Bing Bing Bing
I have a fellow blogger here in Amsterdam who really has an amazing eye for kids’ style! Sophie Chalumeau takes daily pictures of the looks of Amsterdam’s cool and cute kids, very often in our city’s great Vondelpark. Think Sartorialist, only for children!
Totally addictive, and totally interesting!
Sophie also had a little online conversation, interview style, with the 4 of us; check it out here!
Cumin cheese
The Dutch are pretty famous for their cheeses. The ‘normal’ Gouda cheese is well known internationally, and also the plain Edam cheese is pretty much available in better cheese shops all over the world.
A cheese I have never found abroad though is ’komijnekaas’ (‘cumin cheese’) — basically a Gouda or Edam cheese with cumin seeds in it, and a cheese we love in the Netherlands (at least I do)!
The cumin seeds give the cheese a mild, nutty flavour and it is very good on a slice of fresh bread or just as is on a cheese platter.
If in Amsterdam, make sure to step in to one of the many cheese shops (don’t worry — although they are certainly ’cheesy’, they are not at all ‘just for tourists’)! They will gladly let you taste cumin cheese – and any other cheese you would like to try (and there are many)!
xxx Esther
Het Huis van Aristoteles
Amsterdam has a new attraction for kids and it is so great we immediately added it to our ‘top five things to do in Amsterdam’.
Het Huis van Aristoteles (‘The House of Aristotle’ – named after the famous philosopher and inventor of the senses), is a children’s museum which offers activities ‘that challenge the senses and stimulate creativity, fantasy and curiosity’.
The first exposition in the museum is called Heldenstad (‘HeroTown’) and is inspired by the famous Dutch children’s book, ‘Pluk van de Petteflet’. There’s a 6-meter-high building envisioning the ‘Petteflet’ (see picture), with all sorts of great things to be explored: various little bedrooms furnished by children from different cultures and backgrounds, dress up clothes, dolls, trains, etc.
There is even a kitchen with ‘Mrs. Helderder’ (‘Mrs. Clearer’ – a character of the book), who vigorously tells all the children to help her clean, because ‘it is all so filthy’. My daughter was polishing shoes and mopping floors for nearly one hour; she had rosy cheeks and a big smile on her face!
Luukie/Xsmall
One of my favourite kiddie shoe shops here in Amsterdam has always been, without a doubt, the super cool shop Luukie.
At Luukie, they always have shoes in their collection that I love. (And I am picky!) I like kids’ shoes to be quite traditional, but with a modern twist, which is why I love Italian brands like PéPé and Rondinella, who do this brilliantly. (I know these shoes are not the cheapest, but my mother raised me to believe it is essential for the health of children’s feet to wear good shoes with sturdy, leather soles.)
One of my favourite kid’s clothes shops here in Amsterdam is the extra stylish shop, Xsmall. Here, they sell my absolute favourite (Dutch and Belgian) brands, like Imps&Elfs, Quincy, Simple Kids, KidsCase, Maan, and more! I guess I will just have to say that these clothes are cute, extremely stylish and of very good quality with extreme attention to detail…
Imagine my surprise (and extreme satisfaction), when I discovered that these two shops had actually joined forces! The combination of two of my favourite kid’s shops, both to be found under one roof! Brilliant! (more…)
Macrobiotic goat farm Ridammerhoeve
On the southern outskirts of Amsterdam is a huge park/woodland called the ‘Amsterdamse Bos’ (Amsterdam Forest). It offers great activities for kids, like swimming pools, playgrounds, a theater, a pancakes restaurant, and one of our family’s absolute favourite outdoor activities in Amsterdam: the macrobiotic goat farm ’Ridammerhoeve‘.
The beauty of this goat farm is that it is really, in all reality, a goat farm! So besides it being a city farm, with the mere purpose of giving city kids the opportunity to get closer to animals and to teach them ‘where the milk is coming from’, the main purpose of this farm is to produce (organic) goat’s milk and make it into cheeses, yogurt, ice cream etc., all for sale at the little café, where you can also get a nice goats’ cappuccino! (more…)
Keet in Huis
KNSM island used to be quite a rough and industrial part of the Amsterdam harbor before it was transformed into a very cool residential island, and nowadays, this is where you can find one of the finest kid’s lifestyle shops of Amsterdam: Keet in Huis.
