A Touch of Dutch

More Starbucks Are Coming

noreply@blogger.com (A Touch of Dutch) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 12:47:54 PDT

It's not there yet, but it's coming!

I can honestly live without Starbucks, usually only enjoying it when I return to America, but it's been interesting to watch for the last few years this all unfolding: Watching Starbucks slowly grow in the Netherlands.

Up until now, it's been a slow progression with rumors of locations to come in various spots. Up until now, the only locations of Starbucks found in the Netherlands have been the three at Schiphol in Amsterdam. And, of course, the Starbucks only for Nike employees at Nike Headquarters in Hilversum.

I spied this above photo online yesterday when I was looking for any news updates about Starbucks coming to other locations in the Netherlands. This particular photo was taken at the Utrecht Centraal train station. The sign says:

Apologies for the inconvenience.
In the near future we're serving you here with pleasure delicious coffee.

I have yet to see a similar situation for Starbucks at the Amsterdam Centraal train station, but I did find online these reports about these Starbucks coming to the Netherlands:

Reportedly two Starbucks locations, in train stations Utrecht Centraal and Amsterdam Centraal, are set to open in August of 2009 [click here].
From April 16, 2009, report says two locations will open within a few months, in both Utrecht Centraal and Amsterdam Centraal [click here].
Fodor's reports also about this [click here].

What are your thoughts about Starbucks? Will you visit a Starbucks while at a train station while in the Netherlands? Have you visited a Starbucks found at Schiphol?

For more blog entries of mine about/containing stories about Starbucks in the Netherlands, click here.

Special thanks to Gijsbregt for the permission to use here above his photo.

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Amsterdam Must-Do: Bruin Café

noreply@blogger.com (A Touch of Dutch) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:35:59 PDT

If you come to Amsterdam and you wish to have a cup of coffee on a terrace or indoors, I strongly suggest you visit a brown café [Dutch: bruin café].

What is a brown café? The brown cafés of Amsterdam usually offer a gezellig atmosphere; cozy, warm and friendly. They are a neighborhood café which is casual, they are found all around the city and are typically open until 1 or 2 AM. They are called "brown" because of their interior being usually dark wood and/or due to years of patrons smoking indoors. Smoking is no longer allowed indoors in the Netherlands, except for in designated smoking rooms or outdoors on the terrace.

In a brown café, you will not find live music unless the occasional passing accordionist comes by the terrace outside. The menu is typically breakfast foods, cold and warm sandwiches, soup, salads, snacks [Dutch: hapjes] and dessert treats such as appeltaart or poffertjes. Be prepared to pay with cash. Some brown cafés won't accept anything but cash. Also, tipping is not necessary, but it is appreciated. You can do so by leaving change behind on the table or rounding the bill up.

What do I like best about the brown cafés? Service is slower and more relaxed. When I'm not in a rush to eat, I enjoy being able to sit for more than an hour without the feeling that I am being rushed away. I find this at all cafés in the Netherlands. I've sometimes sat for up to 2-3 hours talking with a friend, and it's never felt like or been a hassle. It's a great place to seal off the day of shopping or sightseeing with visiting friends, to relax and read a book or to do some people watching.

I'll be sharing much more soon about cafés and restaurants I've visited over the last few years in Amsterdam, but for today I wish to share about a specific brown café: Café 't Smalle. I've eaten there a few times but never indoors, so I can only rate the food, service and the terrace seating. To me, the café looks welcoming and casual year-round. Especially at night when the lights are on, which I heard recently on the news they've been asked to make changes to their establishment soon, such as removing the string of lights hanging above the entrance [seen above in the photo]. The string of lights has hung there for 30 years.

The café is located in the Jordaan-area of Amsterdam, sitting canalside along the Egelantiersgracht. It is nearby the Prinsengracht, very close walking distance to the Westerkerk and the Anne Frank House. The food and service has always been good, and the food/drink is reasonably priced. They offer a large menu of the similar food I've listed above, and they also have a large menu of beverages including beer and wine. The staff is friendly and they can speak English.

Address: Egelantiersgracht 12
Telephone: 020 - 623 96 17
Hours: Sun - Thurs 10 AM - 1 AM, and Fri and Sat 10 AM - 2 AM

· For the location via Google Maps, click here.
· More visitor information here.
· For a few other suggested brown cafés in Amsterdam, click here.

