Where to live in Amsterdam

Living in Amsterdam isn't cheap, or so they say. At least not in the nice neighbourhoods. At the moment I don't have the money to spend, but if I did, then where would I choose to live?

Right now I live in Amsterdam West, in a borough called De Baarsjes. Levi and I occupy a tiny attic appartment, with furniture from your friendly Scandinavian warehouse, chosen more for economical than aesthetical reasons. It's ok, certainly for the rent we pay, but we've been living in close quarters for so long, we long to move somewhere bigger.

Levi's got a steady job. Me? I've been hopping from one crappy job to the next the past few years, in search of... Fulfillment? That typical thirties thing, you might say.

Wanted: a perfectly good, steady job
I quit a perfectly good, steady, part-time job, because I wanted to do something more creative. Then the crisis hit and to be honest, now I'd settle for a perfectly good, steady, part-time job. I've got some freelance gigs, but eventhough I love what I do, financially it's nothing to write home about.

Now, if I did have a steady job, with firm financial ground under my feet, then Levi and I would buy a house. The Westerpark neighbourhood might suit our fancy, with the hip and happening Westerpark nearby. Barbeque in the park in the summer, cultural happenings at the Westergas, movies at the Ketelhuis. There is no end to the possibilities there.

Alternatively, we might look for a house in the neighbourhood of the Wilhelmina Gasthuis. There is a timeless charm to this neighbourhood, with its lovely old buildings and leafy courtyards and arches.

In love with a street
Or, and this is my ultimate dream: we'd get a place nearby in the Bosboom Toussaintstraat. A lovely treelined street, close to the centre and yet relatively quiet. And there are some very good restaurants right on your street.

Levi and I are in love with the Bosboom Toussaintstraat. Granted, it does not sound as ideal as the Westerpark does with all its possibilities, but if you happen to walk or ride your bike through this street once, you'll know what I mean.

Prices start at E225.000 for around 60 square metres. So Levi and I have some dreaming left to do before we'll be able to buy.


Grotere kaart weergeven

Tons of atmosphere: restaurant In de Waag at the Nieuwmarkt

Restaurant In de Waag is smack-dab in the centre of Amsterdam, a few minutes' walk from the Central Station, on the Nieuwmarkt at the end of the famous Zeedijk. Last weekend I made my boyfriend Levi take me there.

I'm not spoiled. I can cook. Actually, I can cook up a storm and all the world can go quiet around me (or is it just in my head where it finally goes quiet?). But there's nothing like going out to eat. Tasting the atmosphere of a place and enjoying well-prepared food and not having to lift a finger, except in the end, to pay the bill.

The thing is, I do this often with friends. But for some reason, I rarely go out to dinner with Levi. We do go out, we like to have lunch in the weekends and discover nice new places that serve good coffee and great pie. We go to festivals and go shopping and do so many more things... Just nearly never have dinner at a proper restaurant. So on Sunday we dressed up and went to In de Waag.

A restaurant lit by only candles
This monumental structure has seen many uses and many occupants over the centuries. Now, among other things, it houses an excellent restaurant. The interior is large, but has a very inviting and intimate atmosphere. Part of the reason why is the fact that the entire restaurant is lit almost solely by candles. Hundreds of them.

The menu includes starters like a tarte tatin of red onion and a pasta dish with horse mushrooms prepared in vieux. Mains include dishes like an entrecôte for two, or baked gravad lachs. Prices vary from E7-E12 for the starters to E19-E25 for the mains. The daily menu is a good deal at E34.

I chose the salad with homemade smoked salmon and the tenderloin beef for a main. Leev opted for the daily menu which consisted of a salad with smoked turkeyfilet, followed by beef with mushrooms and a coffee parfait for desert.

Attentive staff
The waiter was funny, a little flirty even, and attentive. It's funny how good staff can make or break your evening. At least as much as the quality of the food can. My starter was excellent. The homesmoked salmon was mild and silty, not salty. And everything on my plate went together beautifully, from the avocadomousse to the cherry tomatoes, to the green asparagus and even the big, fleshy, green olives. Leev was equally impressed with his smoked turkey salad.

Levi's main dish was huge. His plate seemed heaped to the point of nearly spilling. Oddly though, his steak was red (whereas he'd ordered it medium) and my tenderloin was medium (which I had requested rare). We had a bite of our own, then of eachother's and decided to swap. This is one of the reasons why I love this man.

