Ifly Tv - Little secrets of Amsterdam

Living in Amsterdam offers the possibilities of a world city... with a village atmosphere. My name is Ruben Bunder. I own an art gallery. I’m also a chef. I’ll show you my favourite spots in Amsterdam. We are standing on the tower of the Zuiderkerk church. I grew up in this neighbourhood. It's my childhood home. I live some hundred metres down that way. Hey Mum, can you come out and wave one more time? There is my mother waving and calling out. Amsterdam is built around the canals. We are now within the first canal, the oldest part of the city. The thing that binds me to this city is the fact... that I know every inch, every stone here. Or so I’d like to think. But after 25 years, I’m still discovering new things. It’s never boring here. And the city is magnificent. We are now standing on Nieuwmarkt Square, the centre of the Nieuwmarkt district. This is a very old neighbourhood of Amsterdam. Just look at the houses here. This is truly a central area. I’m going to have my first coffee of the day. Latei is around the corner here. That’s where I like to drink coffee most. This is the best coffee in Amsterdam. They also have sandwiches and delicious fruit juices. The fun part is: everything you see here is for sale. This vase, table and chair. And all the lamps on the ceiling. Everything is for sale. Thanks to its diversity, this is a beautiful part of Amsterdam. There are many shops. Clothes shops, coffee bars, sandwich shops. This is also Chinatown. There is always something fun going on in this neighbourhood. I drink coffee here. But if you prefer something stronger, such as jenever... you will find the best jenever bar in Amsterdam right around the corner. This jenever bar is called In de Olofspoort... and is located in one of the oldest buildings of the city. They have more than sixty kinds of jenever here. Drinking a really traditional Dutch drink in a building like this... definitely has its charm. The surroundings really speak to the imagination. It’s a bar where nothing seems to have changed for 400 years. Well, they installed electricity. This is a public courtyard. There are around ten of these. That is, there are more courtyards, but only ten are open to the public. You can just walk in here and enjoy the silence. You won’t hear any trams, traffic or other noise here. Entering a courtyard like this is like travelling back in time. This old steam engine factory has been converted to a cultural centre. It’s now used for theatre plays and exhibitions. There is a lovely restaurant, a café and a kind of supermarket. There is also a city beach. Great fun. This is how I want to spend my summer. From the water, Amsterdam is even prettier than walking on the streets. There are different possibilities, such as this tour. Or you can hire a boat yourself, if you know how to sail. We are on our way to a restaurant. After a short boat ride we will eat. The REM Island is the former island of a TV pirate station... which was active for a month. Afterwards, it rusted in the North Sea for forty years. They dismantled the island and rebuilt it back in Amsterdam. There is a relaxed atmosphere in this restaurant with a French kitchen. The food is delicious and not too expensive. The view is wonderful. After eating, we'll go to Club Trouw, in my opinion the best club in Amsterdam... which is based in a building where they were making a newspaper until ten years ago. The building was empty for a few years. Now there’s a night club here. It’s large and has a rough appearance, just like the REM island. During the Amsterdam Dance Event in October... Club Trouw hosts all the big names. I can truly recommend it. Take a week to truly get to know Amsterdam. Not just one or two days. Come to the city and enjoy. I’m going out now. Maybe I’ll run into you at Trouw. Until then!