I feel like there are wasps absolutely everywhere in Amsterdam at the moment.

Almost every terrace I sit at, walking around the streets, different neighbourhoods… they’re just constantly around.

And I don’t think it’s just this summer either — I remember noticing the same thing last year.

Maybe I’m just paying more attention to them now, but it genuinely feels like Amsterdam has had a massive increase in wasps these past couple of years.

Curious to hear if others have noticed the same thing or have any idea what’s going on.

Last Sunday, a man and woman were double-parked (with blinkers) just down the road from where I live for several hours (regular residential street without shops). They appeared to be monitoring a laptop, which looked like it had an Excel spreadsheet open.

As they were causing some inconvenience to local traffic, I approached them to ask what they were doing. In curt fashion they told me to mind my own business. Their car was unfamiliar, unmarked, and they had the windows down. Given that there have been several break-ins in the neighbourhood over the past few weeks, I decided to take a photo of the car (This is previously how our neighbourhood whatsapp group identified & some fatbike smash and grabs. The police previously told us that it was useful). At that point, the driver became very aggressive, got out of the car and started getting into my face. The woman attempted to de-escalate and I walked away. They were still around for 2 hours after that.

Has anyone observed similar or does anyone know what they were measuring / counting / observing / scouting? There was no uniform, or label or anything on the car or the couple.

HGW vaart mee met rondvaartschipper Vincent Barel, die onderweg vertelt over zijn vak.

I've seen two of these in Amsterdam West now, another one more like a r or an L shape. Anyone know what they are? Some kind of art installation?

I was on a trip to Amsterdam and during a free time with a friend. We were on the metro at Centraal Station, and at that moment we were sitting when a group of Black guys in a tracksuit got on, looking at us and talking quietly they were standing in front of us. Later, one of the guys asked my friend if she spoke Dutch. She said no. if she spoke English. She said yes, and then he asked where we were from, we answered France

and then he said, "You're beautiful," pointing at me. I was so embarrassed, shocked, and shy because it was, let's say, the first time a random guy had ever said that to me. So I said thank you a shy thank you, which he probably didn't hear because later he came back and asked me if I knew what it meant. I said "yes yes" and he repeat that i'm beautiful. But I was so embarrassed I didn't dare look at him. I was looking through the window, but then I thought maybe he took it the wrong way.

So I wanted to tell him that it made me happy and that I still think about it today. I wanted to reply and compliment him because he was so handsome too, but my embarrassment was at its peak. And also, every time I think back to that moment. I was sad to leave Amsterdam like that now. 😂

I know I won't find him, but if he passes here. 🫡

I just want to tell this because it's been on my mind.

And I really like Amsterdam not for the guy 😂 but people are really nice.

Ik ben (V)35 jaar en heb sinds enkele jaren tinnitus. Wat begon met een ruis is nu uitgelopen tot een piep die erg storend aanwezig is. Ik heb vorig lente bij Beter Horen op maat gemaakte oordopjes laten maken, maar helaas lijkt hier gewoon schade doorheen te komen. Na sommige feestjes is er niks aan de hand, maar na andere feestjes is mijn piep duidelijk luider geworden en helaas is dit vanaf dat moment dan blijvend.

Ik heb me voorgenomen een stuk minder uit te gaan en ben dit jaar voor het eerst naar geen enkel festival gegaan. Maar ik mis het wel heel erg, mijn hele vriendengroep gaat wel gewoon lekker door en het is niet leuk om dan als enige geen onderdeel te zijn van de gezelligheid op festivals en feesten, naast dat ik het zelf ook gewoon leuk en bevrijdend vind om af en toe even lekker los te gaan op een feest/festival.

Daarom vraag ik me af of er Amsterdammers zijn die dit herkennen, maar mijn voornaamste vraag is eigenlijk of jullie weten of er verschil zit tussen de ene op maat gemaakte oordopjes en de andere op maat gemaakte oordopjes. Maak ik bijv meer kans op betere bescherming als ik op maat gemaakte oordopjes ergens anders laat maken, t.o.v. Beter Horen? Of maakt dit geen verschil? Ik heb nu elke keer angst voorafgaand aan een feestje, laat al een hoop schieten, maar zeker met verjaardagen die door vriendinnen of vrienden bij een feest worden gehouden merk ik dat ik daar toch graag bij wil zijn. Daarnaast is elke keer een verergering van mijn tinnitus het absoluut niet waard, dus voordat ik wederom investeer in dure op maat gemaakte oordoppen ben ik benieuwd te horen of hierin dus echt kwaliteitsverschil kan zitten, en het dus de moeite waard is om ze nogmaals elders te laten maken.

