1 night in Amsterdam

Kicking off our ‘green’ euro trip, sees us 7.30am at the Harwich docks, after a rather rude 3am awakening. The 9am Stenaline to the Hoek of Holland gives us 8 unadulterated hours of free (you have to ask!) wifi access, definitely worth the £12 upgrade for the extra comfort, all you can drink tea, coffee and juice, peace and general ‘in the know’ smugness the stenaplus lounge gives you.

After surfing the net a la ferry, planning all those last minute trip details and finishing off leftover tasks from the past business week, we dock in the land of the clog and head for the capital for 1 night in Amsterdam.

We park up in the aptly named europarking, after a pancake-flat, straightforward hours drive into Amsterdam, where we are being hosted by friends, who after 4 years residence here in Holland, they’ve made the low lying leap onto Nederland’s property ladder, buying a 2 bed, 6 year old duplex, on quite possibly, THE quaintest street in Amsterdam. An article I read, names Amersterdamites, masters of the art of living, who exude an air of relaxation as they merrily cycle around this Dutch metropolis, something sadly lacking from most other big-city experiences.

Amsterdam is unique in the fact that living here instantly takes away the perennial conundrum of normal town living and removes the question of whether you would rather opt for the hustle and bustle of the inner city, the halfway house of suburban living or the peace and back to nature appeal of a country residence. Amsterdam offers the pros of all these choices, a homogenous mix of peace and tranquillity, easy access to cultural venues and a plethora of shops, restaurants and bars. What particularly appealed to me was the presence of somewhat bog standard mass-market brands take their place accordingly alongside a host of unusual store concepts showcasing fresh ideas, progressive design in addition to the cursory nod to traditional, old school chic.

Having had the fortune to visit a number of capital cities in our property travels, I am constantly on the look-out for the perfect one in which to make my home, they do say the grass is always greener somewhere else so….. I have to say, Amsterdam ticks most of the lengthy ‘required’ boxes, shame there’s just not more of it to go around! Sitting on a bed of peat and clay at a depth of some 12 metres below sea level, does not lend itself well to mass construction hence land reclaiming is a costly undertaking and a result happens little not often. This, in turn, drives up the cost of land and subsequently homes which despite needing intermittent remedial attention use their beguiling crookedness to their advantage retaining their charm value, whilst cycle paths and day boats shore up the sides of the canal to complete the picture postcard setting.

We arrived impeccably in time for dinner so we headed out for Pasadoble, a tapas eatery which more than does justice to Spain’s national dish. Next, a few handpicked local bars and of course the obligatory coffee shop, completed our evening. It is refreshing to see a country whose liberal attitude to societies so-called ’surges’ has elicited such a positive response from its inhabitants.

Read on for part two of 1 night in Amsterdam >>