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Just around the corner from my street there is the coolest little shop ever! Its a treasure trove for visiting geek mates, and nirvana for my nerdy little star wars mad nephew.

A Space Oddity is a tiny jam packed store on the Prinsengracht. It stocks all manner of odd, rare and totally cool comic, sci-fi, tv and movie collectable and toy!

The owner is very friendly and open to chat about the stock or requests you might have and they have an online store too that takes international orders.  Its been open for almost 20 years and from wandering round its tightly packed corners you’ll see why people just keep coming back.

]]> http://elfinamsterdam.com/2009/03/19/amsterdam-cool-a-space-oddity/feed/ 0 http://elfinamsterdam.com/2009/03/11/spring-has-sprung/ http://elfinamsterdam.com/2009/03/11/spring-has-sprung/#comments Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:36:40 +0000 elfinamsterdam http://elfinamsterdam.com/?p=202 What a wonderful day today.

It was a real pleasure to cycle to work this morning, and I promised myself that I will take a morning/day off and do my route to work with a camera soon. There are so many cool shots to be had in the morning bike rush, if I can get my hands on a decent camera I know I’ll make some of the photo-bloggers mouths water.

All topped of with plenty of stops along the way… I especially want to go back here for breakfast on that day!

(Of course this day off can be scheduled with anyone’s visit, just pick a weekday morning and bring nerves of corrugated iron, if not steel, and we will have a blast)

So imagine my delight when the sun was still shining at 5.30pm, I took this as a sign I was not to work late and quickly donned my very glamorous cycling gear (Trackie bottoms and a sweatshirt) and hit the streets to cycle home. It wasn’t as much fun as this morning, obviously people we no longer “sunshine happy” after a day at the office, and the good will and smiling of the morning commute had petered out.

All strains petered away as I cornered onto my street and heard the first Westerkerk Evening Carillon of 2009!

I haven’t heard it since October, at which point I did video it with the aim of sharing it here, but like many blog posts at the time it gathered dust.

So now I’d like to share this magical thing with you. It might be the memories of the notes flowing across the summer warmed canal that makes it so special to me but still I’d like to share.

To me it rings out in such a way that if you sit and listen you can imagine living here in another time, I think of all the historical figures that would have listened to its melodies, Anne Frank and Rembrandt van Rijn as examples.

Of course this is where the “beauty” of single glazed wood frame windows come into their own, it plays throughout my 3rd floor apartment, as if only for me

The Westerkerk stands pretty much at the top of my street (if you don’t count the Prinsengracht separating the two) and as I got off my bike and chained it up was beaming listening to the tune. I looked down toward the the end of the street and noted I wasn’t the only person enjoying it. Many of the patrons of one of the local bars, Cafe Chris were out with their beertjes listening too.

I quickly went upstairs and tried to capture it on my rubbish camera phone, so forgive the orientation of the video, and the sub par picture, but the sound really does work! Had to take it several times as it picked up every conversation had on the street.

Carillon Westerkerk from Elfinamsterdam on Vimeo.

And here is an inside view of what is going on when a carillon is played

And last but not least, a little clip of Tulips from Amsterdam, taken from the top of the Westertoren when it was being repaired in 2007.

I want to climb the tower soon, its 85 metres high  and was completed in 1638. In fact the local bar I mentioned earlier played a part in its construction, and was reputed not only to be the local bar of Rembrandt, who stopped there for a tipple or many on rout from his studio, but it was also used as the payroll office of the workers building the tower.

There is a unique gents restroom in the premises which I am happy to show you when we go for a beertje sometime!

See you there, hopefully the bells will be chiming!

In an area called the nine streets, the 9 straatjes in Dutch (post to follow on that) is a shop/cafe/design agency/boutique suite hotel called Miauw. Quite a tall order from one premises, but this place is pretty cool!

It began in Antwerp and then branched to Amsterdam, once it realised a very unique winning formula. Based over two buildings on Hartenstraat 36 it offers a very cool place to stay in one of the nicest areas to wander in Amsterdam (I.M.H.O)

From the look of the suites they are well furnished in the cool eclectic Dutch fashionista sense.  Ample sized and at not too steep a price* (€195 p/n) with kitchen and living area. Wifi, high spec tv and sexy bathrooms, it has it all for that cool weekend away. The addition of the cafe, and shop will make for a great first stop on your wander. Dutch style is kooky to say the least. Its a place where more individual = more stylish, and the clothes stores of the 9 streets really brings that to you.From a quick look around the Miauw shops tell me that the 9 streets style prevails here too.

The Project is a small design and advertising studio, again in the cool Dutch style of a little of everything, they market themselves as creating everything from commercials, music video’s and films to graphic design and art installations.
Worth a look if you want somewhere cool and individual for a self catering weekend in the heart of the city.

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So let me know if this tickles your fancy and I’ll find similar.
Of course I’ll be adding more so any requests, bars, restos, galleries, shops, hangouts, areas – let me know and I’ll hunt you down the best!