S5, E3: Beyond the Canals: An Insider’s Guide to Amsterdam’s Real Neighborhoods

Amsterdam is one of Europe’s most overtouristed cities—but it’s also so much more than the crowds in the city center suggest. On this episode of Unpacked—part of Afar’s ongoing Off the Tourist Trail series—host Aislyn Greene is joined by journalist Blane Bachelor, who moved to Amsterdam during the pandemic and has spent years navigating life as a resident. She shares how to experience the real Amsterdam—the neighborhoods, restaurants, and rhythms that exist just beyond the tourist-packed city center.

Transcript

Aislyn Greene: I’m Aislyn Greene and this week on Unpacked we are exploring the Amsterdam most of us don’t get to see. Our guide is journalist Blane Bachelor. She moved to Amsterdam during the pandemic and has since spent the years navigating life as a resident in one of Europe’s most overtouristed cities. This episode is a continuation of Afar’s Off the Tourist Trail series, which is available on Afar.com and via this podcast.

In the show notes, you’ll find links to a story that Blane wrote about Amsterdam, covering some of these same topics as well as to previous destinations. Over the years, Blane has witnessed Amsterdam’s struggle with overtourism firsthand. She’s seen the city’s attempts to discourage nuisance tourism, as well as felt the daily reality of living in a place where certain neighborhoods can feel overwhelmed by crowds. But she’s also discovered the, quote unquote, real Amsterdam, the one that exists just beyond the tourist-packed city center.

She’s found neighborhoods that feel like Dutch villages and mastered the art of cycling among locals, which is no mean feat. And learned where Amsterdammers actually go for dinner and drinks. And today she’s sharing all of that with us. How to explore the real Amsterdam, far from the crowds.

Well, Blane, welcome back to Unpacked. It’s so nice to see you again.

Blane Bachelor: Thank you very much for having me. It’s great to be here again.

Aislyn: Of course. Yeah, well, and we’re here to talk today about a really interesting city where you’re located right now. You have lived in Amsterdam for the past three plus years, I think. And when we talk about the issue of overtourism, or basically too many travelers overwhelming a destination, Amsterdam is often one of the first cities that people mention or cite. So I wanted to start with, what took you there? You know, why did you move to Amsterdam and what have you seen in the last three years as you’ve lived there?

Blane: Sure. And happy to be here chatting with you and all of the Afar listeners as usual. So what brought us, my family here, was my husband’s job. He got a job here in Amsterdam from Berlin and was traveling a lot, so we came here because it was just a lot of travel for him. And we loved the city. Even having, you know, been here before, we really liked the vibe of it. And that’s what brought us here, and a new adventure obviously as well.

Aislyn: Yeah, well, you loved the city and now you know it like a local. So have you seen it change at all in the past few years, or how does it feel to live there now?

Blane: I ask myself that question a lot, kind of as a, you know, as a resident, because I think it does feel very different from the tourist experience, obviously. And as far as how it feels, how that’s changed over the years, I would say that it’s always felt pretty crowded in the city center since we’ve moved here. Even before we moved here, we came to visit and my brother was in town and we met him, and that was during the pandemic. And we saw, I still couldn’t believe the numbers of tourists that were down there and we were part of it. But I was like, wow, this, this seems really a lot. Even during the pandemic.

So I would say in terms of how it’s changed, um, it doesn’t feel to me like the tourism numbers have gone down. There’s been a whole host of measures that have been introduced, many of which I’ve written about for Afar, and I don’t think yet we’re seeing any tangible effects of those. That said, I think there’s a big misconception that the whole city is that way, and in fact, it really is just a few certain areas in the city center proper that do have those major overcrowded issues. A lot of residents who live here, locals refer to Amsterdam as kind of like a big village, and I definitely agree with that. And you don’t really get that feel when you’re in the city center, and it’s kind of choked with tourists, but you venture a little bit away and it really does start to feel that way.

Aislyn: Yeah, absolutely. Because you covered some of those ways that people can have more of that feel in your story that you wrote for Afar.com, and like you said, we’ll get to those. But I kind of wanted to go back to the beginning or quote unquote, what some people say is the beginning. So in her book, The New Tourist, the travel writer Paige McClanahan talked about this tourism video that the Amsterdam tourism department released in 2013, which some people have cited as kind of like the thing that basically launched and encouraged this really kind of like too rowdy behavior, like treating Amsterdam kind of like a party city. And it seemed very targeted at young Englishmen. And now there’s this new campaign that seems to be saying to those particular types of travelers like, stay away, please don’t come. So, could you tell us more about that campaign? And do you think that the city has in any way kind of owned up to its part in this or the role that, that those kind of tourism measures may have played?

Blane: There’s a lot to unpack here. And we could talk about just this, you know, the city policies for the entire time that we have allocated. It’s a very layered issue. There are many, many issues that are intertwined that affect it. But yes, that video, I think if the tourism board could, um, take that back, they would.

Aislyn: Yeah. Yeah.

Blane: You know, a lot is talked about how Amsterdam has this reputation of being this kind of wild place, and anything goes and there’s, there’s vices and there’s marijuana everywhere. And there’s of course, the red light district is as it’s known, but in reality, that’s that’s not what’s happening, you know, for your day-to-day life here. So the tourism board really is leaning now into and the city council members are leaning hard into trying to kind of clean up, um, that reputation and redirect people to all of the really wonderful things that the city does have to offer.