A view from the café terrace, looking down the Egelantiersgracht:

Have any experiences at a brown café in Amsterdam which you care to share? Or perhaps you have an experience at the 't Smalle café you wish to share?

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Pieces of Amsterdam: Part Four

noreply@blogger.com (A Touch of Dutch) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:54:40 PDT

I need to become creative now about sharing these photos because I have so many to share from Amsterdam! This time I'm sharing in alphabet-style. . .

And before I begin, I want to share an interesting guide I've found of various interesting historical places to find in Amsterdam. Click here for the guide.

A is for art. [Dutch: kunst]

The photo above I spied on the Bloemgracht. It is street art/stencil graffiti tribute to Michael Jackson. The artist is IVES.one [click here]. There are various artists, and Fake is another similar in Amsterdam. I look for these stencils whenever I visit Amsterdam. Typically I am finding these where a temporary barrier is up over anything [in progress of construction], but you may see them elsewhere. . .

B is for bulbs at the flower stand [Dutch: bollen bij de bloemenkraam].

Stands where you can buy fresh flowers, flower bulbs and flower seeds usually have the bulbs tourists can buy. These are bulbs which customs approve, and these were very clearly marked for the American tourists to find. If you forget them during your visit to Amsterdam, you can also buy them on your way out of the Netherlands at Schiphol airport.

From a flower stand, Bloemenman 't Lievertje, located on the corner of Spui and Kalverstraat in Amsterdam. More information about this location can be found here.

C is for church [Dutch: kerk].

For Sandy, one of my readers!
This church is the Oude Kerk [Old Church] and it's located in the edge of the Red Light District. This is the view of the church tower seen from Damrak. Click here to view via Google Street View.

· Click here to learn more about this church via Answers.com.
· Click here to visit the church website.

D is for donuts or doughnuts. [Dutch: Donut or Amerikaans frituurgebak]

Aside from Marge and Duff Beer, donuts are the love of Homer Simpson.

In this photo: chocolate, in between everything else tempting. You won't find a Dunkin Donuts or Krispy Kreme in Amsterdam, but you can find donuts sometimes at a bakery [Dutch: bakkerij]. But while visiting Amsterdam, you really ought to try some other type of pastry.

E is for eclectic [Dutch: eclectisch].

Each piece of Amsterdam seems much different than what I find in Small Town, NL. In this case, an eye-catching bicycle [Dutch: in het oog springende fiets] with leopard print.

F is for façades or facades [Dutch: gevels].

The front of all the canal houses in Amsterdam are unique from top to bottom. Some are adorned with more detail than the other. Some also declare the year it was constructed [for instance: Anno 1647]. These homes pictured are on the Singel [click here to view Google Street View].

G is for garbage.

In Dutch, there are many words for garbage: afval, huisvuil, rommel, rotzooi, vuil and vuilnis. In this case, above: household trash. For those who live on this particular street, they are to place their household trash on this spot marker for the garbage truck on their trash pick-up day.

H is for house [Dutch: huis].

Along the canals [Dutch: grachten] in Amsterdam, this is where you will find a canal house [Dutch: grachtenhuis or grachtenpand]. These pictured above are along the Egelantiersgracht.

The Egelantiersgracht is named for the eglantine or sweetbriar flowering plant.

I is for inside [Dutch: binnen].

This is the American Book Center in Amsterdam and inside you'll find more than 3 levels of books, magazines and more. There are more book stores in Amsterdam which sell English books. This one happens to be my favorite.

· They have another location in Den Haag.
· Their website is here.
· And you can find the American Book Center here.

J is for juxtapose [Dutch: naast elkaar plaatsen or contrasteren].

In contrast to the other two buildings, this home is much smaller in height [Dutch: hoogte]. But it's character is just as great! I loved the detail around the window. Seen on the Egelantiersgracht.

K is for Kees de jongen.

This is a Dutch book written by Theo Thijssen [information about]. Rosa Overbeek is a character in the book, the first love of the main character Kees Bakels. Title translates to "Kees the boy." There is also a movie made from this book [information about].

Brug is bridge in Dutch. This bridge is over the Bloemgracht.

L is for lovely [Dutch: mooi].

This view is from the above Rosa Overbeekbrug. A very mooi uitzicht [English: lovely view]. Click here to see more about this location.

To be continued. . .

