This city is alive, and it has so many voices! My own voice rang with euphoria, excitement and joy. With each passing hour I spent in Amsterdam, my voice climbed to higher octaves. Our day took us from a cozy canal cruise right up to the roof of the oldest church in Amsterdam.
It was a big deal for me to experience a new city in this way; in an 8-hour live stream, constantly accompanied by cameras and always under observation. With Freedi as my co-host, we walked through the city meeting different locals, all of whom had their own individual interpretation of our trek through the city with the cameras in tow. We walked in the footsteps of all the various personalities who traveled the city before us. Always with us: Our Vodafone Team, Rob of Citinerary – A City Made by People (a more fitting motto for such a pleasant guy isn’t possible), my travel companion Friederike of Freiseindesign.com, and of course you – thanks to the Vodafone roaming, which we pretty much put to the test here.
Canal Cruise in Amsterdam
We took a private boat trip through Amsterdam’s canals and met Maxi, a German who was drawn to the city over 10 years ago. She stayed, fell in love with the people here, her condo and photography. Armed with my own camera in my hands, I thought to myself after walking only a few meters, no wonder she fell in love with this place.
Food Halls in Amsterdam
The “Food Halls” were our first stop, suitable for lunch, we docked our boat and visited the recommended culinary hot spot. The incredibly charming food blogger, Michelle, of story154.com led us through the food halls.
I wasn’t just amazed by the various offers of different types of food, from bacon to quinoa sushi, but I was also by the amount of care that went into the interior design! So much great taste reflected in the interior design in one spot – Amsterdam, you know how to do it!
Us three girls enjoyed fresh smoothies and Organic Sushi. Yummy!
A bike ride through Vondelpark & a private concert with Dean Medina
After dinner our physical activity was required and then there stood our answer, the Roetz bikes! Every bike lover would totally flip out over these bikes. They are built from recycled scraps and they parade their story and charm throughout Amsterdam as you ride through the city. The bikes are not only a joy to ride, I would even park them in my living room! With back-pedaling brakes and a basket for picnic utensils, typical for bikes in Holland, we made our way to Vondelpark.
Once we arrived at the park (wow, I want to go back there!), from afar, we saw a young man sitting in the green playing his guitar. That was Dean. And Dean watched us expectantly with big eyes peering out from between his wild hair underneath his hat. Originally from Canada, he found his way to Amsterdam a few years ago. Here, he’s pursuing his passion as a singer and songwriter. And we experienced that passion in the minutes to follow. Oh damn, I still get goose bumps now just thinking about it! Dean Medina – What a voice! Ohohoooh, ohoho…
Magazene & Fashion-Store LENAs Library
If you are looking for creative concept stores, you’re definitely in the right place with Amsterdam. And here I’m introducing you to two of them: Magazene styling and LENAs Library. Sometimes a cold glass of sparkling wine, the look in a dogs’ eyes, and a mini Hairstyling can do wonders. The time spent in the trendy Magazene Store brought us to tears of laughter. If you want to have fun with your best friend in the middle of a store with minimalistic interior design, then Magazene is the right place to go.
The idea of LENAs Library is simple and ingenious: Instead of buying expensive fashion, you can borrow it here. At LENAs Library, you won’t find the run-of-the-mill fashion, but instead a very lovingly stocked selection of various designers (famous and no so well known).
Both of us immediately fell in love with the store and the fashion, for example, the RATNA HO jackets made “‹”‹in Holland. The “Earth First!” Shirts, the motto of the Environmental Advocacy Group, fits perfectly with the store concept: Borrow more, consume less – that looked very different once we sat down to have our coffee…
Headfirst Cafe in Amsterdam
Although we didn’t drink many cups of coffee in Amsterdam, Headfirst Cafe is known to have the “best coffee in Amsterdam”. And Google never lies: There’s a reason Lex and his team have a rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars. We needed energy after about 4 hours of the livestream and were pleased it was just a walk across the streets with our bikes next to us to get to Headfirst!
The best apple pie in Amsterdam
A day of superlatives: the longest LiveStream, the best coffee, the funniest co-blogger – and the best apple pie in town! I wonder if you’ve ever had it as good as I have on this Friday? Woohoo, I doubt it! ; ) By the way, even Bill Clinton swears by Axel’s recipe from the Winkel43!
Ode Kerk church – Nearest to God
“Nearest to God” is the current exhibition (until September 6, 2015) on the roof of the oldest building in Amsterdam: the “Old Church”! What’s the exhibit about? The sky, the city, the cazy feeling up there between the clouds and the rooftops of Amsterdam.
We had the observation deck all to ourselves, along with another local, Instagramer Phil. This dude is incredible and not only does he make enchantingly beautiful photos, he also shared with us, and his numerous fans, the power of having a passion for the now, your work, and always carrying that passion with you. Go on like this, Phil, until we meet again somewhere on a beautiful day.
In Choux restaurant, we met Adriana and Jimmy and got to know two more faces from Amsterdam’s creative scene. We talked about Adriana’s music and Jimmy’s Photography. The events of the day passed by and made us fall into each other’s arms happily and exhausted by the streaming time which indicated 8 hours. It was done. And even though we were all incredibly exhausted, what prevailed was a feeling of contentment, awareness and a sense of melancholy for all of us. Thanks to all who contributed – because of you it was an unforgettable 8 hours!
Amsterdam – It’s A Wrap!
I am already looking forward to 4 more cities to explore with #TeamVodafone and #IZDDW – next, I’ll show you Berlin with Co-Host Willy! Watch it on August 1st at 12pm, when we go live again! By the way, all the information can be found directly on the landing page of the project.
