Wednesday September 30, 2026
Good morning, Amsterdam. In today's edition: the first direct train service to Hamburg begins on Friday, homes next to the Fabel Friet queue lose over 11% of their value, and a Zeeburgereiland silo prepares to open as a cinema.
The activities listed below are just a curated sample of what’s going on in Amsterdam. Check out our completely redesigned events calendar here.
At a glance
🌦️ Weather: Hi 24°C / 75°F (1° cooler than yesterday) · Lo 19°C / 66°F · 13% chance of rain · wind S 17 km/h (9 knots)
🚲 Cycling: Dry until about 21:00, wet after that.
🌙 Sun & moon: Sunrise 07:39 · Sunset 19:20 · Waning Gibbous · Moonrise 20:21 · Golden hour 18:50 to 19:20
🌊 Outdoors: Air quality fair (AQI 27) · grass pollen low
💶 Markets: AEX 1,120 (+0.4%) · S&P 500 7,671 (-0.2%) · €1 = $1.14 · $1 = €0.88
Forty-year-old family leather brand Arma goes international: Kendall Jenner has worn jackets from Arma, a family firm near Amsterdam, and Selfridges and Le Bon Marché now stock it. The founder's two children took over two years ago and gave the brand a new look.
Ben G skateshop faces toughest times in 21 years: The owner of the Amsterdam skateshop Ben G says he has cut staff, rent and other costs to keep it open. Online sellers and brand flagship stores now take much of the trade that once came through the shop.
Direct trains from Amsterdam to Hamburg start on Friday 2 October: NS International ICE trains start running from Amsterdam to Hamburg and Bremen this Friday, with single fares to Hamburg from €33. The route will run until at least December 2027.
Homes closest to Fabel Friet queue lose 11.4% in value: A TU Delft researcher compared 6,233 home sales and found that prices fell once the TikTok queues grew in 2022. On Tuesday, residents took the city and the chip shop to court.
Zeeburgereiland silo becomes a cinema from November: The first of three former sewage treatment silos on Zeeburgereiland opens to the public after a two-year conversion. Rialto will run five screens there, alongside a café, a rooftop bar and offices.
Pad Thai counts as art at Zuid neighbourhood gallery: Proxy, a neighbourhood gallery on the Parnassusweg, marked its first year with performance art on Sunday afternoon. It was set up by the Hartwig museum, which opens across the street in 2028.
UvA programme bans laptops and phones in lectures: Students of one University of Amsterdam degree can no longer use laptops, phones or tablets in lectures. Staff say the ban is meant to improve concentration, and students are divided over it.
Old gasworks gatehouse and engineer's house to get new uses: The city has handed two listed buildings from the former Zuidergasfabriek in Amstelkwartier to Stadsherstel. Both will be restored, and the larger one is set to become a restaurant or café by the end of 2028.
Dieren Verwen Dag: build winter shelters for Vondelpark's animals: Children aged five to ten help Oscar make shelters and gather winter supplies for the park's animals, with fifteen places. 30 September, 15:00, OCCII. 📅 KIDS WORKSHOP
Het Amsterdamse Kinderboekenweekfestival for young readers: Amsterdam's festival for Kinderboekenweek, the Dutch children's book week, held at the public library in the afternoon. 30 September, 15:00, OBA. 📅 FESTIVAL / FAIR
Spelend lezen, playful reading for children from three: Playful reading for children from three in the open area of the IJburg library branch, a gentle first step into books. 30 September, 14:30, OBA IJburg - Open ruimte. 📅 STORY / READING
Cardboard jumping jacks with swinging limbs, for makers aged six: An hour of cutting cardboard and fixing split pins so the arms and legs swing, part of this year's Kinderboekenweek. 30 September, 15:00 - 16:00, De Kinderboekwinkel. 📅 KIDS WORKSHOP
Speelboscafé in Noorderpark's play woods: A cafe set by Noorderpark's play woods, a wooded patch of the park that's there for children to explore. 30 September, 13:00, Noorderpark. 📅 OUTDOOR / ACTIVE
Paint with other kids at a Diamantbuurt community centre: A painting club for children at Plan C, a community centre in the Diamantbuurt that's run by volunteers. 30 September, 15:30, Plan C. 📅 KIDS WORKSHOP
Klezmer, muziek in diaspora with the Amsterdam Klezmer Band: Six players mix traditional tunes from the Yiddish diaspora with their own compositions, just under two hours with an interval. 30 September, Theater De Landing. 📅 WORLD / FOLK
Free lunchtime concert in the Concertgebouw: Thirty free minutes of lunchtime music: Bach, Ravel, Kirchner and more. 30 September, 12:30 - 13:00, The Concertgebouw. 📅 DANCE / PERFORMANCE