Keet in Huis (‘Mess in the House’), sells everything from furniture, bed linen, interior accessories, baby buggies, toys and books, which, you might think, by itself is not so extra-ordinary at all, but if you consider the amazing taste levels of the owners, you would be sold like every other mother who has ever set foot in this shop. Wonderful!
I can spend hours in ‘Keet in Huis’, and have an especially hard time pulling myself away of the downstairs bedding area. My kids don’t mind, because there is a lovely little play area where they can meet little friends whose mums are in a similar situation (stuck with the choice: which duvet cover to pick?).
Courtney, who has been a few times (it’s always on her list of things to do in Amsterdam), finds the bedding to be extremely Dutch. This means, according to her, that there are loads of very bright colours, and tons of gingham. This is probably true, as there are loads of bright colours in my kids’ bedroom – and loads of gingham! (more…)
De Bakkerswinkel
These days we just love meeting friends for breakfast or brunch on a weekend morning. Breakfast is probably my favourite meal of the day to start with, but besides that, early in the day my kids are still well rested and thus more enjoyable (as opposed to overall crankiness at dinner time)! Also, like every other parent with little children, we’re awake early anyways, so we might as well start our social schedule before noon! (Of course the friends we are meeting have kids too – the friends without kids would be crazy to leave their beds before noon on a weekend morning! In fact, it should be forbidden – what a waste!)
My favourite breakfast place is ‘De Bakkerswinkel’ (The Bakers’ Shop). Not only can you buy yummy breads, cakes and scones at the counter of ‘The Bakkerswinkel’, they also serve a wonderful (Dutch style) breakfast, lunch or tea in the restaurant area, which always has a very cozy and homey feel to it! Think jars of honey and home-made jams on the table, big cups of cappuccinos (small cups of babyccinos for the little ones of course), baskets filled with delicious breads, scones, etc. The menu is big enough to have something yummy for everyone’s taste! (more…)
Le Fournil
This past Saturday morning my ♥ husband treated me, our daughter and my hangover to a lie-in, and took our toddler son out for an early-morning stroll toward one of our neighbourhood treasures: Le Fournil.
Le Fournil is the first original French bakery in the Netherlands, and it is immensely popular. Getting fresh bread on a weekend morning means standing in line here, but it is worth it! The most delicious baguettes, croissants, brioches, madeleines… Yum!
Sébastien, the owner, comes from a family of many generations of bakers located in the Vendée (France). Together with his Dutch wife he owned a bakery in France for over 10 years, but when they were visiting family in the Netherlands the idea of starting a French bakery in Amsterdam slowly took form. An excellent idea, if you ask me!
Thankfully, the promise of a foamy cappucino (babyccino for my daughter, naturalmente), a basket of ultra fresh French bread and a hard-boiled egg made getting up that morning not such a punishment in the end…
xxx Esther
The Hollandsche Manege
The Hollandsche Manege translates to ‘The Dutch Riding School’, and the manner in which it is spelled (in Dutch) conveys that we are talking about an OLD riding school here. The building, based on the Spanish Riding School in Vienna and located on the Northern edge of the Vondelpark, dates back to 1882 and was meant to serve the recreational needs of the rich and/or aristocrat inhabitants of Amsterdam. Membership was expensive, and you can still tell by the heavy decoration and the feeling of grandeur!
Nowadays you don’t have to be rich or aristocratic to enjoy the Hollandsche Manege… (more…)
De Taart van m’n Tante
Yesterday I took my little family for a treat: we went to ‘De Taart van m’n Tante‘ (Cakes of my Aunt) for coffee and cake. ‘De Taart van m’n Tante’ is not just an ordinary tearoom with your everyday kind of cake — in fact, it might be the most kitschy tearoom of Amsterdam, with the most spectacular cakes!
The men behind ‘De Taart van m’n Tante’, Siemon and Noam, strive to make everybody (young and old, conservative and hip, Sikhs and nuns) at home in their cake parlour, and in my opinion they have succeeded. I especially love the grandma-style sofa and coffee-table in the back!
