Amsterdam in April - things to do/see?
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Amsterdam in April - things to do/see?
My S.O. is planning a trip for sometime early April.
What C&V -related things could I find there then - cycle jumbles/swaps/markets, events...
What C&V -related things could I find there then - cycle jumbles/swaps/markets, events...
Likes For fabiofarelli:
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Middle Earth (aka IA)
Posts: 20,949
Bikes: A bunch of old bikes and a few new ones
Liked 4,321 Times
in
2,381 Posts
Rent one of these (or the men's version if you prefer) and cycle. I don't know if it gets much more C&V than riding on one of these on a bike path in the Netherlands:
Likes For bikemig:
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 671
Bikes: Especialy Alan, but also Empella, Cascarsi, Gazelle, Bianchi, CJV, Sirocco, Berkers etcetera
Liked 1,001 Times
in
357 Posts
Are you only goin' to Amsterdam or do you mean the Netherlands? Sorry to ask but it seems many people from the US don't know the difference. Sometimes they even think Copenhagen is 'Holland'.
I ask this because there is a free bicycle fair near Antwerp in Belgium, not that far from the border. One hour and 45 minutes drivin' from Amsterdam.
I've never been there but I heard good things about this fair.
I ask this because there is a free bicycle fair near Antwerp in Belgium, not that far from the border. One hour and 45 minutes drivin' from Amsterdam.
I've never been there but I heard good things about this fair.
Likes For fabiofarelli:
#5
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Are you only goin' to Amsterdam or do you mean the Netherlands? Sorry to ask but it seems many people from the US don't know the difference. Sometimes they even think Copenhagen is 'Holland'.
I ask this because there is a free bicycle fair near Antwerp in Belgium, not that far from the border. One hour and 45 minutes drivin' from Amsterdam.
I've never been there but I heard good things about this fair.
I ask this because there is a free bicycle fair near Antwerp in Belgium, not that far from the border. One hour and 45 minutes drivin' from Amsterdam.
I've never been there but I heard good things about this fair.
Likes For oneclick:
#6
Phyllo-buster
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Nova Scotia
Posts: 8,884
Bikes: roadsters, club bikes, fixed and classic
Liked 2,090 Times
in
1,275 Posts
Vermeer eh? That's cool.
Let me know if you're into classical music or opera...tickets can be had.
Let me know if you're into classical music or opera...tickets can be had.
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Calgary
Posts: 670
Bikes: Condor, Cinelli SC, MKM Metcalfe, Peugeot AE08, Bianchi, Cougar, Miyata, Harry Hall, Holdsworth Special, Raleigh Int'l, Le Croco, Bob Jackson, Zeus
Liked 102 Times
in
53 Posts
[MENTION=173992]non-fixie[/MENTION] may be your man on the ground here.
Have fun.
Brad
Have fun.
Brad
__________________
Better bike .. Better life!
Better bike .. Better life!
#8
señor miembro
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Pac NW
Posts: 6,838
Bikes: '70s - '80s Campagnolo
Liked 6,971 Times
in
3,439 Posts
I had a good time at the museums there ... between stops at the coffee shops.
Likes For SurferRosa:
#10
Senior Member
Thread Starter
#11
Phyllo-buster
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Nova Scotia
Posts: 8,884
Bikes: roadsters, club bikes, fixed and classic
Liked 2,090 Times
in
1,275 Posts
Good friends of ours are both professional musicians. One sings for the National Opera and the other is a composer of some repute.
I'll reach out to them to see what's on.
I'll reach out to them to see what's on.
#12
Polymultiplié
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: South Holland, NL
Posts: 11,226
Bikes: Yes, please.
Liked 5,241 Times
in
1,929 Posts
However, I would like to second bikemig 's suggestion to just rent a bike and experience cycling in and around Amsterdam. That's a sure-fire way to make memories.
Likes For non-fixie:
#13
Phyllo-buster
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Nova Scotia
Posts: 8,884
Bikes: roadsters, club bikes, fixed and classic
Liked 2,090 Times
in
1,275 Posts
iirc from the last time I was there in 1995, there's a great market in Rembrantsplein? Weekends only perhaps?
#14
www.theheadbadge.com
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Southern Florida
Posts: 28,602
Bikes: https://www.theheadbadge.com
Liked 4,537 Times
in
2,142 Posts
However, I would like to second bikemig 's suggestion to just rent a bike and experience cycling in and around Amsterdam. That's a sure-fire way to make memories.
-Kurt
Likes For cudak888:
#15
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 671
Bikes: Especialy Alan, but also Empella, Cascarsi, Gazelle, Bianchi, CJV, Sirocco, Berkers etcetera
Liked 1,001 Times
in
357 Posts
Waterlooplein has all kinda stuff and is from monday till saturday. It's not the flea market from the sixties/early seventies anymore ...
#16
Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2022
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 136
Bikes: 1957 Motobecane camping bike, 1974 Manufrance Super Course STC, 1977 Peugeot camping bike, 1978 Liberia C15
Liked 130 Times
in
46 Posts
Cycling in the Vondelpark is a bit of an experience, it is something like an arcade game.
The Sarphatipark is a really nice and lovely park to hang out.
Going cycling across the dike towards Volendam might be nice. The town itself is very touristic and not really for me.
