Netherlands (Home Country)

Double Dutch….

Holland may be small (if you drive fast for two hours in a straight line, you are in a different country!), but with nearly 17 million people, it can get quite crowded.

Amsterdam is a truly international, but still village-like city. make sure you come and visit on the 27th of April, the Kings birthday, when everybody dresses in orange (our national color) and parties in the streets and canals.

For more insight into Dutch culture and our weird habits, I recommend reading The Undutchables by Colin White.

I have so many favorite places and they change with time. Some suggestions:

Shopping and strolling

I am more into window shopping than buying, but I love to stroll these streets with local feel, no big retail chains but small shops, galleries, cafes etc.:

• Haarlemmerdijk
• Utrechtsestraat
• De 9 straatjes

Restaurants and cafes

• Winkel 43 at Noordermarkt. The best apple pie in the world (and believe me, I have done my research!). On a Saturday (organic market day), they bake and sell between 80-100 pies, still warm from the oven. Waiting in the line outside is absolutely worth it.
• Lavinia Good Food in the quaint Kerkstraat: my favorite Saturday after yoga hangout. Healthy food, very tasty, in a trendy hippie environment.
• In the same street you’ll find Latteria Mimi, a small Italian eatery with some table son the sidewalk.
• Oriental food in a posh decor. Dynasty serves great Thai Chinese dishes: try the ‘Secret of the ox’: the meat is incredibly tender! Also fun to watch the special breed of Amsterdam customers, some of them famous, some infamous…