This store is filled floor to ceiling with vintage glass- and tableware from France and other countries surrounding the Netherlands. It is a gem for finding birthday or housewarming gifts.

It is in the city centre. This former navy area is now partly open for the public. In summer you can swim in the canal there and have a great view on old Amsterdam, the Scheepvaartmuseum and the dead heart centre of Amsterdam. I like it most in winter, silent, grey, a place to mesmorize, walk alone around, meet a local who is walking his dog, than and have a coffee in pension Homeland, the restaurant hotel there. In central Amsterdam the space is rare, and what is there is overrun with tourists and full of local traffic, the trams, a million bikes, cars and pedestrians. That is why I like this place so much, super quiet space in the centre of Amsterdam.

The portal between the Leidseplein nightlife area and the Max Eeuweplein is pompously accentuated by a classical looking façade, designed in 1991 by Zaanen Spanjers Architects. On the frieze, supported by columns, the architect has carved an inscription: ‘Homo sapiens non urinat in ventum’ - ‘A wise man does not piss into the wind’. A ‘wisecrack’, disguised in Latin.

Just a fantastic spot on the edge of the city. Its connection of the Amsterdam-Rijn Canal to the IJ, Amsterdam’s big open water, that was once part of the North Sea, but now dammed in by the Dutch. Sometimes it’s just a relief to leave the prettiness and the cuteness of the Amsterdam canals behind and experience some space. Few people come out here and in summertime it’s just a delightful spot to have a picnic and watch the boats come in.

De Waaghals (= The Dare-devil) is a very nice vegetarian restaurant. The atmosphere is informal, but the food is very nice, refined and creative. Organic ingredients are used as much as possible. Each month a dish focuses on a different country.