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Amsterdam: Windmill Beer, Tulip Vases and Picnics in the Park
Aired June 11, 2014 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
FLORIS EVERS, OLYMPIC FIELD HOCKEY PLAYER (voice-over): Welcome in my beautiful city, Amsterdam. We are at the moment in the Noordermarkt, in
the Jordaan neighborhood. And it's my favorite place for the Saturday morning, a lot of people walking around, people from the neighborhood.
This is where I buy my vegetables. This is the place where I buy my summer hats. You can see a lot of choice. Never enough. Every Saturday
I'm down here to buy a new one because I wear hats. It's one of my favorite items. But today I will leave them.
Red or.?
Beautiful.
During the week, I'm really busy. So Saturday is my chill-out.
This is the best goat cheese of Amsterdam and of the world. There's honey in, so there are special flavors. So it's not only goat cheese, but
they make special flavors and it's yesterday.
What do you think? Why do you have the best goat cheese of Amsterdam?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over) You can try it. (INAUDIBLE) the goat. It's very heavy.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
EVERS (voice-over): This is the place to get a (INAUDIBLE). It's called the Winkel with C.K. (ph), but it's really good. Every Saturday
morning I go here. I know it's not really healthy, because I take a lot of cream, too. But in the end, it makes me so happy that I think it's healthy
for me.
I know that Amsterdam is known for apple pie, but for me, it's known for apple pie, especially the Jordaan neighborhood because what you see,
they only sell apple pie here and coffee. They go the whole morning until afternoon. The whole day they have apple pie.
This is made with the hands. That's what I like.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Hello, Lilian. What's good?
Yes.
LILIAN DRIESSEN, DESIGNER, MARIALUX (voice-over): We're here in sette rode (ph). That's always an artist's place in Amsterdam that used to
be an old factory. (INAUDIBLE) lives here. You know, he's an artist.
Joseph (ph) does a lot of things with the collection. I'm making a bit cold for a napoleon (ph) who wants to go horse riding.
Amsterdam is really a place where there's a lot of possibilities for artists to live and make -- do their work. Often they were once crosses
because there were less and then at a certain point, gave a good purpose actually and is an excellent place for artists to be and they kind of run
the place together.
I really love this, because it's always -- there's mix here in Amsterdam between people living, something industrial, something being a
mess and then people planting flowers and -- you know, I like -- I like all the common and the floating sky above here.
We're here in Pols Potten. This is a very nice store here in Amsterdam. It's close to my house and I really like it being out here and
with the river on the back and the building. It's an original harbor building. And I often come here because I used to stop here when I do
interiors for clients.
These I've been doing for a really long while, these varied color vases, really nice.
Well, I do think the Dutch are really good in these unexpected materials and a little bit of quirkiness. Sometimes there's a sense of
humor in it. And we're also very practical, you know. Never trying to be slick. Less is more -- down to earth almost, but maybe because we don't
like to look too rich or too posh or something.
EVERS (voice-over): We are in Sla (ph), the Dutch word for lettuce. Normally on Saturday, I buy a salad here. It's really freshly made and
really (INAUDIBLE), fresh food. I buy a salad and I will go to the Vondelpark where the big (INAUDIBLE).
(MUSIC PLAYING)
EVERS (voice-over): We are at the moment in the Vondelpark. It's one of the -- I think it's the best park in Amsterdam. In the summer, people
are having barbeques here, playing football, running around or just smoking the typical Dutch joint. Really nice and relaxing place to hang out.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
DIANA STIGTER, STIGTER VAN DOESBURG GALLERY (voice-over): You are at the Stigter Van Doesburg Gallery, located in Doorvaart, Amsterdam, where
most contemporary art galleries are there.
They can expect to see big, young international art, not long to (INAUDIBLE) so we show a lot of film but also more traditional things as
paintings or (INAUDIBLE). With several artists, it's really easy to get. So it's not just a beautiful picture but maybe it's first seasons if they
feel uncomfortable with the puppet show.