The cakes are yummy (my daughter was very happy to find out that they serve a super sweet strawberry cake entirely covered in pink marzipan – exactly to her taste!) and the owners really easygoing. They didn’t seam to mind at all that my little boy was screaming for cookies – in fact, they just gave him a plate full of them!
If you want to order a cool cake for a birthday, baptism or Bar Mitzvah, they will happily custom design any sort of cake (I mean ANY sort). But make sure you order well in advance! (Cakes from their regular assortment can be ordered 24 hours beforehand).
xxx Esther
De Parade
Once a year, a magical event hits the city of Amsterdam… De Parade!
Although ‘De Parade’ does translate into ‘The Parade’, it is nothing like one – it is in fact a theater festival, disguised in an old-fashioned looking fair ground!
‘De Parade’ offers a mix of art, theater, film, magic, comedy and music, together with a good supply of food and drinks. The atmosphere is arty, bohemian, easygoing and trendy (every single hip person in Amsterdam seemed to be at the opening night last Friday)!
It’s a great place for people-watching and drinks, but the shows are really worth a visit as well. The theater makers now have an outlet for ideas that are hard to find an audience for the rest of the year, so you can see some really special performances!
One ‘idea’ I saw and thought to be super cool, was a silent disco. About fifty people in an open air disco, all wearing headphones and dancing like crazy, and occasionally all singing along with the lyrics. Such fun! I will definitely go next time! (more…)
Raining? Go tropical!
The Tropenmuseum (Tropical Institute) of Amsterdam is one of those museums where you walk in and feel the grandeur of what once was… I have that same feeling in similar beautiful buildings, like the Natural History Museum in London, or the Royal Museum of Central Africa in Brussels…
It’s about anthropology, discovery, history, about dangerous expeditions and great adventures… Dr. Livingstone, I presume???
The original name of the Tropical Institute was Colonial Museum and it was first opened in Haarlem in 1871 (the current building in Amsterdam was inaugurated in 1926). The initial aim of the museum was to exhibit products and crafts from the Dutch overseas territories. There are however not many Dutch colonies left and the building is huge, so nowadays the exhibitions display art, objects, photographs, music and film from non-western cultures in general, giving an insight into the daily lives of the people of the tropics and subtropics.
It’s really a fantastic museum to visit, and also great for children. We went last weekend (it was raining), and our 3-year-old LOVED it! (more…)
Strand Zuid
Last week we finally had a nice and warm, summery day in the Netherlands, so a girlfriend and I took our children to one of the hip & cool city beaches here in Amsterdam: Strand Zuid (South Beach).
Behind the (big & ugly) congress centre, ‘Amsterdam Rai’, and on the border of the Beatrix Park pond, a lovely treasure is hidden: a beach in the middle of Amsterdam!
There are 2,000 square meters of sand, chill-out areas, bars & terraces with good food, sun-loungers, a beach volleyball field and showers. It’s great to bring your children here on a warm summer day; they can enjoy themselves in the sand and play with all the other kids, while you can relax a bit with a rosé and pretend to be in the Mediterranean…
It’s also not a bad place to come without children – for a stylish dinner on a nice summer evening… It’s open until midnight on weekends.
xxx Esther
Tony Chocolonely
Since we moved back to the Netherlands, about half a year ago, I’ve noticed these brightly-coloured ‘Tony’s Chocolonely’ chocolate bars around. The wrapping is very garish and in-your-face (cool though), and not at all like the packaging I usually go for in Chocolate Land (meaning matte dark-brown paper, golden accents and names like ‘La Maison du Chocolat’ or ‘Marcolini’ – I’m posh like that 
). But the fact that my hairdresser, who uses Aveda and makes an effort to be very earth-friendly and chic in general, had Tony’s Chocolonely’s bars on the counter made me decide to try one.
I must say, I was certainly not disappointed! I tried the blue 72% cacao variety and it was beautifully brittle and tasty. By now I was getting curious – what’s the story behind these different-looking chocolate bars with their weird name?