Unfortunately, that’s kind of what makes the headlines is the tourists going crazy. And the effect of that, of course, is a lower quality of life for residents and also a very reduced, lesser, not as authentic or good experience for travelers as well. So with that campaign, I think things were getting pretty dire, and they were not afraid to tell these specific groups that were causing a lot of the problems, Hey, if you want to come here for the wrong reasons, then just don’t come. And they began cracking down on public urination, drinking in public, smoking in public, which are now not allowed.

Aislyn: And like smoking cigarettes or marijuana.

Blane: Marijuana. Marijuana. And there are signs everywhere, and it’s very direct. They have a sign and they’ll have a little icon of a guy, you know, going, you know, urinating over a bridge. And they say, don’t, you can’t do this. It’s illegal and you will get fined.

Aislyn: What is the fine?

Blane: I think it’s about 140 euros, if I’m not mistaken.

Aislyn: And they actually are issuing them like, this is like. Because, I mean, there’s the policy and then there’s the enforcement, right? So are they really doing that?

Blane: I mean, you have, that depends on who you ask. I think the residents who live downtown say, no, they’re not, they’re not doing enough of this. I’ve never seen an arrest over a public urination. I have seen police officers pull over cyclists or e-bikes, the fat bikes for speeding, um, on some of the, you know, main sort of bike thoroughfares, which is another whole issue in itself.

Aislyn: This seems like something that’s going to be kind of a long re-education, right? Like how do you kind of undo that? And the people who have it in their mind as this particular type of landscape, and most recently it was interesting, I think you talked about this in, in your story, but the city tried to cap the number of visitors at 20 million per year, which is still so many people, right? But last year, 2024, it still saw 23 million visitors. So what do you think that disconnect is? And like, how are they trying to actually cap? Like what are they doing to try to prevent people from coming?

Blane: Right. Well again, a lot of it is discouraging what they call nuisance tourism that is a big part of it. And tourism is a huge part of what makes the city be able to pay its bills. It’s a huge economic driver for the city. So I think the distinction is that, yes, we have to reduce the numbers in general and also attract the right, quote unquote, right kind of tourists. Um, there’s been some pushback on that, too, because there’s been a lot of, you know, people who say you can’t just put a fence around Amsterdam. So, um, a lot of those numbers come. Also, it’s important to say from day visitors that don’t add to that 20 million overnight stay number. So that is in addition to the overnight visitors, which is that number that’s always quoted, that’s overnight hotel stays. So in reality you’re seeing more than those numbers. And there’s been a lot of talk about how do you, how do you tell people don’t just drive in for the day and, and then leave. If all you want to do is, you know, get high.

Aislyn: Yeah.

Blane: So it’s a very tricky equation. I don’t think they’ve solved it yet. They have a new master plan that talks about getting these numbers down and getting, you know, it’s called tourism and balance, with a balance for higher quality of life for residents. But those the big master plan it goes until 2035. So that’s a long ways away. That’s a long ways away. So these are very complicated problems that don’t have a quick fix. And it very much is like putting the genie back in the bottle. And like I said before, I really think that if they could take that video back now, they absolutely would.

Aislyn: Yeah, it’ll be so interesting to see how they go forward. And perhaps what they do will serve as a blueprint for other cities that are facing this. Right. And they have, I think, in some ways, you know, cities that are developing tourism or have kind of more nascent tourism may be looking at this like, OK, this is what happened in Amsterdam, how do we avoid that? So hopefully this serves as kind of an educational . . .

Blane: Yes.

Aislyn: Situation for everyone. But it’s, it’s not all negative. Like we don’t want to focus completely on the negative. You know, you mentioned what it’s like to live there and that there’s pockets where you can have quite a lovely time. You enjoy living in the city. Do you think it is possible to get off the tourist trail at this point?

Blane: Absolutely. It’s not only possible, people do it all the time. And I think that as more travelers and tourists look to having these authentic experiences, I think more people will start thinking about how to get out of the typical, you know. Rijksmuseum. Van Gogh museum. The city center. And to get to getting out to different neighborhoods and really experiencing what it’s like for a local Amsterdammer for people who live there, because there are so many people who love living here.

I’m one of them. I’m grateful to be here. The vibe is so cool. The bike culture is, you know, world class. And there really is a very lovely, easy pace to the city that feels completely opposite to what you find in the city center. So yes, it is possible. And I encourage anyone who comes to Amsterdam, I say please come and just make sure you’re making the initiative and taking those steps to kind of like, yes, I may have a bucket list of the Anne Frank and the Rijksmuseum and all these things I want to do, but I’m also going to find a way to kind of get out of the pockets and, and the neighborhoods that are, that are there really overrun.

Aislyn: OK, well, we’ll get to some of your recommendations for how a first-time visitor can kind of toggle between those two things. But what about in terms of neighborhoods focusing on that kind of practical aspect of things? Are there places that you recommend that people stay that are outside of those hot spots?

Blane: Yes, by all means. And what’s great about Amsterdam, in many European cities in general, is that the public transportation here is fantastic. So even if you stay not in the city center, you don’t have to worry about coming in and commuting. And there are so many places you can stay and get across town quickly and easily. And usually you’ll have your choice of tram or bus or metro, and they’re all very efficient and easy to use. So that’s hugely helpful.

In terms of the districts, generally speaking, you have four. They’re divided into north, south, east, and west, and the city center kind of is in the smack in the middle of them. I recommend highly, uh, the Oost region or neighborhood district. That’s where I live. That means east with Oost. And it’s generally speaking, just kind of like the eastern sort of section of the city. Um, it’s far less crowded. You still have a really very Dutch feeling experience with Stiller’s canals. There’s the Dutch architecture. There’s so much to do. The bike lanes are much less crowded, but you’ll still have a really wonderful time, and you won’t feel like, you know, you’re rubbing elbows with every English-speaking tourist on the planet. So Oost is great.

