I stumbled upon the book market in Spui while walking back to my host, Merijn's place. Spent more than a hour walking and browsing through the stalls. The stalls have some really interesting stuffs, other than books. There are lots of old and obscure books. Most of the books are in Dutch so it was good as I would be tempted to buy them if they are in English. :) Wanted to get some old posters but decided against it as I don't have a proper case for them and this was just my first destination of my trip. I don't want to carry them all over only to get them crumpled and/or torn. There are also some very nice old wooden/metal signage from the 1960s and 1970s which would make very nice home deco items. Again, had to resist my urge to buy them due to my already heavy luggage. :(
For me, it is so refreshing to see people being (still) so passionate about books in this electronic age. Although I bought a Kindle 2 years ago, I still prefer to read actual physical books. Reading is still very much a pastime that many in Europe engaged in. All of my CS hosts have at least 1 shelf filled with books. In fact, a few of them have wall-to-wall shelves that are lined with books of at least 2 different languages!
My 2nd host, Amy, lives near Albert Cuymarkt so she took me there after I reached her place. It was like a mixture of 'pasar pagi' and farmers' market. Lots of stores selling clothes & accessories, cheese, fresh produces, flowers, traditional Dutch food, etc. The weather was good, so the place was pretty crowded. Again, I didn't buy anything. Just browsing and taking in the sights, sounds and smells.
After Albert Cuypmarkt, we went to the flower market. We took a slow walk there, since you can practically walk to anywhere within Amsterdam city. The stores there are selling lots of seeds, seedlings and grown plants. Lots of tulips and other types of flowers which as a non-flower person I don't really recognize much less name them, but they sure are very nice to look at. :)
The local organic market was also another pleasant place I stumbled upon while wandering around Amsterdam. It was a small market with just a few stalls selling fresh agriculture produces and a few more selling snacks and drinks.
Really love visiting these open-air markets.. ^.^
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