Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Powered by the wind

SAIL 2010 brings the world's most beautiful tall ships and over 500 heritage ships right to the heart of Amsterdam. The city has also presented a lovely walking, biking and even a boating tour right through the heart of SAIL 2010 in the beautiful 'Eastern Docklands' area or Oostelijk Havengebied. This part of Amsterdam is renowned for its wonderful modern architecture and design and its hotspots situated in renovated warehouses. The Oostelijke Handelskade constitutes the heart of the area and has consisted of a chain of storehouses since the end of the 19th century, but Java Island and KNSM Island are most impressive for their modern architecture. From all sides, this is a beautiful part of town, especially from the water! The boating audio tour isn't available (yet) in English, but if you do speak Dutch, then we do recommend taking a trip on the canals with your own hired boat. On the Boat Rental page you'll find a complete list, but we are for obvious reasons a particular fan of sloepdelen; this "boatsharing" company provides electrically powered boats. All tours are available through the Tourist Information Offices and complimentary to the walking tour there is also an 'Oostenlijk Havengebied' audio tour.