There are shrimp in our meatballs. And no, the chef didn’t make a mistake. The traditional Jordaan meatball, or Jordanese gehaktbal, combines minced meat with small Dutch North Sea shrimp. Today, when shrimp are more likely to appear in a seafood restaurant than inside a meatball, it sounds like an unusual culinary experiment. In the […]

Every City Has Its Story Ask an Amsterdammer how the city began and you’ll probably get two different answers. One comes from historians. The other involves two stranded sailors, a loyal dog and a stretch of muddy land somewhere along the Amstel. As with many good Amsterdam stories, there’s room for both. According to the […]

Before Hotels, There Were Inns Long before Amsterdam became a city of boutique hotels, canal cruises and carefully planned weekend trips, travellers arrived with much simpler expectations. After days on the road or weeks at sea, most people were looking for the same three things: a warm meal, a safe place to sleep and a […]

A City That Gathered Around Beer Ask people what drink belongs to Amsterdam and most will probably mention coffee. It is easy to understand why. The city is full of cafés, terraces and coffee bars where conversations begin, plans are made and afternoons disappear a little faster than expected. A few centuries ago, however, Amsterdam […]

A Neighbourhood Built on Togetherness Today, the Jordaan is one of Amsterdam’s most beloved neighbourhoods. Visitors wander through its narrow streets, stop for coffee along the canals and admire the historic houses that seem to lean gently towards one another. It feels cosy, welcoming and full of character. But the Jordaan was never designed to […]

The Men Who Printed More Than Books When people talk about the history of Amsterdam, they usually talk about merchants. About ships returning from distant ports, warehouses filled with spices and traders building grand houses along the canals. And fair enough. Trade helped shape the city we know today. But Amsterdam was built by more […]