Another neighborhood I really highly recommend is called Noord, and that means north. And this is basically the old sort of ship building industrial area that’s now been really transitioning into a very kind of eclectic, artsy, kind of still kind of gritty, uh, neighborhood, which is great. And you can take a couple of free ferries from Central Station. You just hop on one and you just walk on. It’s free. No tickets, no nothing. Just go. And they go all day and you can just go there and make a day of it. You can also just ride your bike on there [the ferry]. Like if you have a bike rental, you just ride your bike on there and then ride it off. So it’s just a really great way to just, you know, get out of the thick of the city center and see a neighborhood that’s very artsy. It’s very eclectic. It’s very cool. I recommend that highly.

Aislyn: I love any neighborhood that has like, maritime ties. It’s just always such an interesting . . .

Blane: Yes.

Aislyn: Place. So yes. OK.

Blane: Well, pretty much every neighborhood in Amsterdam has some sort of maritime tie, which also I love too. Everywhere you look there’s a boat or a canal, you know, uh, so there is this very strong sense of being by the water, which I love because I was born and raised in Florida. So that feels, it just feels very familiar to me. So I’m a big fan of that too. Yeah. Maritime for the win.

Aislyn: Yes it is. OK. Yeah. Well, at the beginning of our call, when we hopped on, you mentioned that you’re entering the rainy season in Amsterdam. So are there seasons that you recommend where the tourism kind of eases? That it’s a little bit easier to get around, you know, even still, if you’re staying in those outer neighborhoods?

Blane: Yes, by all means. Well, I believe it’s starting at the, sometime in November. It’s called the Amsterdam Lights Festival, and that’s a great time to come when the tourists aren’t quite as thick as the summertime, and they have all of these really cool art installations and sculptures, and they’re all lit up and they’re all near the canal. So you have this really neat kind of vibe where it’s reflecting off the water and it’s very pretty, and it’s at night, and it’s a really popular thing to do for locals, and it’s just kind of like you just there’s no cost involved. You just kind of go and see this. And a great way to do that is to do a canal tour at night. I wrote a lot about the canal tours in the story, how much I love them and what a fan I am of them, of like seeing the city. So that’s a great way also to come during the light festival and, and see the city with this, you know, really neat artwork without as many tourists. That’s a great time to come.

Aislyn: What about springtime and the iconic and classic tulips?

Blane: Sure, yes. That’s also a great time to come. It will be a little more touristy than say, you know, the fall, but it’s also a really nice time to come see this iconic flower that everyone loves. It’s beautiful. It’s not quite as crowded as the summertime, which is nice. And insider tip: Keukenhof is a popular place to go to see. It’s a big, massive garden with all of these amazing tulips and flowers, but you can go into the outskirts and actually see the tulips in the fields. Just don’t tramp around in them and be respectful and take your photos from afar.

Aislyn: OK.

Blane: Yeah.

Aislyn: That’s great.

Blane: Yes. And another thing to come forward in spring. It will be crowds, but they won’t be the tourist crowds. It’s called King’s Day and it’s on the King’s birthday every year, April 27th, I believe. But it’s a great time to come because it’s a national holiday, and it is when everyone comes out and puts all their orange on, and everyone has these big street parties and celebrations and festivals, and what the kids do is like have all of their yard sales, because that’s the only time of year that you can actually sell things kind of on the street, you know?

Aislyn: How fun.

Blane: Otherwise it’s not really allowed, but it’s allowed on this one day and it’s a really lovely festive vibe. You have local vendors, you have music, you have people drinking beer. You have just a really lovely festive Dutch vibe. And it’s, it’s not nearly as touristy as some of the other big holidays around, so I really recommend that one as well. King’s Day in April.

Aislyn: That’s wonderful. There’s another exciting anniversary on the horizon. So the city is celebrating its 750th year. So it just seems like this overtourism thing is, you know, at some point it’s just going to be a blip in its history. But in October. So are there any kind of big celebrations on the horizon for that?

Blane: There’s been stuff going on for the entire year, so there’s been a yearlong celebration, which has been really cool to be a part of. They had this yearlong itinerary of all of these parties and events, and one of them was where they closed the entire, uh, it’s called The Ring, the highway that goes around the A10 Ring. And they had like an actual party on the Ring, and that was so popular that I couldn’t even get tickets like they were, you know, they were gone because they gave them away for free.

So, um, there’s been a lot of really cool energy around that anniversary, which for people who are, you know, born and raised in the States, that number is just staggering. I can’t, you can’t really kind of get your head around the how long that is. But, um, yeah. So for the actual birthday on October 27th, there are going to be more parties in a big like blowout bash. I think fireworks are happening. And also it’s the one day, as I understand, that you can actually go look at the charter, the original charter, the piece of paper where Amsterdam is sort of written for the first time in the official records, and that is why the anniversary is marked on that day. So that’s also a pretty cool thing to be able to do. If I can do that, I’m going to be in line for that to see that, because that’s pretty cool.

Aislyn: That seems like a once in a lifetime opportunity, right? So worth, worth queuing with others. Yes.

Blane: Worth queuing for that one.

Aislyn: Yes, yes.

Blane: I will also say they had this event called SAIL, which is billed as the biggest maritime event in the world that coincided with the 750th anniversary. And it was in August for, I think five or six days. And I did a couple of canal tours during that time and it was spectacular. And it’s once every five years. The last one was during the pandemic, so it was canceled. So this was the first time in 10 years that they’d had it. And anybody who’s interested at all in boats or maritime history or just likes being on the water, come. It is extraordinary. I recommend it highly.

