Massage Amsterdam after the NDSM wharf, its studios and the flea market halls
Written for visitorsAcross the water in Noord, the old NDSM shipyard has become a place of studios, street art and a vast monthly flea market. A visit means a ferry, a lot of walking on concrete and a cold wind off the IJ, and a massage in Amsterdam back on the south bank rounds off the afternoon.
The NDSM wharf built ships until the nineteen-eighties, and its great hall and slipways now hold artists' workshops, skate ramps, restaurants in containers and walls covered in painted murals. On flea-market weekends the stalls spread through the halls and out across the yard, selling everything from old bicycles to vintage coats. The ferry from behind Centraal crosses the river in a quarter of an hour, so the wharf is close in time, if not in feeling.
Concrete underfoot and wind off the IJ
Most of the wharf is open concrete, and it is hard on the feet in the way that old dockyards are. The hall is huge and unheated, the yard faces the water, and the wind on the river can be bitter even on a sunny day. Flea-market visitors spend hours bending over boxes, carrying bags and standing in narrow aisles between stalls. Street-art walkers cover a surprising distance along the waterfront. The market also means carrying things home: a lamp, a box of records, a coat over one arm. Bags cut into the shoulders on the walk back to the landing, and on a busy weekend the queue for the boat is long enough to make you wish for a seat. By the time the ferry takes you back, the city looks warm by comparison.
Booking a massage in Amsterdam before the crossing back
The ferry ride is short, so it is easier to write from a café at the wharf before you leave. Give the address where you are staying in the centre, the floor and the room, the length and the hour. Ask for enough time to drop the market finds in the room and take a shower. If you are staying in Noord itself, say so clearly in the first line, and the reply will tell you what can be arranged. The ferry lands behind Centraal, and from there most central hotels are a short walk or a couple of tram stops away.
Warm the room first
After a day at the water's edge, warmth is the first thing to sort out. Turn the heating up as you come in, shower, and let the room catch up while you wait. She brings towels and oil and needs nothing else. If you came back chilled, a line in the thread tells her so; body to body massage is often chosen on cold days for exactly that reason, and the journal post on the ferry to Noord describes the crossing itself.