In Amsterdam for Mobilism!

Posted on by Ms. Jen

View of Singel Straat & Canal from the window of Brasserie Luden
Stephen Hay, Brian Rieger, and Lyza Gardner View of Amsterdam from the top floor of Felix Meritis Descending the stairs at Felix Meritis Stephanie and Jessica on the boat Brian and Antony Mobilism Speakers Dinner on a canal boat Jared leaning out to take photos Lovely clock tower Big lovely modern buidling near the cruise ship docks Luke at the fabulously over the top lounge in the hotel
Web 05.11.11 – Photos in Amsterdam by Ms. Jen taken with her Nokia N8. I arrived in Amsterdam at 9:30am after not sleeping on the plane at all, so the first day before Mobilism was spent in a fun jet lag / sleep deprivation haze. After a small nap at the hotel, I took myself off to Brasserie Luden for lunch, then I walked down the canals through the western canal district of Amsterdam. Around 4pm, I found Brian Rieger and joined him, Stephen Hay, Stephanie Rieger, Lyza Gardener, and Peter-Paul Koch (PPK) at the cafe of Felix Meritis.
The evening was a fun speaker dinner boat cruise of the canals of Amsterdam as well as the Ij and Amstel rivers. It was lovely to see Amsterdam from the water and to be able to socialize leisurely with other mobile folk. The best part is we went by the big cruise ship docks to pick up Steve Souder and Andrea Trasatti half way through the cruise. While others went off after 11pm to get a drink and talk some more, the wall of NO SLEEP hit me hard and I went off to bed.
Great first day of Pre-Mobilism in Amsterdam.

As a side note and personal note, Amsterdam is a much cleaner (no dog poop hopscotch), upscale, and less seedy city from when I lived here in 1992. I spoke to several A’dam natives who were at the speaker’s boat dinner and they said that the squats are mostly gone, as are the addicts living under the bridges, dealers & pimps are off the streets, and the red light district has been reduced in size. On top of all of that, many of the previous drug/seedy neighborhoods have gentrified. Visalis told me several amusing stories of former squatters he knew back in the 80s & early 90s who were able to buy their buildings for cheap in the 90s and sell for over a million euros a few years ago.
Amsterdam was always a city with good bones, now it is a beautiful city.