Parra for Cuva brings the album Nacar to Paradiso: The German producer plays live in the main hall with new visuals, and Transparent Man opens the night. 30 September, 19:30, Paradiso. 📅 DANCE / PERFORMANCE
Tatar poetry over industrial bass: AIGEL live: A Berlin-based duo, banned in Russia since 2022 over its anti-war stance, sings in four languages over dark, bass-heavy electronics. 30 September, 19:30, Bitterzoet. 📅 DANCE / PERFORMANCE
Menu de Saison from the reed ensemble Calefax: The Dutch reed ensemble Calefax gives an evening concert in the hall on the IJ waterfront, with no programme details listed. 30 September, 20:15, Muziekgebouw. 📅 DANCE / PERFORMANCE
Marimba and vibraphone from Rachel Zhang's conservatory class: Conservatorium students play original compositions and arrangements for marimba and vibraphone as part of the TROMP Next Gen competition. 30 September, 19:30, Splendor. 📅 DANCE / PERFORMANCE
EU rules for AI builders, talked through over dinner: An AI expert and a legal lead host one shared table on EU regulation, and you pay for your own food and drinks. 30 September, 19:00, De Plantage. 📅 SEMINAR / TALK
Amsterdam Startup Pitch Competition: founders face investors live: Early-stage tech founders pitch live to investors and operators for feedback and visibility, three and a half hours in all. 30 September, 18:30, Nes 50. 📅 NETWORKING
Tailoring for women, with a champagne tasting alongside: Novem Studio's founder talks about tailoring for women, The Champagne Fox leads a tasting, and you can book made-to-measure consultations. 30 September, 18:15, Equals. 📅 TALKS / IDEAS
Lunch with founders and researchers at Science Park: A regular shared lunch on the Science Park startup campus, where deep tech founders, researchers and residents talk over a meal. 30 September, 12:30, Startup Village. 📅 NETWORKING
Bring your laptop to the library's seventh floor: Work next to other people on your own projects or admin, come and go as you like, and you don't need a library card. 30 September, 14:00, OBA Amsterdam Public Library. 📅 NETWORKING
True stories and soup on Mezrab's open stage: Anyone may tell a story, first come first served, and two late spots are kept for people who decide on the night. 30 September, 20:00 - 22:30, Mezrab. 📅 STORY / READING
De Nationale Avond van de Woordgrap, with a shredder for the worst: Michiel Eijsbouts and Victor Mastboom work through around two hundred puns, with an audience quiz and puns sent in by you. 30 September, 20:00, VU Griffioen theater, Kleine zaal. 📅 COMEDY
Melting, hardening, softening: the student mime piece Smelt: Theatre school students explore melting and solidifying through movement, directed by Boukje Schweigman, with music by Guy Corneille. 30 September, 17:00, Academie voor Theater en Dans. 📅 DANCE / PERFORMANCE
Patrick Radden Keefe on How to Tell a Story: The New Yorker journalist talks about reporting true crime, from Willem Holleeder and El Chapo to his book London Falling. 30 September, 20:00, De Balie. 📅 TALKS / IDEAS
September Quiz Night for teams in Noord: Maddy asks the questions across a mix of topics, and you play in teams at the Oedipus Craft Space in Noord. 30 September, 19:30, Oedipus Craft Space. 📅 GAMES / HOBBIES
Trainspotting at lunchtime, Danny Boyle's 1996 original: Ewan McGregor leads five addicts through 1990s Edinburgh to a soundtrack of Underworld, Iggy Pop, Blur and Pulp. 30 September, 12:00 - 13:33, LAB111. 📅 FILM
Sort finds from an old cesspit at the Museumweek Archeohotspot: Visitors sort sieve residue by hand, turning up pins, buttons, beads, seeds and small animal bones, included with a museum ticket. 30 September, 13.00 - 16.00, Allard Pierson. 📅 MUSEUM / EDUCATIONAL
Make Space for Change, a book launch by Kossmanndejong: Presentations and drinks for the new book, held at a restaurant run by people with a refugee background, looking over the IJ. 30 September, 15:00, A Beautiful Mess - Amsterdam. 📅 TALKS / IDEAS
Tea & Tears Bookclub reads Taiwan Travelogue: The Tea & Tears Bookclub meets at The Book Nook on Singel to discuss Yang Shuang-zi's International Booker-winning 'Taiwan Travelogue', with a drink and snacks included in your ticket. 30 September, 18:30, The Book Nook. 📅 TALKS / IDEAS
Five natural wines, with snacks between, in a Jordaan wine bar: A small-group tasting of natural and low-intervention wines, guided by the shop and organised by the social club The Social Corner. 30 September, 19:00, Rebel Wines. 📅 FOOD / MARKETS