If you like beer, De Prael (Oudezijds) is a good bar. It is a workplace for people with a distance to the regular labor market, as they say in The Netherlands. And the beer/brewery is really great.
https://www.deprael.nl/
The Sarphatipark is a really nice and lovely park to hang out.
Going cycling across the dike towards Volendam might be nice. The town itself is very touristic and not really for me.
If you like beer, De Prael (Oudezijds) is a good bar. It is a workplace for people with a distance to the regular labor market, as they say in The Netherlands. And the beer/brewery is really great.
https://www.deprael.nl/
Last edited by DanseMacabre; 03-09-23 at 04:09 PM.
#17
Pedal to the medal
Rent a bike and ride to the ocean! only about 20km away or so. There's a lovely brewery on the way.
Likes For romperrr:
#18
Phyllo-buster
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Nova Scotia
Posts: 8,884
Bikes: roadsters, club bikes, fixed and classic
Liked 2,090 Times
in
1,275 Posts
I love that you can ride on the sand at the ocean. Real hard pack.
#19
Senior Member
When do they haul up the bikes lurking in the canals?
#20
Disraeli Gears
Every day, according to this:
https://www.amusingplanet.com/2016/0...msterdams.html
Just need to find out where in the canals they're operating.
https://www.amusingplanet.com/2016/0...msterdams.html
Just need to find out where in the canals they're operating.
#22
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Groningen
Posts: 1,308
Bikes: Gazelle rod brakes, Batavus compact, Peugeot hybrid
Liked 1,000 Times
in
765 Posts
If you like architecture, you could cycle around the late 19th early 20th century neighbourhoods. Lots of art deco and it's Dutch brick variant called the 'Amsterdamse School'. Lots of social housing in that too, privately financed through association, and with architecture to 'elevate the working classes', they are still inhabited by the Amsterdam lumpenproletariat of course, but some are open to the public on the inside too and with a small museum inside ("Het Schip" if I remember correctly). But there's also a spectacular art deco cinema called Tuschinski and the Shipping House now Grand Hotel Amrath in the centre. There is a lot of mural art to see to, at the NDSM island North of the Central Station (free ferry), a former ship building yard full of artsy stuff and people, but also in some deprived neighbourhoods
For the old city centre, mostly 17th century, I'd suggest renting a boat when it's nice weather and just go and see where you end up. You don't need a licence to drive a (electric) boat but you are expected to avoid collisions but only the Amstel river is a bit more challenging and the IJ river requires competence. Only a few of the canals are restricted. It's really a different experience from seeing it cycling or walking.
But it's Amsterdam, depending on the weather it's just nice to cycle around without somewhere specific to go. It's relaxed when you manage to get in sync with traffic (watch the legs on the single speeds and predict) but watch out where there are tramrails, they might not only catch a rear wheel when you hit them at unsufficient angle, it's also where the trams go. If you want to go outside the urban area, I suggest Broek and Waterland or the Stelling van Amsterdam. This is UNESCO sight of fortifications that were supposed to work with inundating the area, effectively turning Amsterdam into a defensible island. I don't know about cycling specific stuff. Of course there will be some but contrary to popular belief the Dutch don't love bicycles, they just like to get around.
For the old city centre, mostly 17th century, I'd suggest renting a boat when it's nice weather and just go and see where you end up. You don't need a licence to drive a (electric) boat but you are expected to avoid collisions but only the Amstel river is a bit more challenging and the IJ river requires competence. Only a few of the canals are restricted. It's really a different experience from seeing it cycling or walking.
But it's Amsterdam, depending on the weather it's just nice to cycle around without somewhere specific to go. It's relaxed when you manage to get in sync with traffic (watch the legs on the single speeds and predict) but watch out where there are tramrails, they might not only catch a rear wheel when you hit them at unsufficient angle, it's also where the trams go. If you want to go outside the urban area, I suggest Broek and Waterland or the Stelling van Amsterdam. This is UNESCO sight of fortifications that were supposed to work with inundating the area, effectively turning Amsterdam into a defensible island. I don't know about cycling specific stuff. Of course there will be some but contrary to popular belief the Dutch don't love bicycles, they just like to get around.
Likes For Stadjer:
#23
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Well, we are here; a bit tired on arrival, weather is nice enough.
BikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikes BikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikes BikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikes BikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikes BikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikes BikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikes BikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikes BikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikes BikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikes
But ALL city bikes. I have seen three 531 frames out of probably thousands of bikes, maybe ten bikes in total with drop bars.
There sure are a lot of different kinds of city bikes, some three-wheelers with huge carts in front, about half the rest have racks and/or/seats/and/or panniers.
Everything is extremely heavy-duty - drum brakes, chaincases, frame-tubing the size of drainpipes, mudguards.
Oh, and two tourists wearing helmets; nobody else is that silly.
BikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikes BikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikes BikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikes BikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikes BikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikes BikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikes BikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikes BikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikes BikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikesBikes
But ALL city bikes. I have seen three 531 frames out of probably thousands of bikes, maybe ten bikes in total with drop bars.
There sure are a lot of different kinds of city bikes, some three-wheelers with huge carts in front, about half the rest have racks and/or/seats/and/or panniers.
Everything is extremely heavy-duty - drum brakes, chaincases, frame-tubing the size of drainpipes, mudguards.
Oh, and two tourists wearing helmets; nobody else is that silly.
Likes For oneclick: