Affordable Amsterdam

Sorry I'm on a hotel kick lately, but I thought I would share the news that the CitizenM hotel is having an enormous promotion. You can stay at their lovely hotel throughout the year for only 39€/ night, which makes for a really inexpensive trip. You can see photos, read about our visit, and see some great shops I recommend visiting by clicking here.

This promotion is running from today through the 11th of this month, so it could potentially be a perfect surprise for your Valentine or for another special day through the year. Don't be discouraged by the location. While it is directly at the airport, there is a train that takes you right into the city for roughly 7€.

You'll be enjoying some gouda, Heineken, and stroopwaffles before you know it.

If I can find some decent flights myself maybe we'll even get to visit the Keukenhof Gardens this spring!

Happy Birthday Dad!

I took this photo in Amsterdam and saved it for this special day... and wouldn't you know it, Stefan even made a guest appearance biking through. If only he could be with us to share this big celebration!

We miss you Stefan! (don't worry... I'll eat enough cake for the both of us.)

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is everything Munich isn't. There's a large difference between the two cities. Amsterdam is young, very liberal, and there are virtually no dogs or children around. Noticing the contrasts was very interesting and at times slightly disheartening.

We arrived in Amsterdam on Saturday afternoon and I was instantly reminded of one of my favorite American TV shows - The Amazing Race. I remember one season when they had to find specially marked bikes amidst the large bike racks next to the station. I still don't really know how people figure out where they parked their bike.

After we met up with our friend Martina, who lives along the Keizersgracht, I was also reminded of the same show where they had to move furniture through the large windows using pulleys. Her apartment is really spectacular, but the staircases are very narrow. She was telling us how difficult it is to bring luggage down or to bring groceries up. I don't envy that. She even had a special 'torture wheel' as she called it, which looked like a torture device, but was really used to help with moving things through the windows.

Since Amsterdam is such a bike city that is how we chose to experience it. The bikes are very cheaply made, which Martina said was because they are often stolen. She said that on average people go through two bikes a year! I could not get over how thick the chains were - even for a rusty piece of junk. If it functioned it was apt to be stolen.

Martina guided us around town and we stopped at most of the stores I wanted to visit and then stopped to rent a bike for me. It wasn't as smooth of a ride as my cute bike at home, but it served its purpose. I also started to feel that I may want a bigger lock for my Munich bike since I would be devastated if someone stole it.

Kitsch Kitchen had my oil cloth for our biergarten. They had tons of variety, but I liked the blue polka dots. The shop was filled with interesting objects from around the world, but typically from Asia + Mexico.

Egg Mercantile is a place I could probably go bankrupt in. I absolutely love their spoons. Now I just need to have some friends over for a tea so we can use this sugar spoon! [Egg Mercantile isn't open any longer, but the Otherist is and they have similar products.]

During our ride I was surprised to see so much orange in preparation for the soccer game. I even saw inventive bike bells fashioned after a cleat kicking a ball. Later in the evening we'd soon see the pride and spirit that is even in the oldest Dutch person. I could not get over the variations of orange that people came up with. Even though it's not always the most flattering of colors everyone was dressed to support their team. Unfortunately many people went home grumpy since the Netherlands wasn't able to defend it's World Cup title. Thankfully Germany is still in the European championship.

Some of the restaurants we visited were the Bakkerswinkel, a cute little cafe with pretty mixed decor that was designed by Piet Hein Eek.

And also Tempo Doeloe, which had the Indonesian rice tables. We ordered the medium spiced dishes, which weren't very spicy. There were 25 small dishes filled with various Indonesian foods. I'm glad that we tried it and I liked the concept, however I'm not sure I would go back. The food was just OK.

No trip for me is complete without checking out the new and interesting confections. We stopped at Papabubble, a candy shop where they make the candies on the premise. The candies also reminded me of old time things that my Grandma used to have at her house. They had a more modern twist with interesting flavors such as mojito and mango. The colors are just beautiful and the candies almost look like little beads.

Another stop was at Puccini chocolates. We shared a box with interesting flavors such as tea, plum, honey, mint, and apple.

The city's architecture is something that I also found myself enjoying. A lot of the houses had interesting colors, such as a slate gray. Many of them also have a slight (and some not so slight) lean since they were built on each other for stability. The canals add to the beauty.

At night I occasionally felt a deja vu moment as I recalled having been places before. The last time I visited it was at night due to a rerouted flight. Since we were there during the summer solstice it was light until about 10:30PM, so I wasn't completely able to retrace my steps from my previous visit, but I did recognize things when it got dark.

On Sunday, we met up with Martina to visit the Bloemenmarkt, take a walk through 'De Wallen' (better known as the Red Light District), the neighboring China Town, and then to a coffee shop.

De Wallen was interesting to me because I just don't get it. I know it's complex and I understand what happens there, however after walking through I felt as though I only had more questions. I must say it felt strange even walking through this area. Many of the women were quite young and I just wondered how they got into this predicament. It was also strange to see a Christian youth hostel on the same street as several red lit windows.

I was surprised that there are several red light districts, which can be a surprise when walking past and not expecting to see a lady in the window on a seemingly residential street. Martina told us the following that she has heard - there are areas specializing in various ages, ethnicities, you name it. If there is a blue light (we didn't see one) it was a transvestite. The ladies in the higher windows are more expensive. We also went to this strange crack in the wall that opened into a huge area of men standing around. Some I presume were looking to purchase, while others were probably body guards or pimps. Some ladies sat and sent text messages while others attempted to draw men in by dancing and tapping on the glass. It was very odd.

Amsterdam also had much less graffiti for a city it's size - except for the squatter houses. According to Martina, if a building is unoccupied for 6 months people are free to inhabit it. I always pay attention to graffiti and find it fascinating. I also look for politically charged imagery because so much of it is extreme and controversial. I am curious how people view things.

At night we went to the 'I amsterdam' sign. Martina guided us to the Rijksmuseum so we could make a visit the next day.

We also went to the Van Gogh museum, both were very interesting and informative - thanks to the headset guided tour.

It was great to visit Martina and finally see the city in day light. Now it's time to eat stroopwafels and learn the answers to all of my unanswered questions about the city.

Citizen M's very first guests!

It just so happens that Stefan and I were the first guests to stay in the new Citizen M hotel. We were told as we checked out that they had pushed back their opening date one week after we won free rooms, so we had the entire hotel to ourselves. We didn't initially realize this since there were meetings going on, which I presume were actually workers or investors. Now I have to laugh as they probably wondered who we were as we checked things out.

The Citizen M concept reminds me of what Target is in America in a hotel style - good design that is affordable. Since I really love beautifully designed things, I was happy to see chairs designed by Eames (as a side note the US post office now has Eames stamps!!), Vitra chairs, coat racks, and even my Algue pieces that we'll soon be purchasing.

We stayed in different rooms both nights - one facing the runway and the other facing the highway. They were nearly identical except for a couple small things - one had a vitra chair and a hair dryer and the other didn't. It was small, however beautifully designed and very comfortable. The bed was enormous and very comfortable, which was nice when we came back.

The highlight for Stefan was the Philips touch screen preference menu that allowed us to control the lights, temperature, music, free movies - (recent releases too), and welcomed us with our name on it. Check in was very simple and self explanatory. There were computers set up with baskets of cards next to them and we simply had to put our code / last name in, choose a room, and hold a key up to a sensor. The key also doubles as a luggage tag after the stay, which is a nice way to recycle (and good marketing to spread their name).

The bathroom was comprised of small pods that had rolling doors. There was also a curtain between the sleeping area and restroom for more privacy.

When we initially told Martina we were staying near the airport she was asking us if we were sure we wanted to do that. She lives in the middle of the city right on the beautiful Keisergracht so I am sure she wondered why we wouldn't just stay with her.

It really wasn't a big deal because the train into town took 15 minutes and cost 7€. I'm really happy we were able to stay at the Citizen M and I can't wait to learn where they will be putting their next hotels.

To do in Amsterdam

There are several things I am really looking forward to doing in Amsterdam - shopping, roaming the streets, taking an insane amount of photos, eating delicious foods, and hopefully visiting a museum or two.

