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Discover Benelux | Amsterdam’s Museum Quarter | Culture & Attractions
Experience the capital by bike TEXT: ELLA PUT | PHOTOS: A-BIKE
What better way to explore Amsterdam, the Netherlands’ cycling capital, than by bike? Offering you a bicycle tour including coffee and free Wi-Fi, A-Bike is determined to give you the full Amsterdam experience. In 2014 Bert Hoving, A-Bike’s director, started the bicycle hire shop offering highservice and high-quality bikes. Hoving: “I just wanted to do that little bit extra. We offer participants free coffee, we sell t-shirts and our bikes are not too touristy looking.” From all over the world, people visit Abike. It is not just the tours that are a favourite, the bikes themselves are as well. One customer liked the A-Bike cycles so much, he had one made for him in his home country Canada. Situated next to the Vondelpark in Amsterdam, A-Bike is right at the heart of the
capital. It is the perfect start of your bike tour. Highlights such as the picturesque canals, the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum are just a stone’s throw away. If you want to discover the city on your own, A-Bike will make a map based on your itinerary requests. You can also choose to join one of the many three-hour tours with an experienced A-Bike guide. The guides speak multiple languages and know the city like the back of their hand. They can answer any question you have. Are you wondering how the Dutch social system works? They will tell you. Would you like to know where a famous Dutch football player lives? They will show you. Experience Amsterdam to the full thanks to Hoving and his team, and discover the best the Dutch capital has to offer. www.a-bike.eu
Amsterdam on ice TEXT: ELLA PUT | PHOTOS: ICE*AMSTERDAM
Grab your chance to skate on the same spot where Jaap Eden won the very first official World Allround Speed Skating Championships in 1893. With the special history, the winter atmosphere and the beautiful Rijksmuseum in the background, it is no wonder that the ice rink of Ice*Amsterdam is called the most amazing ice experience in Holland. After watching the impressive artworks by Dutch painters such as Van Gogh and Rembrandt, your next adventure in the Dutch
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capital will be right next door. From 21 November until 28 February the 1,500-squaremetre ice rink will adorn the Museumplein. It is the ultimate winter experience. Skate while being surrounded by festively lit trees, a restaurant with a traditional Dutch cuisine and a Christmas market, filled with stalls where you can make your own Christmas cards and buy gifts. Next to that, there is an open stage where anyone is welcome to read out a passage from a book, sing a song, recite poetry or perform a comedy sketch.
Ice-skating on the Museumplein has been a tradition for many years. According to one of the organisers of Ice*Amsterdam, Pim Pronk, the relaxed ambience contributes to the event’s yearly success: “People can come and skate whenever they want and pay afterwards. Everything is possible; you can arrange to play a game of curling or ice hockey and you can bring your own (speed) skates along. We are open every day of the week on weekdays until 10pm and during the weekend until 11pm. Everyone is welcome, it’s a treat for the whole family.” www.iceamsterdam.nl