Aislyn: 2030?

Blane: It was remarkable. Yep. It’ll be 2030 the next time they have it. Yep. That’s called SAIL. Yes. It was. That’s what I’m telling everyone. I’m like, you have to come back for this. Because if you are at all interested in any, you know, any kind of maritime anything, it is well worth it. They have these tall ships, and they have thousands of boats and warships and military ships and just beautiful schooners, and from all over the world that come, and they just park in the harbor for that time. It’s great. I highly recommend SAIL.

Aislyn: OK. That’s wonderful. Thank you. Well, going back to, you know, so you pick your neighborhood. The next thing people usually settle on is a hotel. So I’m curious to know what your thought is around the Airbnb question of it all. What’s your recommendation for people coming to the city: hotels or Airbnb?

Blane: That’s a great question. And it’s interesting because Airbnb put out this document or statement, I think it was last year about how they feel like the city should be doing a better job with its tourism plan, because Airbnbs are not the problem and this and that. So and I think if you ask a local, they would say housing is a major shortage here. So I think there definitely is a bit of a stigma in some ways with Airbnbs here, and they have severely restricted them. So you’re going to be hard pressed to find one anyway. If you really do want to stay in an Airbnb, what you can do is stay in Diemen. That’s a suburb that’s really right on the city’s edge, and it’s very close. And there’s less restrictions on Airbnbs there so you can stay there. I’m not so sure about what the restrictions are in other suburbs. But if you do want to stay centrally, I would say go for a hotel because you do have some beautiful grand dame hotels that are literally right in the thick of things, so you can be very close to the action, but yet retreat kind of like to, you know, the oasis of your hotel. And you won’t also feel like you’re taking someone’s, uh, house or apartment that they could have rented out.

So we have some great hotels here in Amsterdam. And yes, they are pricey because you have to factor in the tourist tax, which is, which is high, the highest in Europe with 12.5 percent. But yes, I think if you’re going to splurge on a hotel, there’s so many great picks. There’s the just open Rosewood, which is a beautiful property. It just opened in May and it’s the last hotel to be built here because of, again, the restrictions on overtourism. So it’s a gorgeous property. It’s still working out a few of its kind of like opening day kinks, but, um, it’s worth even just popping in for a coffee or a drink because it’s just a stunning property as well.

You have another hotel I’m a big fan of because the lobby is just beautiful. It’s a very playful, fun vibe. That is the Andaz and that’s on Prinsengracht. It’s just, it’s not far from where the Rosewood is, um, kind of in the heart of things. And if you stay in a canal room or stay the night before, you feel like you’re literally on the canal, which is really kind of a cool experience. And the interiors are very playful and very fun. And they’re, they’re designed by a Dutch interior designer. So it feels very kind of fun and Dutch and not too stuffy. So I’m a big fan of the Andaz as well.

Hotel Arena is in Oost. That’s a little bit farther away. I’ve not stayed there, but I have seen they have a beautiful lobby and their breakfast buffet, like on brunch on the weekends, it’s supposed to be extraordinary. So that’s another one to consider if you want to stay kind of like out of the city center kind of crush as well.

There’s also one more, the Hoxton. Um, there are two. There’s one in downtown. There’s one called the Eastern Docklands. And that’s kind of like a, a kind of a really cool residential area. But there’s a lot going on there, and it’s an easy hop on the, on the tram to get to downtown. And I really liked that hotel. It’s really kind of old school retro. And you have, um, a lot of different room categories. So if you’re with a family, you can choose these kind of funky family rooms with bunk beds and things like that. So yeah, the Hoxton in the Docklands I’m a fan of as well.

Aislyn: We’ll be back with more from Blane after these words from our sponsors.

Going back to what we were talking about in terms of a first-time visitor, because there are these really wonderful, iconic sites, including things like the canals and the Anne Frank House that do feel like something that if you haven’t seen them, you’d like to. So what are your recommendations for a first-time visitor? Are there ways to see these things where you can kind of avoid the true crush of it all? You mentioned some canal tours. So yeah. What do you recommend for those first timers?

Blane: Great question. So if it’s your first time here and you have places like the Anne Frank House and the Rijksmuseum on your list, book those as soon as you possibly can. Uh, there will be a little bit of wiggle room. You won’t have to, you know, fight as much for tickets during the off season, but there still will be demand. So, you know, you may not be able to get the exact date or the time that you want. So the first order of business should be if you feel like one of those heavy hitters is on your list, book it immediately.

The Anne Frank House. There’s a couple of specific tips and tricks for that. They release tickets every Tuesday, then for the next sort of batch, six weeks ahead. Tuesday 10 a.m. Amsterdam time. I checked a couple of weeks ago and there is availability now. Like you could get tickets for next week, but that will not be the case in the summer. Yeah, I tried to get tickets when my dad was in town in May and I couldn’t get them, and I had to buy them from a secondary site called Ticket Swap. So I was able to do that. But because it’s so, it is the most visited tourist landmark in the city and demand is still sky high. So if you want to go see the Anne Frank House, get that immediately and if possible, if you need to set an alarm on your computer or on your phone so you can get tickets right when they’re released every Tuesday. Yeah.

And the Rijksmuseum and some other institutions I think I mentioned in the story, they do have evening hours at certain times of the year. So that is kind of a time you can go and people are having dinner and you can go and there won’t be as many people. It might be a chance to go and just kind of like get a little bit of breathing room, you know, to soak up all this beautiful artwork a little bit less, you know, hectic.

