titus wong wrote:For all you nature lovers, I would appreciate any tips about trails or activities to do in Vondelpark
my vondelpark tour
suggesting a route for a tour of vondelpark is as silly as suggesting a route for the jordaan area ... both of these places are ripe for just meandering and finding one's own way around.
having said that, a preset route is useful for getting to know a place for the first time ... and then after that, one can take to just meandering.
the best map of the park that i have seen can be found at
http://project.waag.org/parq/vondelparkmap.htm ... my suggestion is to print it and bring it with you
as a simplified view i have made a maps.google.com 800x600 map for following the tour ... actual route finding, however, is better done with the big vondelpark map
the place to start the vondelpark tour is
leidseplein (labelled
0 in the bubble)
from leidseplein make your way to the gates for vondelpark and follow the path along past the
stayokay hostel and then under the road bridge until you reach the cycle ring road at the start of the park
follow the path to the right to the
filmmuseum (labelled
1) ... catch one of the old films or just have a coffee on the terrace
you may exit the park here to go to the coffeeshop
tweedy or visit the horse riding school
de hollandsche manege to have a coffee and perhaps observe a riding lesson
from the filmmuseum make your way to the
het blauwe theehuis (labelled
2) for a coffee or maybe a full meal ... the apple tart is good here imo
after being refreshed wander past the
openlucht theater (labelled
3) to get a fix on its location in case there is something interesting on during the time of your visit to amsterdam
follow the path past the openlucht theatre and bear right to get to the entrance near the tennis club ... exit here to go the coffeeshops
kashmir,
blue lagoon or
't tuintje
from the point at the edge of the park near the tennis club turn your body to the left until you see the
children's wading pool (labelled
4) ... have a gentle saunter past the pool and the crowds of kids, parents and grandparents ... this place always reminds me of the wading pool i loved as a kid in chicago in the 50s, so for me this is a nice time warp
carry on until you hit the path again and bearing right carry on along the path with the rose garden to your right ... just before the bridge there is a path which goes through some bushes/trees and then opens out into a lovely green area with the water to your left ... the rose garden will again be to your right ... btw this is a good area for a smoke ... also i once saw a pizza being delivered to someone in the park !!! ... wow ... smoke and pizza
continue walking on the grass and keep the water on your left-hand side ... just keep walking until you pass a bridge and then keep walking next to the water all the way to the end of the park (labelled
5) passing by some islands built for the ducks (note the little wooden ramps which the ducks use to get onto the island from the water) ... in the trees where the path comes out into an open green area are
green parrots ... no, really ... there are about a dozen or so green parrots which have escaped from somewhere and now live in these trees
this open green area by the water is another good place to have a smoke
after all this activity it is time for some more refreshment ... skip the cafe in the bottom-left corner of the park and walk along the main path by the green area until it joins with the main cycle ring road
continue walking until you come to the emmalaan exit from the park ... walk straight along emmalaan and past emmaplein until you get to the main road koninginneveg ... across the road on the right-hand corner is the
gelati spot (labelled
6), a small cafe with excellent coffee and pastries and real italian ice cream ... yummy
to finish the tour return along emmalaan back into the park and turn right along the cycle ring road ... wander along to the end of the park back to the place we were at the beginning of the tour ... as an optional extra take a few minutes to wander up to the statue of
joost van den vondel (labelled
7) the dutch writer and playwright
take the path which goes under the road bridge and past the stayokay hostel and make your way across the street back to
leidseplein (labelled
8), the point where the tour began ... of course there are a number of coffeeshops in the leidseplein area to end the day with a nice relaxing/chilling puff of something tasty
i hope you enjoy the park as much as i do ... and don't forget to meander a bit too
