NDSM

Today was our last day of vacation. As such, we wanted to cram in as much as we could to soak up the last hours we had in Amsterdam. I think we were successful.

We kicked off the day by taking a walk to Amsterdam Central Station. There we planned on catching a free ferry ride across the IJ river to NDSM. On our journey we stopped off at a famous dutch "frites" stand where we got some delicious fries covered in their signature cheese sauce. It was the perfect mid morning snack.

We heard about NDSM awhile back when we were doing our research of things to do in Amsterdam. It's essentially an old industrial shipping yard that has been transformed into huge neighborhood promoting art and sustainability. Nearly every wall of the old buildings has become a canvas for murals and graffiti.

Outside of the art, there is also a lot of impressive engineering that has taken place here. With a heavy emphasis on sustainability, many of the structures in the area have been built using old shipping materials or repurposed in creative ways. One of the most impressive is a luxury hotel that has been built in the bones of an old shipping crane. The hotel only has 3 exclusive rooms and of course a hot tub at the very top.

Some other cool structures include an apartment complex made up entirely of shipping containers and a greenhouse that has been converted into a cozy cafe (more on that later).

The largest attraction in this neighborhood is the old ship factory building. This gigantic space has been taken over by hundreds of artists who have situated their studios and shops there. We spent some time walking around the complex and got to see them in action. The place was pretty empty when we visited, but this warehouse is a popular venue for food markets and music festivals.

Also inside the complex is a full service restaurant and bar. We stopped off here to grab a quick drink before moving on.

After exploring a little bit more, we ended up at a place called "Noorderlicht Cafe" for lunch. This little cafe has been built inside of an old greenhouse. It is situated right on the water so it provides great views over the IJ river. They even have a great outdoor area where local artists come to perform.

We really enjoyed exploring NDSM. It opened our eyes to the possibilities of adopting a more sustainable mindset. It was so inspiring to see the initiative of the community and how their creativity is transforming a neighborhood that would otherwise deteriorate.

There is still a lot of work being put into the NDSM, and we look forward to seeing how that area changes over time. This place is certainly on our "must do" list when visiting Amsterdam.

After we were done exploring, we hopped on a ferry back to the heart of Amsterdam. We heard about a "cool" ice bar not too far away, so we decided to go check it out. This bar has a special room set to 15 °F where everything is made from ice, including your glass! They provided gloves and a jacket so we didn't have to worry about getting frostbite. They were certainly the coldest beers we have ever had!

After thawing out in their lounge, we really wanted to check out another popular brewery of Amsterdam called Brouwerij 't IJ. This one was a bit outside of downtown, but it was well worth the walk. This old brewery was built inside of a traditional Dutch windmill. They had the best selection of craft beer we have seen the entire trip, and you could tell it was popular among the locals too.

After that, we had quite a long walk back to our place. We split up the walk by first stopping off at a "Coffee Shop", because …. Amsterdam? Then we found some food at a restaurant located underneath of the Stedelijk Museum. This museum is also known as "The Bathub" because of its resemblance to ... well a bathtub.

On our way out we stumbled upon a polo match that was taking place right outside of the Van Gogh Museum. It was completely free so we sat and watched for a bit, and learned some things about polo!

At that point it was getting late, so we decided to call it a night. Such an amazing vacation with so many adventures. Having done so much in just 10 short days, we are so glad to have documented each and every moment.

We are currently writing this last blog at the airport before we board. We got to enjoy one last walk through the heart of Amsterdam on our way to central station. Of course, on our way back we used our remaining euros to buy one more Stroopwafel.

Ready to be home!