A couple years ago I found a store called Egg Mercantile, which has the most beautiful spoons. I have saved the picture for nearly two years and I am going to be happy to finally make a purchase direct at the store in Amsterdam. I also want to check out the oil cloths for our biergarten at kitsch kitchen.

Another fun addition for our biergarten are the beautiful little lanterns for only 7€ each at &k. I may just have to buy multiple colors. Hopefully I have enough space to bring things back! Pol's potten has beautiful pitchers... I love the red one, which would be great for margaritas.

I'm definitely a prepared traveler, but I am also excited to see what kinds of interesting things we stumble upon. Amsterdam has so many great design shops and I already know I will be in heaven.

Martina said dinner reservations are a must, so she is going to let me know tomorrow where we will be having dinner.

I'd like to try Proef restaurant, which says it's by appointment and not open for dinner. I may have to force Luke + Nan to go to the one in Rotterdam to let me know how it is. It focuses on food design and some plates are even edible! It sounds really interesting. Also the Indonesian rijsttafel (rice table) sounds like a fun dinner that would be a deviation from the norm.

Another thing I look forward to are the confections - especially these that are beautifully handmade. Papabubble candy shop has such a cute name and what looks to be a beautiful shop. I'm looking forward to checking it out. And of course a chocolate shop - Puccini Chocolates. I also must have the stroopwafels and poffertjes. Hopefully we will be doing a lot of walking or if we are brave enough, bike riding. 

Monday I'd like to check out the Noordermarkt at the Jordaanmarkt, which has tons of retro and vintage kitchen accessories. The multi cultural Dappermarkt also looks fascinating. I hope Stefan can stand that because he's not much of a shopper. I'll have to keep him fed with stroofwafels.

The museums I am interested in are the obvious Van Gogh, and also the Tulip museum.

It looks like we will have a long weekend filled with interesting things. I'm really looking forward to getting away.

Let me know your favorite places in Amsterdam - I'm always open to recommendations!

Tulips

Today as I was walking home I noticed the most enormous tulips I have ever seen and then I saw an article online about the color displays, as well as Luke + Nan's blog with the most phenomenal images from Keukenhof. Unfortunately it only lasts until mid-May and we are going to the Netherlands in June.


Aren't the colors brilliant? It makes me want to take a flight over the fields!

Free night in Amsterdam

Our friend Martina has gorgeous apartments both here and in Amsterdam, where she is currently living. She's been trying to get us to come visit for some time, but weekends have been few and far between lately. We are planning a trip and it looks like it will now be in June. We'll be staying with her but we'll also be able to stay at a new hotel that is opening June 21st called Citizen M. They are small prefab style rooms at their hotel near the airport.

Since I love design I often read up on neat hotels and concepts when I stumbled upon Citizen M, which plans to branch all over Europe. This is what their website says:

"So how are we able to provide such high quality for such low prices? The answer lies in our construction. Called ‘Industrial Flexible Demountable’, our rooms are pre-made in our own special factory off-site. This factory ensures that citizenM’s rooms are of a comparable quality to that of a luxury yacht or private jet. Only the best materials are used and our modular system combines functionality with comfort and design. We like to think that citizenM is an evolution in the hotel industry. But since citizenM likes to be a little bit modest, we won’t shout about it. At least not too much."

I'm still wondering just how much a room there costs, but my guess is about 100€.

Well it looks like we'll have an extra 100€ to spend on food and fun, because they had 100 free rooms to the first 100 people to book and I snagged one! I'm really excited!



It was really a bit of a pain, with tons of error messages, but even checking out a funky new concept for free sounds great to me... and I know Martina will be happy that we'll finally make it and not put her out for an entire weekend.

I will say the rooms at citizen M look exactly as they describe them: like they are on a yacht. Except our view will be over Amsterdam rather than the ocean.

The last time I was in Amsterdam was only for one evening when my flight had to be grounded due to losing gasoline - fun right?

I'm hoping this trip will be equally as memorable, but for different reasons. I'll keep you posted.