Aislyn: What about alternatives to those for people who feel like, OK, I don’t necessarily need to see those, but maybe want to engage with similar types of history or art or. Sure. Do you have a favorite?

Blane: I always tell people, and we do this with guests on our own, like when they come to town to visit, book a canal tour, book a canal cruise, and book one with a vintage salon boat if you can. A salon boat is a little wooden boat. It’s a vintage little, they’re so cool and they’re usually quite old, but they’re polished and they’re made of teak, often, and some have the cover on them. They’re kind of like the roof, I guess, but they have windows and so you can see out, it’s just a really fantastic way to feel like you’re seeing the city and the canals and the architecture from this really unique angle.

I find it so remarkable that these canals have been around, you know, as like the man-made waterways of the city for hundreds of years. I mean, they were there before the roads were. And just being a part of that, you know, it’s just a really, really cool way to see the city. For me, that’s a must-do, because you’re going to learn something and you’re going to see something that’s different than your last visit. And you get one with a guide. If you get a really good guide, they can tell you the history and they’ll be pointing out things and they’ll be saying, look at this and look at that. And here’s why the buildings are tilted and here’s why the angles are off. And they’ll be telling you all of these things, which is really, really cool. Yeah, it’s really cool.

And don’t book a big party boat because those are a whole different experience. Those are the ones that you can tell they have a million people kind of packed in, and you feel like you’re kind of like on this bus. And one of the employees on the small, smaller tour told me she’s like, that’s what we call them in the industry. We call them buses. No shame if that’s what you want to do, but for a lesser crowded experience, definitely go for a smaller tour.

Aislyn: Yeah, well, we will include some of your recommended outfitters in the show notes. I wanted to go back to the red light district because, of course, the first time I visited Amsterdam, I went to the red light district. And this was a long time before that tourism campaign, so it wasn’t quite as crazy. Do you think at this point in time it’s worth visiting? Like, has it retained its soul and are there ways to experience it without getting crushed by the crowds?

Blane: Yes, I think it’s sort of a rite of passage. If you’ve never been before. You’re going to be kind of curious. It’s not a thing we have, you know, as much in, you know, U.S. cities; um, prostitution is legal in the Netherlands. Sex work is legal. So I think from a historical perspective, it’s such a fabric of the city as a port city, as it is [in] many port cities. Sex work has always been around. It’s not going anywhere. It might be moved. In particular, the brothel windows in the city center in the red light district are under a proposal to move them to what’s called an erotic center, which is a multi-level building in a neighborhood across town. It is a highly controversial proposal. I bet many of the sex workers are against it for numerous reasons. Many of the residents in the proposed area are also against having that in their backyard. So there’s a lot of complicated factors that are going into this as well. But it does tie back into the city’s drive to kind of clean up its image and promote less of this kind of, you know, tourism coming to Amsterdam strictly for, you know, strolling around the red light district and getting drunk and getting high.

Aislyn: Yeah, that’s interesting because like you said, it’s been such a part of the city’s fabric. So to think about removing that because of the tourism issue. I can see why that is maybe hotly debated.

Blane: It’s very hotly debated, and there’s a lot of different aspects to it. And I wrote this in my piece, but there’s something called the Prostitution Information Centre in the red light district, which is a great place to pop into. And you can have a cup of coffee, if I’m not mistaken. And you can. They have lectures and they have a lot of programming, and you can go in there. You can really get a better idea of, of how critical a role the sex trade industry has played in Amsterdam and Dutch culture in general.

It’s very strongly tied to the concept of being free and this sort of culture of tolerance and letting people do as they wish. It was not affecting you. And so if you do go to the red light district, which, by the way, was known among more locals as De Wallen, you’d write it De Wallen, and that refers to the walls. That means the walls in Dutch, and it refers to the original defense walls of the city. That’s why it’s called that. So even the term “red light district” is sort of more of like a term that’s evolved over the years with respect to the red lights, which have indicated, of course, you know, we’re open for business.

I wrote about this in the piece, but there are a lot of really interesting cultural museums and churches that are down there in that area. The oldest part of Amsterdam. So it is worth a walk around if you’re curious. But there are strict rules about no public urination, no, no drinking on the streets, no smoking of marijuana. Not that our listeners would do any of this, of course.

Aislyn: Of course.

Blane: But there is I mean, there is sort of also this kind of like you could kind of see when you’re down there. I was reporting a story about it a couple of years ago, and you can kind of see these sort of mobs and crowds and they kind of get a little, I guess, strength in numbers. And so, um, you can understand why there are restrictions on certain things, but they may not be around for that much longer. So, you know.

Aislyn: And I like that idea, you know, for people who are maybe coming from the States, who might not be as comfortable with the idea of sex tourism or that kind of trade in general. So going to the center to understand what it represents locally and that it does actually represent a part of Dutch culture. That’s a really interesting way in. So would you recommend that people go during the morning or the afternoon, you know, when it’s not quite as nutty?

Blane: Yes.

Aislyn: Do you think you can still kind of get the same experience because there is something about going at night?

Blane: Yes, there is. And you can go there in the morning and you can see, you know, kind of I think it’s a better time to go to see the historic aspect of this neighborhood without having to clamor with, you know, so many other people at the same time. I do recommend going down there midmorning when you can kind of have a more I’m not going to say private because it won’t be private, but a lesser crowded experience where it does feel like, OK, I can walk the streets without being pushed around. I’d recommend walking down. I don’t recommend riding a bike. It’s just too hard to do in that area. And also just kind of staying away from the obvious shops that are just chockablock with tourism trinkets and maybe adult toys. And they’re pretty obvious which ones they are. And I don’t recommend patronizing those places because they are, in a way, part of the problem. I’m not saying adult toys, I’m saying tourism, touristy, you know, all of that. Kind of like, you know.