DAVID VAN DOESBURG, STIGTER VAN DOESBURG GALLERY (voice-over): I think at least in the neighborhood, there are 10, 10-12 galleries but then
spread over the whole Eurodam (ph).
STIGTER (voice-over): Most contemporary galleries are located in this area.
VAN DOESBURG (voice-over): Basically the best.
(LAUGHTER)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
STIGTER (voice-over): We are now in a very special place.
VAN DOESBURG (voice-over): Called Chocolatl.
STIGTER (voice-over): One of our most favorite shops in Amsterdam. They only sell chocolate.
VAN DOESBURG (voice-over): And chocolate related things.
STIGTER (voice-over): Yes. It's really nice that they have so many different flavors of chocolate here from very soft and light to really
intense and dark. So for every mood, there's a special kind of chocolate.
VAN DOESBURG (voice-over): You can take your time and taste everything. And it's almost like going into a very nice wine shop, for
instance, and check out the best, what would fit you for the moment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): How do the flavor profiles differ?
STIGTER (voice-over): Totally different in (INAUDIBLE).
VAN DOESBURG (voice-over): Perfect.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
VAN DOESBURG (voice-over): This is one of the places, one of the hottest clubs there was in Amsterdam at the time. So we're talking about
the '80s. And we would visit it at that time as well, whereas now we're not like in our teens anymore and this whole place burnt down later on in
the '90s and then they turned it into this really nice restaurant, where we have lunch now and then and they serve great Italian food.
STIGTER (voice-over): The only sign that's still there was up there then, it's the big --
(CROSSTALK)
VAN DOESBURG (voice-over): Yes, it used to be outside. Yes. And they moved it inside. So that's the only reminiscence of the place that's
still left.
STIGTER (voice-over): We are at the Foam museum in Amsterdam, of course. It's a museum based on photography. They have a very diverse
program, which I really like. So for example, this is very physical (ph) photograph from Iran. It's from --
VAN DOESBURG (voice-over): From the '70s.
STIGTER (voice-over): -- the '70s. And then upstairs, that's now very young artists. So I think the whole thing is especially valued by the
diversity they bring in here.
VAN DOESBURG (voice-over): It's in the part of diversity now where there's far much more than just, you know, a picture of a person or a
landscape or a still life. It's all about like -- for instance, like music or sound (INAUDIBLE) together with film, together with pictures. So it's
quite broader, I think, nowadays. And it goes together with the film you see in the background, with the guy who hits the building on the same
rhythm basically.
(LAUGHTER)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
MARLOES KRIJNEN: I think the identity of form is a kind of reflection of what Amsterdam is. We are very international. We are very mixed
(INAUDIBLE) new things and we love to collaborate. And that's -- I think those are the free elements that also fit into Amsterdam.
And that's what you feel here.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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MARK SCHIEFELBEIN, DUTCHGRUB.COM (voice-over): We're in the -- what's called the ariscolda makenstratis (ph), which means my little street. It's
a really cute little area that people like to come to because you get little boutiques so you can do your little art shopping, little clothes.
And it's full of small restaurants and you know, so you can get a nice little snack. And of course when you're in Amsterdam, the type of snack
that you want to get in the morning is a pancake. You know, that's of course what the Dutch are famous for and what they do really well. And so
here's a great place that I love to come to. It's called Pancakes!, so you can't miss it. And they've got really good pancakes. So may we go in and
check it out.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
SCHIEFELBEIN (voice-over): The reason I come here is because the pancakes are, on the one hand, really traditional Dutch. You know, Dutch
have been a big pancake tradition and they just do them right. You don't want to mess with their tradition. But they get really creative with the
toppings. So they do some pretty fancy stuff that go on them.
The one that I really like has bacon, banana and chili on it, and it's really a great combination so there's the crispy bacon and the kind of soft
banana that really goes well with the pancake and the chili that ties it all together really nice.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
SCHIEFELBEIN (voice-over): Really, really good.
The pancake is just -- it's basic, you know. It's mostly flour and a couple of other ingredients. And all they can do is pick the best flour to
make it and the toppings just kind of makes it special. Lovely. Just going to have another bite.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
SCHIEFELBEIN (voice-over): So now (INAUDIBLE) famous French fry place.