Midweek Crisis Drinks for expats in Oud-West: Jacopo and Chiara reserve most of the bar for newcomers and long-term residents to meet, with drinks and snacks to buy. 30 September, 19:30, Café de Vos. 📅 NETWORKING
Het Debuut: Night of the Living Dead with Martin Koolhoven: Romero's 1968 zombie film is shown, then Koolhoven and director Michael Middelkoop talk about its influence, all in Dutch. 30 September, 19:30, Felix Meritis. 📅 FILM
Craft Club: three ceremonial cacaos, from bean to paste: Erik from Pure Kakaw serves three single-origin cacaos, compares their aroma and texture, and explains how they're processed and prepared. 30 September, 18:30 - 20:30, Stretch & Fold Café. 📅 TASTING
De Groene Kans, a garden gathering against food waste: Neighbours gather for a relaxed morning garden party, with the shared aim of keeping good food from going to waste. 30 September, 10:00 - 11:30, Atelier 77. 📅 VOLUNTEERING
Open klusdag at the Noorderhof neighbourhood workshop: A neighbourhood workshop opens for a day of DIY jobs, and it posts its current programme on its Facebook and Instagram pages. 30 September, 10:00, Buurtwerkplaats Noorderhof. 📅 VOLUNTEERING
Writers' Night Fall Edition, on writing for the screen: An evening for anyone with a screenplay, or half of one, sitting in a drawer, and it's free at the bookshop on Spui. 30 September, 18:30 - 20:30, The American Book Center. 📅 WORKSHOP
OBA Unplugged: an evening of games, painting and adventure: An evening at the library given over to games, painting and a bit of adventure, going by the programme's own title. 30 September, 19:00, OBA. 📅 GAMES / HOBBIES
Origami with Qusai, the September session: Qusai leads a late-afternoon paper-folding session at the library, one of a recurring series going by the September tag. 30 September, 16:00, OBA. 📅 WORKSHOP
Azart, the ship of fools, on screen at Arti: A documentary on August Dirks, who sailed an old fishing boat turned floating theatre for over thirty years, with Dutch subtitles. 30 September, 20:00, Arti et Amicitiae. 📅 FILM
Nel: This new Jordaan spot centers its menu around potatoes and wine. Guests will find a neighborhood table dedicated to the simple pairing.
Sushi Oodo: Newly open on the Utrechtsestraat, this Japanese spot serves omakase sushi. Visitors can pull up a seat for multi-course meals shaped by the chef.
Neni: Neni has opened a new restaurant inside the Kimpton De Witt hotel. The kitchen serves East Mediterranean cooking to guests in the central hotel setting.
Good to know
New on Dutch streaming: The Town (Netflix), The Equalizer (Prime Video), Made in Korea (Disney+), The Last Woodsmen (HBO Max)
New on the big screen: De Grote Sinterklaasfilm en de Vliegende Pieten arrives at 6 cinemas. Showtimes here.
Overheard on Reddit: A thread about the city installing new trash bins with recycling racks prompted commenters to debate whether the sturdier design will actually prevent people from tearing them open for cans, while others argued that the packaging industry should pay for them.
Today's supermarket deals: Ben & Jerry's Caramel Chew Chew (1+1 free) from Albert Heijn, Jumbo Gouda cheese slices (1+1 free) from Jumbo.
Did you know? Ajax’s old De Meer stadium disappeared into housing, but the new neighbourhood kept football memory alive with street names like Anfieldroad and Wembleylaan.
12 years ago today: On September 30th, 2014, ARTIS-Micropia opened, giving Amsterdam a museum devoted entirely to the invisible world of microbes.
Looking ahead – next week
The bigger things coming up in Amsterdam over the next seven days.
• PINT Bock Beer Festival · Friday 2 October, De Hallen Amsterdam
• Weekend of Science · Saturday 3 October to Sunday 4 October
• Chez Matisse: Masterpieces from Centre Pompidou at H'ART Museum · Saturday 3 October to Sunday 14 February, H'ART Museum
• NDSM Open · Saturday 3 October, NDSM TERREIN
• Afrovibes Performing Arts Festival · Thursday 1 October to Sunday 4 October, Various locations Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Haarlem
• Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra: Joe Hisaishi Film Music at Ziggo Dome · Friday 2 October to Sunday 4 October, Ziggo Dome
In case you missed it
Our three most clicked-on items from yesterday’s newsletter.
In tomorrow’s edition: An econometrics alumni gathering takes place at Vrije Universiteit, Bouke Jung defends a doctorate at Nikhef, and a career workshop runs at Stichting Malak.
Have a great Wednesday.
Running something in Amsterdam? Tell us about it and we will take a look.
Keep a light layer handy as the autumn chill settles in across the canals.
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