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Pieces of Amsterdam: Part Three

noreply@blogger.com (A Touch of Dutch) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 02:53:01 PDT

There is so much more to come from this Pieces of Amsterdam-series, so I'll continue with it while I'm on a roll. With some of these interesting pieces I'd found in Amsterdam, I will share with some photos the location via Google Maps or Google Street View so you may also find it for yourself in Amsterdam. Unfortunately not all locations in Amsterdam are visible with Google Street View, and sometimes I was too busy to notice precisely where a location was, but I will give my best estimate with each.

By the way, I won't be on to blog much for the next two weeks, but I will still check in and reply to comments during this upcoming time.

Before I begin: Do you wonder how to get around to these places I'm sharing about faster and easier? Something to remember, living in the Netherlands, is a very handy online journey planning tool called 9292 or 9292ov. Click here for the English planner. From where you are in the Netherlands, you just need to know the address of where you wish to go or the name of the station, museum, et al. After you've entered your details, the planner will tell you precisely the travel times, where to go and which bus, tram, ferry and/or train to take. Includes distance you will need to walk or cycle, as well as the approximate time it should take to make each step of your journey.

This first photo is something I spied while walking around Amsterdam on the Stadhouderskade. It features, again, the three ×'s which I mentioned in this other Pieces of Amsterdam blog entry. The location of this. . . I can't be 100%-certain of the exact location anymore, but I believe it was likely here on this Stadhouderskade street block.

A few Amsterdam facts

· How did Amsterdam get its name?
Amsterdam was once called Amstelledamme. It was named for the Amstel River, which runs through it, and a dam which was where present-day Dam Square stands.

· And what exactly do those three ×'s seen all over Amsterdam represent?
I didn't go in depth about this before. Mainly because I have read and have heard varying details. The first is symbolizing St. Andrew, who may have been or was hung on a cross of this shape. Second reason, from the shield of the noble family Persijn, who once owned much of Amsterdam and some surrounding area [Amstelveen is one such area].

Also. . .

The three ×'s are meant to symbolize three disasters: flooding, fire and the plague. Amsterdam has had its share of fires. Especially in the 16th century. Also, about 700 years ago, most of what is Amsterdam today was still underwater.

And now back to the fun!

Lieveheersbeestjes
[English: Ladybugs]

On the sidewalk, I spotted these. I also spotted these this evening on this blog! It could be the same spot, but it's possibly not. Why? I'm finding on the internet these ladybugs are symbolic for the Stichting Tegen Zinloos Geweld [English: Non-profit Organization Against Senseless Violence]. The stickers are environmentally friendly and durable. For the news story in Dutch, click here.

Photo location: Stadhouderskade, near the Rijksmuseum.

Een standbeeld van André Hazes.
[English: A statue of André Hazes.]

Not yet familiar with the legendary André Hazes? If you want to claim you know all about Dutch culture, you must also learn about André. André was a singer of songs about life [Dutch: levenslied], which are songs that interpret what people experience in real-life. After he passed away on September 23, 2004, he was given a farewell ceremony in the Amsterdam Arena where over 48,000 people attended the service. It was aired on television to over 6 million viewers in both the Netherlands and Belgium. This statue of André, which stands at the Albert Cuyp market in Amsterdam where he was first discovered, was unveiled one year after his death.

Click here to learn more about André Hazes.

Photo location: Click here for Google maps.

Gekke gewoontes!
[English: Crazy customs/habits!]

Boom Chicago is an improvisational group who perform in Amsterdam at the Leidseplein Theater. I will always remember in 2004 the popularity on the internet of this video creation of Boom Chicago's called Florida Voting Machine:

Yankee Come Back is their current show, which jokes about the habits of the Dutch and Americans. Click here to visit their website. Click here for their location via Google Maps.

Een hemelsblauwe stoel.
[English: An azure chair.]

Azure is also azuur in Dutch.

The chair seems to read, on the bottom, Côte d'Azur. This is French for azure coast. But the top. . . I can only make out a few of the letters. Anyone have any ideas? Is it a place in Amsterdam?

Photo location: I spied this chair at the Albert Cuyp market.

Onze kat doet aan karate!
[English: Our cat does karate!]

The sign really speaks for itself. . .

Oude afvalbakken gebruikt als bloempotten.
[English: Old litterbaskets used as flower pots.]