A visit to Tony Chocolonely’s website explained it all, and made me laugh and cry at the same time… (more…)
Airport fun…
If you’re flying with children, make sure that you check the website of the airport you depart from beforehand. With kids, it’s advisable to arrive at the airport in time; not only to avoid stress (and fights with your husband ), but also to make sure that you get good seats (meaning next to each other) and that you will really get that bassinet or special meal you reserved beforehand.
Because you’ll have to spend some time at the airport (and assuming not all of you have a platinum frequent-flyer card allowing you to get in those chic private lounges), it’s good to know about all the children’s facilities around. You want to keep the kids entertained, as you don’t want them to sleep BEFORE the flight!
Take for instance our ‘homebase’ airport here in Amsterdam: ‘Schiphol‘.
Did you know that Schiphol is the first airport in the world to have a museum in its terminal? And not any museum — it is an annexe of the famous Rijksmuseum! So while waiting for your flight, you can show your kids ten works by famous Dutch masters (like Jan Steen, or Rembrandt)! There’s also a temporary exhibition to enjoy; currently ‘Books in the age of Rembrandt’ (until October 2008). (more…)
Issa
Every now and then, when I really don’t feel like cooking and it is still early in the evening, we take the kids to Issa, a little Japanese restaurant around the corner from us here in Amsterdam. This restaurant is particularly popular in our family because not only do we all love Japanese food (even the baby does), it also has a tiny private area in the back with traditional Japanese low tables. Such fun! My daughter loves taking her shoes off and sits at the table as if she is twelve years old instead of three; the baby likes playing the ‘climb onto the table’-game until we finally get enough of it and strap him into his Phil&Teds Me Too chair.
Last night at Issa we tried a new dish: Okonomiyaki, or Japanese Pancake. A true discovery! (more…)
Praq
Last weekend Courtney came to visit us with her family – such fun! Thankfully the weather in Amsterdam was nice for a change, so on Saturday we loaded all the children on the bikes, and off we went to our favourite kid-friendly restaurant: Praq.
Praq is located along the Amstel river in the beautiful little village of Oudekerk aan de Amstel — not very far from Amsterdam at all (I would say about a 40 minute, very scenic bike-ride). We love this restaurant so much because not only do they serve great food, they also have a complete section reserved just for kids (and their parents). All this is done in a really tasteful way – no Donald Duck in sight! Parents, children, even business people feel comfortable here! (more…)
White asparagus
It’s that season again! Currently, white asparagus is available all over the Netherlands…
Originally from the south of the Netherlands (which is considered the asparagus epicenter of the country), I remember that as a small child eating the first asparagus of the season was considered a ’special meal’! And this special meal usually took place at my grandmother’s house…
Traditionally we eat white asparagus with thinly cut gammon, hard boiled eggs, tiny new potatoes and a butter sauce… Delicious!
Now, if you can get your hands on some nice, fat and fresh white asparagus – here is what to do with them… The Dutch way! (more…)
Tall people
When I was living in New York City, about 5 years ago (gosh, time flies), I considered myself reasonably tall (I’m 1.76m, or 5′-9″) compared to the average American gal. And my husband, with his 1.91 m (6′-4″) literally stood out of the average crowd…
Until we would go to the monthly NL borrels gathering, where we would meet our Dutch friends and get drunk on Heineken beer instead of cocktails . Surrounded by fellow Dutchmen, I would immediately shrink to the size of a midget and my husband would definitely become one of the shorter guys around!
Did you know that the Dutch are the tallest people in the world? And did you know that until the 1950s, the American people held this position, but that since then they actually shrank a little while the Dutch (and other Northern European people) started shooting up? And did you know that this has more to do with an equal distribution of income and less with the fact that we drink a lot of milk?
If you want to know more about it, I suggest reading this article; it’s really interesting…
xxx Esther
Clogs!
Ha ha… as a true Dutch girl, I had to discuss this topic at some point: Wooden shoes!
First of all, I have to put something straight: contrary to popular belief elsewhere in the world, NOBODY in the Netherlands wears wooden shoes on the streets anymore. Okay, what they say about tulips and soft drugs is true. But seriously, we ALL wear leather shoes, or even sneakers! (more…)