My veggies had been in the oven too long and were overly salty and dry. Levi had enough for two, so he donated some of his. What was to die for though, was not the big chunk of meat, not the dry, salty veggies, but the mayonaise that accompanied my six Belgian-style fries (yes, only six, but because of the size of them, that was truly enough). Truffle mayonaise. Fingerlicking good. I want to kidnap the souschef who made that and make him make that for me ever single day.

We shared Levi's desert (our waiter brought us two sets of desert forks and spoons, a sweet touch), and eventhough Leev doesn't like icecream very much and I'm generally no fan of coffee-flavoured things, we finished the whole thing. Enough said.

Good for a revisit
So the food was excellent (starter), ok (main) and excellent (desert), but the gorgeous candlelit atmosphere, the great waiting staff and the good location make In de Waag one of those places I'd like to revisit.

The pricerange is well over the budget of most tourists (the bill came to E75,75, which includes two drinks and a pitcher of water). Most of the clientele is over 40.

Restaurant In de Waag
Nieuwmarkt 4
1012CR Amsterdam
http://www.indewaag.nl/

Musing: to have or not to have?

According to my boyfriend Levi, if a person wants children, they should have them, regardless of circumstance. Money, job, housing, they will manage. The topic came up in conversation a while ago, and I can't help but wonder if he really believes what he said.

Speaking for myself, I can honestly say that I feel I have no business bringing a child into this world with so very little to offer it. Just a few years ago I turned my life completely upside down. I have no steady job or substantial income and our house in Amsterdam is so tiny, we have trouble fitting in just the two of us.

I can't imagine thinking "Ah, we'll manage"?? And, come to think of it, is having children in a big city like Amsterdam a good idea at all?

When I was younger, I always thought I'd have children at a certain age. These days, just past thirty, I rather doubt I'm anywhere near ready. And yet... I know a few people who hadn't planned on getting pregnant just yet but who are happy parents now nonetheless. If it happened by accident, then I am sure we would manage. But I can't make a conscious decision based on the facts at this moment.

Besides, I like my life right now. Alright, so I don't have money like water, but our little place is nothing if not cosy and what money I do have, I get to spend on clothing, books, shoes and lovely lunches and dinners in the city with friends.

And then I see my little niece, who is the cutest little creature at nearly one year old. She's going to be a heartbreaker, that one, with her gorgeous eyes and long dark lashes. And she's so smart. I'm very much in love with her and she makes me wonder: what would ours look like? Sometimes I catch myself thinking up names for my own little one. Odd behaviour, methinks, for someone who thinks she is not to have?

Great restaurant in the centre of Amsterdam: P.King

Restaurant P.King is right in the centre of Amsterdam, on the corner of the Herengracht and the Vijzelstraat, a mere few minutes' walking distance from Pathé De Munt cinema.

I've passed it by on my bike at least a dozen times. Yesterday, having got tickets for Sherlock Holmes at De Munt, I was looking for a place to have a bite with my friend Matt We did not relish going to one of the tourist traps on or around the Rembrandtplein and then I thought of P.King.

The atmosphere is trendy, a little retro, but very relaxed and the staff is friendly. It's the kind of place you can dress up for, but can also visit dressed casually. They are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and the menu consists of mostly Chinese food, as you would expect from a restaurant called P.King.

Excellent starters

The lady behind the bar kindly informed us that we would not be able to order main dishes until 5pm. Because of the movie, we were there very early, but we didn't mind.

We ordered Peking duck with steamed pancakes and a selection of steamed and fried dim sum (the Chinese officially regard dim sum as lunchsnacks, but are on P.King's dinnermenu as starters) instead. Having only starters was in no way a punishment. I love to have all these little dishes on the table, a veritable feast for my tastebuds.

The Peking duck is a dish I've had before but sadly it is not always done right. At P.King however, they did it justice. Six perfect, thin pancakes, hoi sin sauce and cucumber and spring onions cut into julienne strips. It requires a little do-it-yourself assembly: smearing hoi sin on the pancake, laying out the cucumber and spring onion strips and placing the duck on top, and finally rolling it all up. Excellent!

Right in the centre, but not a tourist trap
The restrooms are up a flight of stairs and when I finally had to go, I was in for a surprise: on this floor there's a big lounge, with tables and chairs and benches with cushions under the windows.

Service was fast and the bill afterwards was E41,60 (including two beers and two fresh mint tea), feeding two on an assortment of starters. All in all, a very pleasurable experience. A very nice restaurant right in the centre, but away from the maddening crowd. Great food, a nice atmosphere and good company. What more could a girl ask for?