Everything has a use! A great recycle-use of something old, seen in Amsterdam.

Fietsen op een rij.
[English: Bicycles in a row.]

You could also say een rij van fietsen. [English: A row of bicycles.]
If a group of people are bicycling, following each other in a row, it would be said fietsen in een rij. [English: Bicycling in a row.]

It seemed these bicycles, parked along the Leidsegracht, were meant to be photographed.

Photo location: Via Google Street View, for the view from across the canal, click here.

Eichholtz verkoopt Amerikaanse en Engelse lekkernijen.
[English: Eichholtz sells American and British/UK delicacies.]

I was passing near Eichholtz and decided to stop to take a better picture to share here on my blog. I have written about Eichholtz on my blog before [click here], including how to get there. I personally advise, if you are an American expat, to try this store if others in America [family & friends] can't ship to you. If you are missing a taste of American foods, there are also other great shops in the Netherlands which sell these products [Kelly's in Den Haag is one], and many items can be homemade from ingredients. Also good substitutes can be found at stores like Jumbo or Plus, but this storealso makes for a fun excuse to visit Amsterdam.

They have breakfast cereals, Pop-Tarts, cake mixes, pancake and maple syrup, corn syrup, corn muffin mix, ingredients to make pumpkin pie, often difficult-to-find soda drinks, and a variety of other goodies. Do be prepared to spend more than typical/expected on products. But keep in mind, considering how much it costs to pay for cost of the product + shipping from America, some of these products may or will cost about the same in the long run. I am growing used to making my own from what I find at the Dutch supermarket or bringing with me each year in my suitcase some favorites from America.

Photo location: To view on Google Street View, click here.

De Munttoren [of "De Munt"] in Amsterdam.
[English: The Mint Tower in Amsterdam]

The tower was part of the once Regulierspoort, one of Amsterdam's former gates in their city wall during medieval times. You can read all about it here.

Photo location: View it on Google Maps here.

Alcoholverbod.
[English: No alcohol drinking allowed on the streets.]

If you are visiting in Amsterdam and you see this sign, just please try to follow the rule. They're already relaxed about a lot of things in Amsterdam, so why not give them some slack in return.

The street is named after Ferdinand Bol, a Dutch artist who was a student and follower of Rembrandt.

Photo location: Via Google Street View, click here.

More to come in a few weeks. Maybe sooner, as I have still dozens of photos to edit and sort through from Amsterdam.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer, rain or shine!

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Pieces of Amsterdam: Part Two

noreply@blogger.com (A Touch of Dutch) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 06:47:29 PDT

There will be many, many more photos of Amsterdam soon to come! I have far too many photos to share in just a few blog entries, so little-by-little I'll share them and also what I've learned about the spot to the best of my knowledge. And I welcome you to share in the comments your memories of or what you know about these spots in Amsterdam. Also all of these photos on this blog entry, you can click and they will open in a new window so you can see them larger.

For some of these photos in this blog entry, I am sharing a link where you can visit the location via Google Street View. I unfortunately can't do it for all of the photos in this blog entry because some locations are not available on Google Street View. To start, this first photo is of a painted concrete barrier [Dutch: betonnen barrier or betonnen barrière]. There are a few located on the Vijzelstraat over the Prinsengracht. Click here to view this location via Google Street View.

This next photo is located on the Weteringlaan, just north of the Stadhouderskade. . .

Click here to see this location via Google Street View.
This quote on the wall, I have translated here for you. It reads, first in Dutch:

Een volk dat voor tirannen zwicht
zal meer dan lijf en goed verliezen
dan dooft het licht. . .

A people/nation that bows/surrenders to tyrants
will lose more than body and belongings*
then, the light is extinquished. . .

Hendrick Mattheus van Randwijk 1909-1966

* My husband helped me with the portion about goed. He says this quote suggests the reference to their good being their land or whatever else they own. Goed in Dutch is similar to English with it meaning both good, as in a good deed or good mood, and goods as in wares/items or estate/wealth.

In addition, a mistake I almost made with the translation and make sometimes with Dutch: Lijf is Dutch for body. Leven is Dutch for life. Lijf is pronounced the same as we pronounce life in English, so nearly everytime I read it, I think it also means life. Anyone else have this same or a similar issue with anything when it comes to learning/using Dutch?