Of course, French fries are named after France, but really it's all about Belgium and the Netherlands. We make really great fries in this
country and everybody loves to have them all the time. And this is my favorite place. It's kind of a hole in the wall. It's really small. But
what they do is so well is actual handmade freshly made fries.
Then you get to choose your favorite sauce and you get to pick from 26 different ones. The Dutch are actually more about mayonnaise than ketchup.
So like, you know, (INAUDIBLE) mostly eat ketchup with French fries.
Shall we go in?
Thank you.
So here. I've got my lovely fries. Don't those look great? It's a typical Dutch way of making the fries. They're quite thick. So we like
them this way. It still has the, you know, kind of a real -- some of the potato flavor to go with it. And you know, if they make them right,
they're crunchy and then it's got this nice little potato flavor in it and nice curry sauce which, like I said, I like because it's -- gives a little
tooth to the quality.
Perfect. Nothing else I need.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
PHIL YISRAEL, FILMMAKER AND INSTAGRAMMER (voice-over): This is the Tuschinski Cinema of Amsterdam, one of the most beautiful cinemas here and
definitely one of my favorite spots. Let's check it out.
Yes, this is just such a great environment to see a film. It's everything what the cinema should be. It's beautiful and it's ambient and
it's nothing like the modern cinemas. It's really just got so much history.
I just feel like it's 1930.
When I come here, I like to -- I like to sit up here in the balcony. It's not often you can go to a cinema these days and sit in a balcony and
in a cinema that's nearly 100 years old like this, it's really beautiful to see what's around here and what's below you.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
YISRAEL (voice-over): I don't get around normally like this. Obviously for the locals, the best way to get around is by bike, but you
come to this city and you don't go around the city on the water and then you're really missing something. It's really special.
By boat, what I can see better than by bike is really -- is really the architecture of the houses here, where you can just take your time, move
along at a nice, slow pace. So you really get to see how different they all are but how amazing the architecture here is.
So this is the Haarlemmerstraat and that's an area that's not so far from Central Station, but it's sort of far enough away from the touristy
area and it's -- for me, I love the vibe, the constant bikes backward and forward. It's a great place. I love to take photographs here. It's
becoming a little bit more trendy and I love it. It's one of my favorite spots in the city.
Again, one of the great places I like to stop and have a bite to eat or just a coffee is here at Vinnie's Deli on Haarlemmerstraat. It's
completely organic food and, yes, the coffee's great.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
YISRAEL (voice-over): So this is Amsterdam's Bos, the Amsterdam Forest. And it's a beautiful, big forest, the biggest park in Amsterdam,
but on the outskirts of Amsterdam and I love it. It's a really great place to get back to nature. But in my case, it's a great place to get back in
touch with horses, which were a big part of my life when I was growing up.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
SCHIEFELBEIN (voice-over): So, for me it's 5 o'clock now and beer time starts coming around. So I really need to get a beer. And you know,
when you come to Amsterdam, everybody stops to have a beer. And for beer, I like to come to Brouwerij 'T Ij, which to me is sort of like the heart
and soul of Amsterdam. So you're kind of sitting here on the terrace and there's a big windmill in the background which, you know, is sort of a real
sign of Holland actually. And they've been making beer here since 1985. Everybody seems to somehow get along, you know, because (INAUDIBLE) quite
friendly vibe to the space. And of course they make good beer.
Is that a nutter (ph), which is a -- thank you a lot -- which is my favorite. They have a long list of different beers or sometimes I like to
try new ones. But this one I've been having for the last 16 (ph) years and it's never disappointed me. It's actually Amsterdam's tap water that goes
into the beer, so there's no secret here. But the yeast is what makes the difference and, well, you can actually smell it a little bit here in the
air. And you know, the beer will just -- you get that flavor.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
SCHIEFELBEIN (voice-over): You say prosit. Prosit!
(MUSIC PLAYING)
END
