Jordaan canal scene
Amsterdam, The Netherlands – One of my favourite activities in Amsterdam was to wander the back streets of Jordaan, a leafy, gentrified suburb on the canals to the west of the city.
It had a wonderful mix of tree lined streets, funky cafes, clothing stores and broodje (sandwich) shops to keep the mind interested and the body refuelled.
On the Sunday afternoon the weather reflected my state of mind perfectly. Overcast, humid and a little dense. I’d spent the previous evening cruising around with Andy and Mike on rented bikes. Tucking into delicious Indonesian at dinner. Drinking ice cold mugs of Heineken. Later on things got a bit weird. A bit crazy. Suddenly it was 4am and we were lost and it was funny and then sometimes frightening and other times enlightening.
Now Sunday. Not knowing what else to do I grabbed the Nikon and headed out into the streets.
Enjoying the late afternoon sun with a Hoegaarden
Al fresco
For many Amsterdammers it was the last day of summer holidays before they were back at work. They made the most of the unseasonably warm weather and tumbled outside in their hundreds. In back streets dining tables and chairs had been pulled out for impromptu dinners. Couples laid on rugs by the canal, sipping from iced bottles of Heineken.
The houses themselves were intriguing. Much like in Vietnam, they were taxed on the width of the building. The canals were bordered on each side by towering, narrow terrace homes. Some bulged out above the street at odd angles. Others leaned towards their neighbour. I’m told the reason for this is the houses were built on wooden pilings sunk into the soft earth. Over decades or even centuries the pilings had settled at different lengths.
Real life Wallpaper* magazine
Looking into the buildings was always interesting. Due to the northern European tradition of tasteful decoration, it was often hard to tell which was a home, a shop or a design studio. They all seemed to have a couple of Apple Macs, a couch and a large kitchen table in the stylish front room. And all these different spaces seemed to coexist quite comfortably next to one another
Flower markets
Jordaan was definitely a peaceful place. Bikes coasted past constantly, jangling faintly on the cobbled streets. The burble of conversation floated out from the various bars, restaurants and cafes. Boats put-putted down the canals. The Dutch were certainly relaxed bunch at ease with their lives right then on that warm Sunday evening.
And so was I. I grabbed a large tube of Heineken from a corner store and joined a couple of elderly Dutch ladies, sipping from their own (small) cans of beer, on a park bench by the canals and watched the sky fade to black.
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