I first visited Amsterdam some years ago, with a group of friends, and promised myself a return to this wonderful city, so I was very excited to travel there again with my husband for an extended weekend.
What a great find - Lotte’s flat is not just a convenient flat, but clearly her home, which you feel as soon as you enter. One word of caution: Lotte’s place is a third floor flat with some steep staircases and no lift, so not for the faint-hearted or travellers with mobility issues.
If you are happy with stairs, you have the benefit of a peaceful oasis, even though you are on a main road, filled with beautiful plants, a cosy sofa, lots of hot water and a handbook filled with local information and suggestions. Lotte even has a shelf full of herbs, oils and other ingredients in case you want to eat in, and thoughtfully left us some cold drinks and a gift of stroopwaffels to welcome us. The photos are accurate, but don’t do justice to how pretty and homely the flat is.
Transport into the town centre is very easy, with two major tram lines passing directly outside the doors. Locally, there is a very well stocked supermarket, including two aisles of vegan/vegetarian staples if you like a plant-based diet. We were here for sight-seeing and ate out each day, but the flat has a big range cooker if you want to prepare your own food, or there are small bars and eateries nearby. We walked to Ben Cohen’s (Tel Aviv street food) and had a delicious dinner, also went for a quick drink and snacks at Cafe Fred. It is possible to walk into the centre of Amsterdam, and the local area around Lotte’s has lots to recommend; however we stuck to the excellent tram and bus services, as the weather was a bit unpredictable during our visit.
In terms of communication, Lotte sent lots of accurate information prior to our visit, and also checked in by WhatsApp to make sure we had arrived safely and had everything we needed.
Highly recommended, and we hope to come back very soon! Thanks, Lotte!