Stay here for a true Dutch experience, in a top-floor apartment in an exceptionally quiet, centrally located, beautiful neighborhood. The renovations that Kirsten and her partner have accomplished are beautiful, and pay tribute the the original building with exposed brick, restored beams, and careful attention to safety up the 56 steps to the top. The location of this apartment is outstanding, for the tram is just outside the door, and the gorgeous Vondel Park is a three-minute walk. We utilized the small kitchen for preparing simple breakfasts and reheating restaurant leftovers, but otherwise used Kirsten's FANTASTIC list of recommended restaurants (De Kas, The Eye Film Museum restaurant, and Tomo are favorites). As a bonafide coffee snob, I was thrilled to find De Koffie Salon (which opens at 7am, unusually early for Amsterdam) just a 10 minute walk from home. One restaurant for Kirsten's list is the Rijks Restaurant, adjacent to the Rijksmuseum. We arrived at the Rijksmuseum at 9am (when it opens) on Friday and again on Monday to have The Night Watch to ourselves. After a few hours of studying masterworks, we walked to the Rijks Restaurant and reveled under the umbrellas with the outstanding flavors and slow pace of the exquisitely designed and prepared plates. Not cheap by any means, but worth every penny.
The weather was record-breakingly warm in Amsterdam this last week; we had worried that the third-level apartment would be too hot, but with the windows open on either side of the room, the cross draft provided expedient and super-effective cooling! The bed is so comfortable (I mean REALLY comfortable) and Kirsten will provide you very nice and cozy sets of bath towels. We rented bikes at a nearby hotel for the week and biked EVERYWHERE, including 50k roundtrip to the Vinkeveese plassen (lake swimming) on the hottest day. We were so sad to leave, but will surely be back again next year!