If you can read Dutch, here is a great website which covers about a lot of the [approved] art seen on the streets in Amsterdam and other cities in the Netherlands.

This next photo is a Space Invader. . .

This mosaic [Dutch: mozaïek] is on the corner of the Korte Leidsedwarsstraat and Leidsegracht. For artist information, click here. According to what I can find online, these tiles were put up in the year 2000. There are 26 different types of these around the city of Amsterdam. Click here to see more about it. And to view this location via Google Street View, click here.

This hamburger is above the Snackbar Eucalyptus 11. . .

It is located on the Vijzelstraat [Nieuwe Vijzelstraat] between Lijnbaansgracht and Weteringschans. Hamburger is hamburger in Dutch, as simple as that. Otherwise, I have nothing else to share except for the fact of how I felt drawn to this burger. Looking at it now, I see a face :-) Click here to view this location via Google Street View.

This is the Pieter Goemans bridge. . .

Brug is Dutch for bridge. This bridge is on the corner of the Leidsegracht and the Prinsengracht. Pieter Goemans was a singer, and he is known especially for a song called "Aan de Amsterdamse Grachten" [English: On the Amsterdam Canals]. Click here to view this location via Google Street View.

Another mosaic. . .

Again, mozaïek is Dutch for mosaic. This mosaic, called "Het Kompas" [The Compass] is located on . The artist is Fabrice. This mosaic is made with glass and ceramic tiles, and it is located on the Marie Heinekenplein and Ferdinand Bolstraat in De Pijp-area of Amsterdam. Click here for a great webpage with photos of this art and the artist, and click here to view this location via Google Street View.

Souvenir is also souvenir in Dutch. . .

You should know almost everyone likes Obama here. It makes sense they would also like to market this popular theme somehow to tourists, and it appears they have found one way to work the youth-tourist-Amsterdam-approach. If you're in Amsterdam for a visit, you will be able to find products like this easily and especially on the more popular tourist streets like Damrak or Kalverstraat.

This angel. . .

She is overlooking the market from one of the gevel tops [English: a gevel is a building façade] over the Albert Cuyp Market in De Pijp in Amsterdam. I can't remember precisely where this was, as I was busy shopping and only stopped randomly to look around/down/up. This angel [Dutch: engel] especially caught my attention. The market is not ideally viewable on Google Street View, but you can click here for the location via Google maps.

And. . .

This is all for today. There's much more to come soon, so stay tuned!

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Amsterdam: Een rij van fietsen [Flickr]

A Touch of Dutch — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 06:15:56 PDT

A Touch of Dutch

More Starbucks Are Coming

Amsterdam Must-Do: Bruin Café

Pieces of Amsterdam: Part Four

Pieces of Amsterdam: Part Three

Pieces of Amsterdam: Part Two

Amsterdam: Een rij van fietsen [Flickr]

Amsterdam: Creative Flower Pots [Flickr]

What's This: Filet Américain

Pieces of Amsterdam: Part One

Going Dutch: "Boe!"

Pieces of Enschede: Part Three

I'm Lovin' It...

Pieces of Enschede: Part Two

What's This: Geslaagd!

A Year of Favorites

Vlaggetjesdag

Bouncing Baby Dutch Boy

Pieces of Enschede

Zaanse Schans

Catching Up!

A Food & Restaurant Meme

Eight Dutch Greats

Going Dutch: Poffertjes and Pinksteren

Diagnosis: Culture Shock

In Onze Achtertuin

Going Dutch: Greetings!

Top 12 Mosaic Meme

Equality, Egg-style [Flickr]

Klomppantoffels [Flickr]

De Buren Tegeltje [Flickr]

Misschien wel! [Flickr]

Gehaktballen [Flickr]

Hoera Welpies [2] [Flickr]

Albert Heijn For Dummies [Flickr]

M&M's: Peanuts Voor Oranje [Flickr]

Achterkant: Paleis Soestdijk [Flickr]

Paleis Soestdijk [Flickr]

Paleis Soestdijk [Flickr]

Paleis Soestdijk [Flickr]

Kunstwerk: Paleis Soestdijk [Flickr]

Oortmanmolen te Lattrop [Flickr]

KLM grachtenhuisjes [Flickr]

Is de koffie klaar? [Flickr]

Must Have: Douwe Egberts [Flickr]

Sloten (version 2) [Flickr]