Beautiful oud kerk in the heart of Joordan, Amsterdam. The Noordemarkt surrounds this building on…read moreSaturdays and Mondays at the time of this writing. This is also a huge community center. I've only been inside of here once, to receive a flu shot on a "flu shot" day my practitioner set up for everyone in their practice. I rolled through here at a sneller pace! Signage is very confusing, difficult to know which door to enter (even in Dutch), but it is a beautiful structure and I imagine how glorious it will be when things return to semi-normal again.

If you find yourself in the Jordaan on a Saturday afternoon, I highly, highly recommend two things…read more Of course you have to go to the Noordermarkt, an ecological outdoor market where they only sell top quality products. They are not cheap, but trust me, nowhere will you get better stuff nor more knowledgeable staff. Being allowed tp sell here is considered a huge honor for salespeople. If you like classical music, or if you want a rest, go to the Noorderkerk, a little gem of a church next to the market. Check out their website www.noorderkerk.nl\concerten for a schedule and tickets. Thiese events are largely run by volunteers and you can enjoy the beautiful, white serene atmosphere of what almost seems to be a small village church. The benches are a bit uncomfortable, hey, those Protestants don't believe in comfort, right? But after the hustle and bustle of the very touristy Jordaan, this is the best place to nurture your body and soul!

Jacob Obrechtkerk is a beautiful Catholic Church in the Museumquarter. It is often open so you can…read morego in to see it, pray or light a candle. It normally closes at 5pm during the week. I live opposite this church and am writing this review after experiencing a number of events with them. They seem to have a real heart in the community that worships there and an influence even on those that do not; there which is good to see. I've seen people queuing around the block to get into the candlelit St Matthew's Passion rendition, seen marching bands with small children parading with Easter eggs and crosses on Palm Sunday through the Vondelpark and events such as this today with the music festival. It is a real community church that is not just a building but has a real soul in the community - that likes to sing and dance :)

We caught mass here while on holiday. Thanks God they have English mass at 1800 on Sunday. They…read morealso have masses at 1900 on Saturday and Sunday morning on 1115 and 1300. Before the English mass they have confession. It just occurred to me that I should have gone to confession because there is .01% chance I'd ever see that priest again. Even though the whole mass was in English we still fell asleep. Not because it was boring but we were still jet lagged. The community was very welcoming! We missed the potluck social dinner by one week. Darn! Before or after mass, round the corner to go to the stroopwafel museum!!! The museum is lame but they have the most delicious freshly made stroopwafels!!!! We picked up a bogo coupon from a nearby liquor store. It was awesome. Oh yeah the church is awesome too (refer to picture). It's crazy how the church is just sandwiched in between houses on the block...but you can't miss it when you walk by! Unless you're high tailing it to the stroopwafels...

Beautiful Catholic Church with High Mass in Dutch. But, they also offer Sunday Mass in English,…read morewhich is great for visitors! Highly recommend this church if you are visiting Amsterdam and a Catholic (or, simply looking for Jesus).

The English Reformed Church is a Rijksmonument located in the center of Amsterdam near the Rokin…read moretrain station off the busy walking shopping street after you pass Zara. It is located inside the peaceful and quiet Het Begijnhof which is private property and is open from 9:30-18:00 (February-October) and 9:30-17:00 (November-January.) The homes in this area date from the 17th and 18th centuries. The black home is said to be one of the oldest homes in Amsterdam. The Begijens where single Catholic women who performed good deeds but did not to live in a convent and take vows. This was a Roman Catholic enclave in the predominantly Protestant Amsterdam for more than 200 years. There are still women (Begijnen or Beguines) living here. Major restoration was done in this area in 1987. Located across from the Beginhof Kapel (chapel), (the official hidden church because Roman Catholics were not allowed to openly practice their religion from 1578-1795), is the English Reformed Church. This is a Presbyterian congregation with ties to the Church of Scotland and the Protestant Church of the Netherlands. Worship is at 10:30 on Sundays. There is no scheduled opening hours for visitors. The original church was built in 1419 and was a place of worship for the Begijnen community but burned down in a fire in 1421. The current chapel was built towards the end of the 15th century and has been used for English-language worship since 1607. There is a plague on the exterior wall for the Pilgrim Fathers who first settled in Amsterdam before living in Leiden and prior to taking the journey to North America on The Mayflower. I also wanted to see in the back of the chancel the only stained glass window in the church which was gifted in 1920 by Mr. Edward Bok of the United States on the 300th anniversary of the departure of the Pilgrim Fathers from Leiden to the New World. This window signifies the presence of the Pilgrim Fathers who had previously lived in Amsterdam. I believe I will have to attend a service to see the window. www.erc.amsterdam

This place surprised my because I didn't actually expect there to be an English speaking church in…read moreAmsterdam that dated back to the 17th Century, but it turned out that this one did. The thing is that most of the English churches that exist on the continent I was under the impression were plants either from England or the United States and simply served expats, and also were established sometime in the late twentieth century. However, it turned out that this was not the case as this church has been operational, as an English speaking church, for centuries. There is actually quite a lot of history to this place, and they are more than happy to share it with you. In fact the Catholic church that this building used to house ended up moving across the road, and it is in existence to this day. I also found that the congregation were also really friendly, and the church is also open for tourist to wander around inside, though not when there is a service in progress (though they are more than happen for you to join in).

This is the biggest church in Holland and right next to the hotel we were staying at. After walking…read moreby it multiple times, we decided to stop by and am glad we did. It was built in the early 1600's and is stunning both inside and out. Sadly the observation deck was closed when we were there. And cool factoid for you...Rembrandt was buried here.

Beautiful exterior. Mediocre interior. Intended to stay for free concert but one of the attendants…read morehassled us regarding donations for the coffee and tea. He hovered and swooped in twice to ask if we paid. My buddy inadvertently paid extra but the guy was still insistent on ensuring we paid. Not a welcoming approach