Aislyn: The tchotchke shops.

Blane: Tchotchke shops that are just clearly mass produced kind of junk. There are a lot of them down there, and I would not recommend patronizing those.

Aislyn: OK. No, that’s helpful. And I think, you know, you can pretty quickly I.D. those places. You know, as a savvy traveler, it’s like, you know, I’m just going to go try to find a cute gift shop and yes, yes, maybe one of the neighborhoods that you mentioned.

Blane: Yes, exactly.

Aislyn: Yeah. OK. I’m just curious to know, you know, either for second timers or for people who really kind of seek out more interesting, off the grid places to patronize or eat at: What would you recommend? You know that you’re willing to share with thousands of people?

Blane: Sure, sure. A couple of them are in my neighborhood. So I will be happy to give them a shout out because that’s where I go. My absolute favorite watering hole in my neighborhood is a restaurant and bar. It’s called 1900 and it’s just this very cozy Dutch old school building, and it’s a multi-level restaurant. I think it’s two levels, and it just has a really, a very local feel to it. And the food is great. Kind of some Dutch favorites. One of the things I always get there, it’s called a kapsalon, which actually means hair salon. And it’s the weirdest thing. It’s this giant salad and it’s made with this delicious chicken and sweet potato fries and avocado and with sriracha dressing. And it is so good. I get it every time I go.

Aislyn: Is it just like, it looks wild? I don’t know, I’m just picturing this kind of like.

Blane: I should have prepared for. I think I’ve done my homework on why it’s called a kapsalon. I remember, there’s a story there. But, um, yeah, it does mean hair salon. And that’s like it does tie to all of the different cultural groups. And I believe it’s like a mishmash of all these different things, which is what it is. And there’s something there’s some really neat cultural origins to it. I just should know better. But, um, it’s . . .

Aislyn: It sounds delicious. It is delicious.

Blane: It’s really delicious.

Aislyn: Good. All right. 1900.

Blane: 1900 is great. Another one is this restaurant called the Gilded Unicorn. And it’s very old. I think it’s like the 17th-century building. And it was this kind of like farm house property. It’s now an outdoor bar. It’s beautiful. A beautiful, cozy indoor restaurant and kind of like an outdoor restaurant terrace area. So there’s all these options depending on the weather, and it’s just a really neat place to go for a drink or dinner. And it’s a very cozy vibe. They have twinkle lights in the garden and it’s just a really unique place, and it’s right right off one of the main canals in Oost. So the Gilded Unicorn highly recommend as well. For a very unique bar, I would say if you want to get as Dutch as you get, there’s a bar in my neighborhood called Ruk en Pluk.

Aislyn: Ruk en Pluk.

Blane: With a P. Ruk en Pluk, and I believe that has something to do with like bar stool. I think pluk is a bar stool. Um, but it’s very Dutch. It’s filled with all of this crazy memorabilia. It’s cash only, which is very unusual in Amsterdam. So come, come with cash. Go there to get, you know, beer on draft and a cocktail. Don’t go there for, you know, craft anything. It is local. You will probably be the only one speaking English in there, but it’s awesome. It’s a great little spot.

Aislyn: OK.

Blane: Yeah. So that’s a great place. Again, they’re all in my neighborhood. That’s kind of like where I go. There’s also another restaurant called Polder. And Polder kind of is the word that basically refers to like the, the raised dike landmass type thing. And it’s again like an old, I think it was an old barn, and it’s just a very cozy restaurant. And it’s great in the winter or the summer because outside is great if it’s nice weather inside. It’s also very cozy, great Dutch food. They have great fondue there, which is not typically Dutch, but served a lot in some restaurants. I love it. Also some very good seafood dishes as well. So yeah, Polder, 1900, Gilded Unicorn, Ruk en Pluk. Can’t go wrong with any of those.

Aislyn: OK. Do you have a favorite Dutch dish?

Blane: I do love Dutch cheese. I could eat cheese just for dinner. No problem. And I love Dutch pancakes. But in terms of, like, a typical Dutch dinner, I would have to say it’s not typically Dutch. It’s Indonesian. It’s called a rijsttafel. And it goes back to when Indonesia was a Dutch colony, and the Dutch that colonized the region always wanted to show off with a lot of foods on the table. And so the chefs would prepare a bunch of different samples of all kinds of meats and vegetables and rice dishes. And that’s rijsttafel: [it] means rice table. And now it’s such an important part of the Dutch sort of big cultural heritage, because the Indonesian component of it that it’s now, I believe, on the like, protected cultural food designation.

So Indonesian restaurants are hugely popular in the Netherlands because we have so many people from Indonesia who are here now. So that’s another really delicious [option]. And it’s just a really kind of a cool thing. It’s not traditionally Indonesian, but now it’s kind of become a way to reflect that cultural heritage and that difficult past. So there’s a really interesting backstory to it.

Aislyn: Wow. All right. Well, I’ll seek that out too.

Blane: Yeah.

Aislyn: Well, speaking of culture, we’d love to close with Dutch culture in a couple of ways. One, what have you learned? You know, you live in a place, right? You kind of learn the customs, the mannerisms, how to befriend people within the community. So what have you learned about Dutch people in Amsterdam in particular? And then we’ve got to talk about bicycles. We can’t talk about Amsterdam without bicycling.

