Today’s post is going to be a simple one… Similarly simple in nature to how we spent our 3rd evening in Amsterdam after exerting so much energy during Mike’s Bike Tour around the countryside. Post-tour, Charles and I rented a pair of bikes for 24 hours and played follow the leader around the Dam. Sometimes Charles would take the lead, sometimes I would. Either way, we rode our bikes aimlessly following each other around the city with no direction, purposely trying to get lost…
Our friend, Ali, who lives in Amsterdam, had sent us a list of places to see and eat at during our 4 day stay in the city. On that list was a recommendation to take the free ferry from Amsterdam’s city centre across the Het Ij river to North Amsterdam (also known as Noord) and grab some food at a pebble beach side restaurant named Plek.
So after cruising around the city for a couple hours, Charles and I made our way to Amsterdam Centraal where we hopped off our bikes and walked them over to the Ferry Port. After a couple minutes waiting, our ferry arrived to transport us to the NDSM Wharf.
^^ The red dotted line “NDSM Werfveer” was our ferry route. Image via
15 minutes later, we loaded off of the ferry and hopped on our bikes to explore the Noord. We rode around until we found Plek, which is located about a 5 minute bike ride away from the ferry drop off. Since we weren’t quite hungry yet, we decided to come back to Plek later and try to find the jut with seats over looking the river that we had spotted while riding the ferry over.
It took us about 10 minutes before we found it and boy am I so glad we did. Considering the fact that I went from not riding a bike in over 10 years to riding around for almost 8 hours in one day, it felt so nice to prop up our bikes and just sit and enjoy the breeze that blew over from the river while watching the boats and cruises sail by. My thighs (and groin area) definitely needed that little break haha.
^^ There’s Plek in the background.
^^ Amsterdam’s city centre across the river
After an hour or so of taking in the wonderfully overcast day, our stomachs were starting to growl. So we hopped on our bikes and took the path back to Plek. The super cool thing about Plek is that it is made out of old cargo storage containers. After walking through the interior of the place in awe of its recycled transformation, we found a seat at a picnic table outside, ordered a couple appetizers (which were banging) and people watched while sipping some cold brews. This was one of those moments where no conversation was needed. Charles and I sat in comfortable silence, listening the DJ’s tunes and enjoying the super chill scene.
As dusk approached, we paid the tab and made our to the bike rack to grab our cycles and take the ferry back across the river. Back in Amsterdam’s city centre, Charles and I played follow the leader again and eventually found ourselves at this supercool bridge that seemed like a good place to perch and watch the sunset over the city. A perfect sunset to close out a perfect day in the Dam…
While watching the sunset, we reminded to each other to thank Ali for his recommendation. If not for his list, we would’ve never thought to take the ferry over to Noord.North Amsterdam is a much calmer scene, where alot of modern residential units and re-purposed warehouses are situated i.e. not alot of tourists around. It’s kind of like the suburbs to Amsterdam’s main city area. If you’re ever in Amsterdam, Charles and I co-sign with Ali’s recommendation that you go off the tourist-y path and take a ferry from Amsterdam Centraal to Noord. We truly enjoyed our visit and only wish we had time to explore this area a bit more.
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