Ik ben benieuwd of jullie ervaringen hebben met op maat gemaakte oordopjes voor tinnitus en zo ja, van welke winkel. :)

Hello! Does anyone have feedback in this job market (hardware), in Amsterdam?

Background: I'm a soon-to-graduate PhD student in biomedical hardware and have made dozens of contracts (equivalent of 3-4 years of experience) as a freelancer, mostly in the field of wearables and sensors. I even freaking built stuff for ESA, and on another level, helped startups in the field of hardware secure funding.

My experience is PCB design, assembly, developing new sensors, building test rigs, data acquisition, ADC, WiFi, Bluetooth, CAD. I'm a Swiss knife, I like to imagine myself as the perfect candidate for startups. But maybe I'm delulu 🤣

I started applying to jobs near Amsterdam and Delft, since I live in the Randstad. I'm a EU citizen.

In 3 weeks of applying I got 2 interviews, and a dozen ("CV downloaded" through LinkedIn).

Anyone in a similar situation? What's the outlook, specifically in this field?

Hello my fellow Amsterdammers. I have a bunch of books that I had to buy for uni and I'm wondering if there's an easy way to get rid of them all at once, preferably while making back some of the cost of buying. Putting them up for sale individually feels like a big task. Any tips are much appreciated!

Update with another emergency admission (7-9-26) below

I hope this kind of post is allowed. I live in Amsterdam with my cat Cosmo, who has been my companion for ten years. After two emergency admissions at Medisch Centrum voor Dieren, I’m asking for help with his veterinary costs.

Last week, Cosmo suddenly became very quiet, stopped eating normally, hid and appeared to be in severe pain. He began screaming, moving strangely and occasionally limping with his right hind leg.

I took him to the emergency hospital, where he was examined and kept overnight. After returning home, he seemed almost normal for around 24 hours. Then he suddenly deteriorated again—screaming, panicking, hiding and limping. Gabapentin did not help enough, so I had to take him back to the hospital urgently. He remained there for several more nights.

The vets performed blood and urine tests, X-rays, an abdominal ultrasound, heart and circulation checks and neurological examinations. Because no clear cause was found, they also performed an MRI of his brain under anaesthesia and collected spinal fluid.

The initial MRI review thankfully showed no tumour or obvious abnormality. However, I am still waiting for the detailed assessment by the radiologists and the laboratory results from his spinal fluid. There is currently no definitive diagnosis.

Cosmo is home again for now. He receives Phenoral for possible epileptic or neurological seizures and buprenorphine for pain. I am monitoring him closely, but further neurological appointments and treatment will follow.

The bills received so far total exactly €6,619.43, and I am already unable to pay the full outstanding amount. I have pet insurance with Univé, but if my claim is accepted, it will hopefully cover only 80% of a maximum €2,500 of the bill. Most of the current and future costs will remain my responsibility.

For transparency, I have uploaded the original veterinary bills here. Only my private information has been removed:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kxfNp2471DGkp1RwJlZyyYSfyNJ4G3aE?usp=share_link

I work as a freelancer in the creative field, and these unexpected costs have put me in a very difficult financial situation. Still, getting Cosmo the care he needs is the most important thing to me.

The full story, GoFundMe and all medical updates can be found here:

https://gofund.me/ef0aa8fdb

I’m happy to answer questions or provide further verification by DM. Since Cosmo is currently home, I’m also willing to video-call and show that he is here with me.

Any donation or share would help us enormously. Thank you for reading. ❤️

UPDATE 8-9-26

Update on Cosmo: back at the emergency hospital last night

Dear Amsterdam strangers,
Unfortunately, another update I was hoping I wouldn’t have to write: Cosmo had to go back to the emergency vet again last night.
He had been very quiet throughout the evening — noticeably quieter than during the previous 48 hours since coming home. He barely wanted to move and seemed almost “planted” in place, even when eating. Later his right hind leg started looking abnormal again, which is something I’ve repeatedly noticed around his previous attacks.
Then the situation escalated: he got up, started moving much faster, appeared to limp with the right hind leg, and shortly afterwards began growling/crying out again as if he was in pain. He went directly into his transport bag, and I brought him straight back to the Medisch Centrum voor Dieren.
A strange bit of luck is that before he came home on Saturday I bought a pet camera, mainly so I could monitor him whenever I needed to leave the house. It ended up capturing almost the entire progression of the episode, including the period beforehand when his behaviour and movement already started changing.
I’ve sent all of the footage to the hospital. Because his case is still unexplained and by now several departments have been involved, the hospital has decided to discuss Cosmo together in a multidisciplinary meeting with neurology, orthopaedics and internal medicine. I haven’t heard the outcome yet. I came home at around 2 a.m., so for now I’m waiting again and keeping everything crossed.
If there happens to be a vet, veterinary neurologist, orthopaedic vet or anyone with relevant professional experience reading this and you would like to see the videos, please message me. I obviously know Reddit cannot diagnose my cat, but at this point any observation that gives the specialists another clue could potentially be useful.
I’m extremely grateful again for how many of you have been following, helping, donating, sharing, or simply asking how he is doing. I genuinely never expected this much care from strangers.
Hopefully the next update contains some actual answers.
Love,
Marco & Cosmo ❤️

