Hi there, if you like LP’s records, I suggest a visit to this shop where you can find every music genre and a collection of 20 thousands vinyl records. Cheap prices and nice atmosphere, you can spent few hours listening records and looking for good bargain.
Second Life Music is located in Prinsegracht 366 and open everyday from 1 to 6 o’clock in the afternoon.
If you like good beers I suggest to pay a visit also to “De Bierkoning”, a beer shop behind the Dam where you can find almost 1000 thousand different beers from all around the world:”We pride ourselves in having the largest selection of beers in the world. We don’t try to have as many different brands as possible, we simply try to have the best ones, world-wide.”
At the moment I’m in love
with lambic and belgium beers in general, but there are a lot more.
Interesting alternative people use to drop by there around 5/6 o’clock p.m. so you can also meet someone to ask for some tips for your journey or just enjoy your passion for nice beers with friendly people.
Sitting on a crate of beers outside in the sun I met a beautiful “butterfly” some weeks ago..
These wonderful birds are the real citizens of this city. They are everywhere. Take your bike for a daily ride and watch them having a meeting in Vondelpark (where the usually discuss about foreign policy and coffee shops), along the river Amstel where they love to have water-picnic or into a painting of Willem Maris.
You can ignore them, think they don’t care you but this is not true! They miss you when you go back to your country inside that enormous duck called Transavia or KLM or whatever! Two weeks ago I risked my life for two of them: a mother with her baby duck were crossing a big street located in west Amsterdam: I parked my bike right away and I blocked the traffic. A dutch man smiled to me from his car: my mission was accomplisced. And… maybe you don’t believe… but I did the same thing in the highway A4 near Delft: I saved a mother with 6 chicks. But this is another story.
Anyway, in Amsterdam you will mainly find four different subfamilies of ducks or anatidae:
I generally associate markets to worm and sunny cities: when I think about a market.. well.. only places as Marrakesh, Jerusalem, the South of Italy cross my mind and a smell of spices follows my thoughts. That’s why when I arrived in Amsterdam and I found out that in the city there was a very “culture of the market” I got positively surprised. Despite the treath of wind, rain and grey sky that often affect the city, there are markets almost everyday, and they are generally incredibly crowded.
Every neighbourhood has its own market, and every market is somehow a mirror of the neighbourhood. I think that one of the funniest way to understand a city is to mix with its people during their ordinary and daily activities; it would be interesting to have a descriprion of the city considering just the people you meet at the market or the different kind of stands.
See for example the Jordaan Market: it has a bohemienne and retrò style but with a “chic” touch, as the houses of the neighbourhood and its inhabitants; it sells second hand clothes, but it defines them as “vintage”. There are organic-food stands, but with a kind of fancy and bizarre choice of products. The vegetables come from the farmers but they look as jewels. The strangest stand is the one which sells only salt: you would never imagine that the simple salt could have so many varieties, colors, tastes and origins.
Or compare it with the Mosveld Market, where you mainly find second choice cheap vegetables and typical arabic dresses: it represents a kind of border, as the neighbouhood itself is; a border between old and new, the city and the fields, locals and strangers. Try to get through the crowd of Maroccan women in front of one of the fists stand: you’ll never believe that they are all waiting for their watch to be repaired by an old and wrinkled Dutch man.
Here a short list, everybody is welcome to add more!
Albert Cuyp Markt
One of the biggest outside daily market in Amsterdam
Area: De Pijp; Albert Cuypstraat/Ferdinand Bolstraat
From Monday to Saturday 9.30 am – 5.00 pm
Jordaan Markt
Biological Fresh Food and handicraft on Saturday;
Second hand clothes and goods on Monday
Area: Jordaan; Noordermarkt
Open: Monday and Saturday 9.00 am – 3.00 pm
Lindengracht market
Next to the Jordaan market that sells almost everything
Area: Jordaan; Lindengracht
Open: Saturday 9.00 am – 4.00 pm
Art Plein Spui
works of art, and second hand book market
Area: Centrum; Spui Plein
Sunday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Waterlooplein Flea Market
On of the most famous and central markets in town. Second-hand clothing, new and used goods.
Area: Centrum; Waterlooplein
From Monday to Saturday 9.00 am – 5.30 pm.
Mosveld Plein Market
One of the cheapest markets of vegetables, tools and clothes.
Area: Noord; Mosveld Plein
Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 9.00 am – 3.00 p.m.
