wolvenstraat is the right place! This is a real design gift shop. Very nice products you just don’t know where to look, books, tableware, textiles and all kinds of gadgets for a nice price.
Also the Reestraat is a nice street, several stores where you can go for home accessories. And there is a clothing store with luxury brands: Noa Lifestyle. The three smaller streets are the Gasthuismolensteeg, the Oude Spiegelstraat and the Wijde Heisteeg. You should definitely walk through these as well.
Relaxing in the park
When you have finished strolling through the ‘9 Straatjes’, if the weather is nice, you can relax in the nearby Sarphatipark. The park is mainly used by the residents of De Pijp, so there are lots of local people instead of masses of tourists.
When the weather is nice, many people seek relaxation here. In the small house near the entrance on the west side of the park you will find the pumping station that drains the water from the lakes and the waterfall into the Boerenwetering. It is also a place where residents of De Pijp can exchange or give away plants, cuttings and seeds from their garden or façade garden. But if you still want to immerse yourself in typical Amsterdam, be sure to stop by the Albert Cuyp market as well.
Albert Cuyp
The market on the Albert Cuypstraat is the most famous market in the Netherlands and perhaps the largest day market in Europe. There are more than 260 stalls and the market is open every day except Sunday from early morning until six in the afternoon.
And yes, I must admit, a day in Amsterdam is really not complete without a visit to the Albert Cuyp. On a busy Saturday, more than 40,000 people come here. The large selection of products from home and abroad explains the market’s popularity. Exotic products are often the first to be found here due to the presence of the many nationalities in De Pijp. And if you turn onto the Eerste Sweelinckstraat from the market, you will find the statue of André Hazes on the right corner.
To end the day with a bite to eat
After a day in Amsterdam, I love to grab a bite to eat at one of the many small cozy eateries Amsterdam has to offer. Plopping down at one of the eateries or a small Asian joint. Coincidentally, Ester wrote a blog earlier about her discovery in Amsterdam, Krua Thai. This one is located in the Staalstraat where many of my personal favorites in the area are also located. So definitely a must visit.