Blane: So I saw the bike helmet on your wall there. So we have to talk.

Aislyn: Yes, yes, yes, I’m a big cyclist, so.

Blane: By all means, by all means. OK. Well, yes, I mean Dutch culture. I mean, I could talk to you for hours about that. There’s a ton to learn. I think any immigrant, anyone living outside of their country of birth, will tell you that there is a lifelong education. I’m learning new things every day. Um, Dutch people generally are very direct. They’re very known for being direct. And that is something that takes some getting used to. And by the same token, they appreciate directness. So if you, for example as a visitor, you need the check, you know, you can flag a server down and say, I need to check, I’m ready.

Aislyn: For the check.

Blane: Um, you’re not going to offend anyone. It will not be probably brought to you unless you ask for it anyway. So the Dutch directness is something I think can be misinterpreted as being unfriendly, but that’s not the case at all. It’s just it’s a culture that prizes being direct, and that is something that kind of can take some getting used to.

I think also, I have to say that Dutch people, especially people living in Amsterdam, their English is outstanding. They don’t tend to dub English language movies. They tend to have subtitles. And I think you can really see that. And they learn English also very well in school. So you have Dutch people with just a remarkable command of English. It’s really amazing. It’s also very intimidating. Um, for anyone trying to speak English. I do tend to think that many, many English-speaking tourists, and I have to say a lot of people from the States tend to not even try to speak Dutch, and I think that’s a mistake. I think that even learning a couple of, a couple of words in Dutch, my Dutch is not anywhere near where it should be after my time living here, but I think it’s really important to learn at least a few key phrases: how to say thank you, how to say please, how to say to check. If you do that as a tourist, especially a tourist from the States, it’s going to really get you, I don’t know, some bonus points. It will earn you a new level of respect because Dutch people don’t expect you to speak any Dutch, but it is a really, I think it’s a really strong sign of respect and it’s just a nice gesture.

So I recommend that strongly say, like Dutch is not widely spoken in the world, it’s spoken in the Netherlands and a few countries, um, you know, Curacao and Aruba, um, and some, you know, some other Caribbean destinations. But if you can speak a few words of it, it’s going to earn you some points. And it is a really nice gesture of, hey, I’m a guest in your, in your, in your country. And I want to at least do you the favor of saying thank you in Dutch.

Aislyn: So finally, there is the terrifying Dutch cycling, which I’ve heard can be quite intimidating. So do you ride a bike and what do you recommend for travelers who want to engage in this but also survive cycling?

Blane: Yes. I mean, again, how much time do we have left? Uh, there’s so much I could talk to you about this because I love riding my bike here. I only have a bike. We don’t have, uh, a car. We haven’t had a car for five years. So coming from Berlin, which is a really strong bike culture in Germany, the Netherlands, which is even better. I didn’t think it could get much better, but. But it did. It’s great.

That said, it can be very intimidating to ride in the city center if you’re not familiar with the streets, with the laws around cycling, with the local customs, with how fast people ride, with the fact that you can see a Dutch person on their bike doing all manner of things, they can be holding groceries with one hand and their cell phone in the other, and have a kid in the front and a kid in the back and rolling a suitcase somehow. It’s really, they’re really amazing with their bikes. Um, even my dad, who doesn’t comment on anything in terms of a complimentary thing like he will, you know, he was like, wow, they really can get bikes here. So, um, it is impressive.

That said, it can be very intimidating for people who want to ride their bikes, but you know, may not be sure of where or how to ride. A couple of things on that front. You can absolutely ride a bike here in Amsterdam. I just wouldn’t recommend it if you don’t have some cycling experience. It’s not, this is not a place to learn to ride a two-wheeler. This is not a place to feel like I need to be less wobbly. You should have fairly confident skills on a bike if you want to do it.

Aislyn: So if you don’t know how to ride a bike or you’re feeling a little rusty, this is not the place to try to build some confidence.

Blane: This is not the place to, uh, shake off the cobwebs. Got it.

Aislyn: No.

Blane: I would say if you feel confident that you can ride and you feel like you want to do it, definitely do it. Just don’t do it in the city center, uh, in the middle of summer. Um, there are neighborhoods that are great for cycling. Uh, again, those places I recommended, Noord is great, Oost is great. Um, there are some places in in west and south, also there’s, there’s bike infrastructure all over the city and all over the suburbs. So you can rent a bike, I just don’t recommend riding in the city center, um, where it’s just a crush of people and, and cars and trams and, you know, there’s, there’s red lights for bikes. You have your own, you know, you have your own light at the traffic light, you know, for when it’s, when it’s, when it’s good to go. Um, and also another big factor for cyclists, for me, it takes me by surprise, too, is how close Dutch people come to you when they ride. Um, so at a stoplight, you know, somebody could literally be like, you know. Oh, hi. You know, like, you can smell someone’s breath, like, right there.

So it does take some getting used to, but it’s also great fun. So I recommend if you want to do it, just ride in the outskirts, ride in Oost, ride in Noord, get a bike and get on that ferry and get off in Noord and just start riding and see. See how far you go. You’ll probably hit a windmill or a cow within a few miles, which is really cool.

Aislyn: Hopefully not literally.

Blane: Yeah, hopefully not literally. You can also ride to different little towns. I mean, there’s a town called Abcoude and you can just hop on a bike there and it’s about, I think 17 kilometers, which is about what, 12 miles, something like that. So yeah, you can really get from one end of this country to the other on a bike and people do that as well. So, um, another option is a bike tour. You can actually book a cycling tour where you’ll have a guide. And again, if you have some cycling experience that’s highly recommended, um, but you’ll be in a group where you can go with a guide and they can kind of take you, take you around. So that’s really helpful.