P.King
Herengracht 515
1017 BV Amsterdamhttp://www.pking.nl/

Fun stuff: discobowling!

Me and my friends went discobowling last Saturday. We had two lanes booked for two hours and I had so much fun, I was blinking in surprise when the lights came back on.

So if you want to do something different on a Friday or Saturday night, you should definitely round up your friends and go to Knijn in the neighbourhood of the Rai in the south of Amsterdam.

Knijn officially calls it ‘Twilight bowling’ (possibly in an effort to make it sounds less kiddy), but I think that just sounds lame, so I’m sticking with discobowling. The lights are way down and the pins are lit by a blacklight. There’s a DJ, and ours last Saturday was actually not half bad, playing anything from minimal to tech house.

Downside: you won’t be able to wear your killer high heels on this occasion and there is no outfit in the world that goes with the dorky bowling shoes. But the hours just whizz by while you’re aiming for strikes and spares and you’ll be back outside before you know it, having had the greatest time.

Here are the ground rules for discobowling:
- only on Friday (2300 - 0030h) or Saturday (2330 - 0100h)
- a minimum of 4 people and a max of 7 per lane
- costs: 11,50 per person (as opposed to a fixed hourly rate per lane, which is the case for regular bowling)

Knijn Bowling
Scheldeplein 3
1078 GR Amsterdam

http://www.knijnbowling.nl/

photo courtesy of knijn website

Fashion find: Spot in the Nine Little Streets

Each year, for as long as I can remember, I wish for a white Christmas. And in the past, when it on occasion did snow, I was happy as a bunny in the wonderful white world. But this, my first snowy winter in Amsterdam, is different.

The snow in the streets quickly turns to slush and when it freezes overnight, the whole city becomes one big lumpy icerink. This snow is far from romantic, this snow is downright menacing! So thank god for the thaw. Finally I can ride my bike again without fearing for my life.

Now if this warm trend keeps going, I might be able to wear my brandnew t-shirt someday soon (ok, I know it's still the middle of winter, but a girl can hope, can't she?). I found it at this great little place called Spot, in the Nine Little Streets. The store is run by Tim Bianchi and sells t-shirts by brands like Design By Humans, Bench, Razk, and is a gallery for urban art.

My DBH shirt is called The Painter and was designed by an artist called Sebasebi in Argentina. I'm so in love with it, I've hung it on a special place in the bedroom, where I can look at it every day.

I've taken a photo with my crappy phonecamera, but I swear it doesn't do it justice! 

Spot
Huidenstraat 30
1016 ET Amsterdam
www.spotgallery.nl

A declaration of intent

So. I had a meeting this afternoon with Kari, owner of her own networking business and website for expats. I had no idea what to expect, as we'd been brought together by a mutual friend, who suggested the meet when the subject of my pitiful career came up. He offered to help and so has she. Kari turns out to be a lovely person, passionate, kind and enthusiastic.

We ordered coffee (I had a latte macchiato, which was presented in a glass, as it should be, so as best to show the layer of milk, a layer of coffee and a top layer of foam, pretty as a picture) and sandwiches and I ended up with mayonaise on my face, which Kari kindly pointed out to me.

So much for an introduction to me: I'm the girl with the mayonaise on her face during the first meeting. I am also the girl who laughs the loudest when these things happen. I'm Annabelle. Or Belle, for short.

The meeting with Kari was lovely, as I said. Ok, so she won't be able to pay me anything, but she'd love for me to write for her website http://www.cosmo-polite.com/. The plan is to repay me in advice and she'll plug me in where she sees opportunity.

I, on my part, would love to write for her. Anything, she said, as long as it has to do with Amsterdam. Having moved here for love a few short years ago, I love few things more than discovering Amsterdam. Just last week I found this great place for lunch and coffee, all organic too, so good vibes along with wonderful taste. And a lovely little shop with t-shirts and urban art in the Nine Little Streets... It would be great to write about these things!

All we have so far, is a declaration of intent. I write for her, she promotes me. But you know, even if that doesn't work out, I come up on top, because I met someone really nice and call me a softie, but that's a gain in my book.

We talked about dreams, what we do, what we'd like to do and she encouraged me. "Start a blog," she said. She wasn't the first to give me this exact advice. So here we are. And here is a declaration of intent from me:

I'll tell you about my life, about Amsterdam, where I live and love, about my search for a meaningful career and about all the things that can occupy the mind of a girl of roundabout thirty. I will share my experiences about gorgeous food, amazing shops, good coffee, fashion finds, great people and even, occasionally, the weather.