Photography: ABC Arken
The boulevard of floating dreams
In the seventies a group of young eccentrics sailed to a canal in Amsterdam. A collection of rebels, consisting of artists, architects, writers, sailors and the occasional pirate, moored their sailers alongside the Nieuwendammerkade. A vibrant community was born. Now, almost 40 years later, it is still as vibrant as the heydays but the old sailing boats vanished as well as the lonesome pirate. Still a community of creativity, it envelops urban professionals with young children who all live and build their floating dream. Along side the Nieuwendammerkade the old type sailers, like the Schooner, Tjalk and Clipper, have been replaced by their owners by state of the art houseboats. The custom made modern houseboat is a way of life and a unique sight in The Netherlands. Yvonne and Henk, first arrivals in the heydays, invite you to enjoy this way of living in their Bed and Breakfast Noorderlicht.
Amsterdam
Located near a green parc
Amsterdam
Located near a green parc
The houseboat Noorderlicht is located on a canal at the green park ‘Vliegenbos’ on the north side of Amsterdam. Just ten minutes walk from us, there is a former sea dike with traditional seventeenth and eighteenth century wooden houses, typical for this area north of the river IJ. They are known as "the captain houses" because a lot of captains of the big cargo vessels of the Golden Age (17th century) bought themselves a luxurious house along the sea dike. The age when the Netherlands (Holland) was the ruling nation of the world. The same era when our most important painters, like Rembrandt, were abound.
Amsterdam North is just around the corner of the city centre of
Amsterdam with all her famous canals and trading houses dating back to
the Golden Age. Bicycles are the way to move around and are easy to rent in our area. Only for a few euros a day. By bicycle it’s a 12 minute drive to the ferry to the city centre. The public transport will take ten minutes. Our bus stop is a beautiful ten minute walk through the heart of the green park or you can take a small detour over the sea dike with all the traditional houses. Click on the pictures for more information.
About us
About us
YVONNE
HOSTESS
Yvonne lived on the canal since the beginning in the late seventies. Yvonne has been living on the water on the same spot but in three different ships and boats for the last 30 years and more to come. Yvonne raised two children, Dennis and Laura, hence the name of the rooms. When the last became of age and left their home they decided to invite others, like you, to live in their house boat.