Aislyn: We’ll link out to a couple of resources with some tips, but is there one or two pieces of advice or etiquette that you recommend like absolutely do not do this or absolutely do do this when you’re on a bike, in the outskirts.

Blane: Yes, again, how much time do we have? Um. Use your bell. If you’re passing someone, use your bell. Probably it will be someone passing you. But if you’re passing someone, use your bell signal when you turn. That can cause a lot of issues. It’s very simple. It’s not the old school stuff where you have, like, your hand like this, and your hand is just point to where you’re going. That’s it.

Aislyn: Literally just point.

Blane: Turning left, point left. If you’re turning right, like right, whichever hand you want to do just it’s an easy you can’t see. But it’s like an easy, like, just point like you’re riding, just indicate where you’re going. And they will also do that as well. So that’s a biggie.

If you are going up over a bridge and you don’t have enough speed, you can cause the person behind you like, you can then kind of like stop and the like, not good. So if you’re going up over a hill and you don’t have an e-bike, just make sure you have enough speed going up the hill. That’s another one. Ride single file, that’s another big one as well. Don’t ride with your travel mate. Hey. Hi. Look, here we are in the canals in Amsterdam. Look at us. We’re so cool. Look, you know, just ride single file and look where you’re going. Uh, you know, indicate where you’re going. Ring your bell. Last but not least, do not even think about talking on your phone or texting or doing a selfie stick when you’re on your bike, because that is against the law and you can get a ticket for it. Um, Dutch people do it because they can get away with it.

Aislyn: Tourists cannot.

Blane: So don’t do it. Don’t even be tempted to do it.

Aislyn: Don’t try to replicate. Yes. Juggling of the baby, the groceries, the suitcase, the phone.

Blane: You will not be able to do it. It will be a disaster for everyone involved. So don’t do it. Yes.

Aislyn: You don’t want to be that video on the internet.

Blane: No, you do not. And that’s, you know, it’s a thing you sometimes see, you know, tourists that are like on their bikes and they should not be on their bikes. And that’s not great. Nobody wants that. Uh, so, yeah, follow the rules. Kind of like see what everybody else is doing. Don’t ride too fast. And also I wear a helmet. Dutchies don’t, but I do. And I’m actually seeing more Dutch people actually wear it. I shouldn’t say they don’t. They generally don’t. But I am seeing more. More people, more Dutch people, more locals wear helmets because they can see what the risks are.

Aislyn: Yeah, that is good to know. Well, you know, I live in Sausalito, right along the big bike path in Marin, and we get the what I call the Tour de France wannabes, especially on the weekends. And so I feel like cycling here has prepared me very well for potentially what it might be like to cycle in Amsterdam, which I have not done.

Blane: Yes. One hot tip for, uh, tourists if you’re not on a bike. I tell this to everyone coming to visit family, friends, anyone. Watch out for the bikes because they will tend not to stop. Even if you are in one of those, you know, zebra crossings, the crosswalks, um, cars, cars will stop. Bikes tend not to. So watch also where you’re walking in the bike lanes. That’s a huge problem. Sometimes they’re not well designated, but they usually are in the city center. They tend not to be. There are certain sections where there are no bike lanes because they’re just very narrow streets. So you always, before you cross the street, always look over your shoulder to see if a bike is coming, always. And make sure you’re not walking in a bike lane, because it’s kind of like the tendency for tourists. It’s kind of like in, you know, in Times Square, like you’re kind of like looking around and you’re looking maybe you’re looking at your phone. So the no phone advice also applies when you’re walking around, you know, downtown during rush hour, um, which is the the morning rush for school kids, uh, families taking their children to school often on bikes and getting to work, often on bikes and rush hour in the evening, also coming home from school and then later in the evening. That’s kind of like the rush hour times when bike traffic is heaviest.

Aislyn: Great. No, that’s really good advice because that’s not the Dutch encounter that you want to know.

Blane: You do not want to go to a Dutch hospital because you got knocked over by a bike. That is not the trip that you want to have. Great healthcare, but you don’t want to experience it while you’re here.

Aislyn: I love it. Well, thank you so much for your time and all of your tips, and we’ll of course link out to your story in the show notes. So thank you, Blane.

Blane: Always a pleasure. Thanks for having me.

Aislyn: And that concludes our journey through Amsterdam’s lesser known corners with Blane Bachelor. In the show notes, you’ll find a link to Blane’s Afar.com story about Amsterdam, plus her recommendations for everything that she mentioned in this story, including those vintage canal boat tours. You can also follow Blane’s ongoing Dutch adventures and travel insights through her writing. We’ve included those details in the show notes.

Thank you so much for listening to Unpacked. I’m Aislyn Greene and until our next destination, keep exploring and remember to signal with your hand when cycling the Dutch way.

Ready for more unpacking? Visit Afar.com and be sure to follow us on Instagram and TikTok. We’re @AfarMedia. If you enjoyed today’s exploration, I hope you’ll come back for more great stories. Subscribing always makes that easy. And be sure to rate and review the show on your favorite podcast platforms. It helps other travelers find it.

And if you want to ask a question or suggest a topic for coverage, you can leave us a voicemail at the link in the show notes or email us at [email protected]. This has been Unpacked, a production of Afar Media; the podcast is produced by Aislyn Greene and Nikki Galteland. Music composition by Chris Colin. And remember, the travel world is complicated. We’re here to help you unpack it.