Bikersterdam
August 26, 2006
We finally made it to Amsterdam! Ms. Mozart was so blown away by all the bikes that she said they should call it “Bikesterdam” instead of Amsterdam. She is sooo enjoying the whole adventure that is has been reassuring that we are doing the right thing. The now reality is hitting her and she is understanding more profoundly exactly what we have been talking about for so long. She said,“Boy,this IS fun!” and has been making up songs about her world tour and living in an RV.
And what a blessing to have found our wonderful houseboat thru Frederic’s bicycles on Brouwersgracht! Who knew it was going to work out so well when I was busy obsessing and hunting the internet for the perfect houseboat for our first night on our round the world trip? It’s very hard to find a houseboat for just one night ,so that added to the problem. I spent a good week hunting one down and Da Vinci thought I should just give up, but I felt pulled from within to get this for us as I knew we would love the experience and it would start us out well. We could not have found a more perfect one in a more perfect spot, so it was worth every minute spent on finding it.
As we pulled up, even the Taxi driver was very impressed with the location and said we picked very well,
so that was encouraging. Some people on the internet had told me it was a good location so it was nice
to have that confirmed as I was fairly clueless when I booked it and it’s not like I had much choice. I knew it was close to the central station and that the place we bought the camper (B& W campers) was also central,but little did I know that they were only about a block apart in the prettiest part of Amsterdam!
It helped to make things go very smoothly and the atmosphere was quaint and invigorating.
The sun started to shine a little when we arrived at Frederic’s shop ,and he looks just like his picture on the internet and the service is as good as they promise. He and everyone there were very kind and extra helpful. They were wowed by our luggage,but knew about it in advance so kept a good sense of humor and helped us out greatly. We kept our carryon that would go on the boat at the shop front and had the taxi turn the corner where there was a much larger bike workshop where we could store the 6 big bags. Then the boat was just a few steps away on the canal.
It was very charming and an actual boat (some houseboats are not boats, but floating little square houses and others like ours are boats remodeled to live in). Ms. Mozart squealed with delight as she entered it, thought the pink chair was a princess chair made just for her and decided that we should move here permanently. We were enchanted by the ducks and unique birds, boats and kayakers floating by, endless colorful unique bicycles (with multi kids, balloons etc) going over the bridge and the entire ambiance. We strolled a bit around this lovely part of the city ,played at a park, picked up some delicious sandwiches to eat in our new abode, enjoyed the night lights, wrote a quick note home with pics on the free wifi that was available and were rocked to sleep by the gentle sway of the waves. Yes, indeedy, this was the best way to start our world tour and we are happy as clams and ever grinning cheshire cats!
We finally made it to Amsterdam! Ms. Mozart was so blown away by all the bikes that she said they should call it “Bikesterdam” instead of Amsterdam. She is sooo enjoying the whole adventure that is has been reassuring that we are doing the right thing. The now reality is hitting her and she is understanding more profoundly exactly what we have been talking about for so long. She said,“Boy,this IS fun!” and has been making up songs about her world tour and living in an RV.
And what a blessing to have found our wonderful houseboat thru Frederic’s bicycles on Brouwersgracht! Who knew it was going to work out so well when I was busy obsessing and hunting the internet for the perfect houseboat for our first night on our round the world trip? It’s very hard to find a houseboat for just one night ,so that added to the problem. I spent a good week hunting one down and Da Vinci thought I should just give up, but I felt pulled from within to get this for us as I knew we would love the experience and it would start us out well. We could not have found a more perfect one in a more perfect spot, so it was worth every minute spent on finding it.
As we pulled up, even the Taxi driver was very impressed with the location and said we picked very well,
so that was encouraging. Some people on the internet had told me it was a good location so it was nice
to have that confirmed as I was fairly clueless when I booked it and it’s not like I had much choice. I knew it was close to the central station and that the place we bought the camper (B& W campers) was also central,but little did I know that they were only about a block apart in the prettiest part of Amsterdam!
It helped to make things go very smoothly and the atmosphere was quaint and invigorating.
The sun started to shine a little when we arrived at Frederic’s shop ,and he looks just like his picture on the internet and the service is as good as they promise. He and everyone there were very kind and extra helpful. They were wowed by our luggage,but knew about it in advance so kept a good sense of humor and helped us out greatly. We kept our carryon that would go on the boat at the shop front and had the taxi turn the corner where there was a much larger bike workshop where we could store the 6 big bags. Then the boat was just a few steps away on the canal.
It was very charming and an actual boat (some houseboats are not boats, but floating little square houses and others like ours are boats remodeled to live in). Ms. Mozart squealed with delight as she entered it, thought the pink chair was a princess chair made just for her and decided that we should move here permanently. We were enchanted by the ducks and unique birds, boats and kayakers floating by, endless colorful unique bicycles (with multi kids, balloons etc) going over the bridge and the entire ambiance. We strolled a bit around this lovely part of the city ,played at a park, picked up some delicious sandwiches to eat in our new abode, enjoyed the night lights, wrote a quick note home with pics on the free wifi that was available and were rocked to sleep by the gentle sway of the waves. Yes, indeedy, this was the best way to start our world tour and we are happy as clams and ever grinning cheshire cats!
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Hi,
I'm researching Amsterdam for our trip (for Summer 2011 - I know.. very long term planning). I wonder if you have the name of the houseboat that you rent. What site do you use to search for good houseboat and what area would you recommend for us to stay?
Thanks,
Amy
Posted by: Amy @ The Q Family | June 11, 2009 at 07:43 AM
Amy- I don't remember the exact name, but if you link ot these pics I am sure he would know. They are very nice people& here is the site link: http://www.frederic.nl/
Also tell him that it is on Brouwersgracht which is a very good street in the central area which is where you will want to stay. I HIGHLY recommend the boat & do take a train to Edam while there too which was our fave spot.
Posted by: soultravelers3 | June 11, 2009 at 08:35 AM