Bloemenmarkt
Flowers, seeds, bulbs
Area: Centrum; Singel/Munt Plein
From Monday to Saturday 9.30 am – 5.00 pm
Shown at Overtoom 301’s cinema “Rok ďábla” (Year of the Devil, Czech Republic, 2002, 88 min.) is a comedic music documentary direct by Petr Zelenka, starring real-life Czech folk-rocker Jarek Nohavica as a fictionalized version of himself. The following musicians act as themselves in the movie: musicians and poets, Jaromir Nohavica and Karel Plihal, Czech folk music band Čechomor, and British musician and composer Jaz Coleman.
The movie won six categories at the 2002 Czech Lion awards.
The plan of the movie
Dutch documentary film maker, Jan Holman, goes to the Czech Republic to make a film about curing alcoholism. In an alcoholics anonymous clinic he meets a mysterious, silent man named Jarek Nohavica who becomes his friend. When Karel Plihal, writer and player of Nohavica’s arrangements, starts to suffer a weird psychological-disease and becomes mute, Jarek decides to go on tour with a funeral band called Čechomor (Czech-Moravian Musical Society) in order to cure his friend and to relieve alcoholic people’s suffering. Jan Holman follows the band with his camera and many inexplicable events take place along the way.
“The greatest attention is attracted by Jaromír Nohavica himself… While all the others continually are seeking something, a kind of absolute knowledge of themselves, whether through God, ritual, music or alcohol, Nohavica is the only one not trying to explain anything. He is striving for nothing, only existing on the screen, perhaps because he discovered this sense within himself long ago and hid it within his songs, which themselves form the impulse for the others to start their own searching. He becomes the symbol and the indication of nearly everything metaphysical that transpires in the film” (reviewer Martina Muziková, Literární noviny, July 22, 2002).
“Binnenpretje” is a dutch expression not easy to translate in other languages. It could mean something like “laughing inside” or “having an happy feeling inside”..
The Binnenpret is a social center in South-west of Amsterdam, close to the Vondelpark.
Originally it was an horse tram station which was closed in 1920. Then different private workshops and small factories until the spaces were abandoned at the end of ’70’s. Since 1984 the building have been reused for social and artistic activities.
The place consists of three different buildings and a nice, cozy garden in the center, with a lot of different uses: The Occii, concert hall, cine forum, bar; the MKZ, the popular restaurant; a theater; a music practice room; an info cafe’; a sauna; a bike workshop. Some artist’s ateliers and residence.
You can pass by during the afternoon to have a cheap coffee’ or beer, a bit of relax in thesauna (very cheap, 9 euro for the entire afternoon and evening or 4 euro from 10 pm. to 11 pm. with a bar inside where you can eat a snake or drink a tea). Have a cheap and good dinner, enjoy some gigs or performance. Speak with people from everywhere or just enjoy a book in the calm of the garden.
March 31, 2009 at 12:43 pm · Written by tokyorama · Filed under Going out, Shopping
During closing time in Albert Cuypmarkt, dozens of herons come by to seek some food left overs. Foto tokyorama
One of the biggest outside daily market in Amsterdam is located in De Pijp District in Amsterdam Oud-Zuid. The street and the market are named from Albert Cuyp, a painter from the 17th century.
This market began by the free initiative of a bunch of street vendors with hand carts, since when in 1905 the municipality decided to establish a free market to regulate and organize the business. Originally it was running only on Saturday until 1912 when it was decided to open it 6 days por week. Actually it’s still going from Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. till 6 p.m. with 268 market stalls on both side of the street where is possible to buy anything: food, clothes, cameras, souvenirs, gadget, tools.
March 31, 2009 at 12:41 pm · Written by herbert · Filed under Going out, Socializing
Squatted in 1999 by a group of artists, OT301 is now a well recognized multimedia cultural center, located in Overtoom 301. Many activities are organized throughout the week at OT301: an ‘organic cultural kitchen’, movie projections, dance, yoga and trapeze classes, parties and the Tuesday’s Ping Pong Night.
As the official website states: ‘This night combines the best of two worlds! Sports and drinking beer, great isn’t it. Come down to check it out for yourself. We have 3 pingpong tables so everyone can play some games. We also have simple bats and balls. If you prefer a professional bat you should bring it yourself. The perfect night out on tuesday.’
A notable thing is the timer which plays a sound every 10 minutes, letting new people to play. A helpful tool to avoid arguments between players.
LivingAmsterdam.com comes from the desire of a better world through a more conscious tourism. This blog will guide you to the unforeseen and hidden part of Amsterdam, beyond the Coffeeshops and the Red Light District.
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