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I just moved to Amsterdam this week and I would like to act in open mics. I am a singer-songwriter from Panama, I write my music in spanish. But I am looking forward to also meet musicians and songwriters!!!!!

Hi everyone,

I'm a creative who moved from Berlin to Amsterdam about a year ago. Now that I've settled in, I'm looking for a space to use as my creative atelier. Somewhere to make music, create and frame artwork, and work on various craft projects.

My company is registered in Germany and can't be moved to the Netherlands, I just live here privately because of my partner. So I can't go through the subsidized artist-registration system. I'm not planning to make money from this space, just to be creative and try things out.

I'm looking for something simple industrial and rough is totally fine, nothing fancy needed. It could be unused storage, or even a barn. All I really need is power. I can bring my own satellite internet, so I'm not dependent on the space having anything set up already. The one thing that matters to me is heating for the winter, whether that's built in or I'm allowed to use an electric heater in the space.

To be clear — I'm not looking for an office. This is a hands-on creative/work space.

What I do there:

• Photography (non-commercial — personal, artistic portrait work for exhibitions)
• Painting
• Printing and framing my artwork
• Film music
• Digital concepts and design work
• Designing prototypes and restoring furniture
• Making jewelry

A quick note: I'm a calm, introverted person — I don't make much noise, and I don't work with dangerous fumes or open flames.

I just need enough room for a desk, a workbench, a large table for framing, and a small chill-out corner.

Does anyone know of anything around Amsterdam? It doesn't need to be central — I'm happy to go 20–30 minutes by bike outside the city center.

The hard facts:

• Private space (not shared)
• If not in a building with more units a private entrance would be great.
• Size: 20–30 sqm
• Minimum 1-year term. I'd like to settle in and build a routine there.

Open to any suggestions, thanks so much!

**⚠️ Anyone around Amstel/Wagenstraat tonight — please read**

This happened **tonight (6 September) around 22:30–22:35**, at the corner of **Amstel and Wagenstraat**.

Two men in a small, older white car appeared to deliberately drive toward a local cyclist. Shortly afterwards, they threw eggs at my girlfriend. Luckily, they missed her and the eggs only smashed on the brick pavement.

They were **laughing in our face while doing it** and then sped away.

The car had a **clearly visible licence plate**, and there are public cameras around the area which may have captured the whole thing.

We're tourists and won't be around long, so **if anyone local knows who to contact or can report this to the police, please do so**. The licence plate and CCTV footage should hopefully give them something to work with.

If you witnessed this around **22:30–22:35 at Amstel/Wagenstraat**, or recognize the car/people involved, please comment..

Honestly, this wasn't some harmless prank — deliberately driving at a cyclist and throwing things at pedestrians is dangerous.

Raw. Weird. Unfiltered. Amsterdam before the city changed forever. Filmed on location at Amsterdam Centraal, Damrak, de Jordaan.

Bonus if you’re a Kaaskoppen, as I too am a Cheese Head (of the Packer variety). :)

And if anyone recommends a good bar, please let me know.

Thanks and Go Pack Go!

I’m in West, so I usually go to the Kinkerstraat market, but I find the selection there a bit limited.

Where do you go for really good, fresh fish with a decent variety? Happy to cycle a bit if it’s worth it — looking more for a proper fishmonger/market stall than just supermarket fish.

Any favourites?

If you are not home for a delivery and UPS uses Tabeya in Spaarndammerbuurt as a pick up place, you are screwed.

I looked at reviews and it's not just me this has happened to. They are not open at their posted open times, the phone number doesn't work and there is no email address.

To add to the fun, UPS claims submission form is not working. So the gift I ordered is just gone. Very frustrating.

Pakhuis Wilhelmina’s Biënnale 2026

- 96 open ateliers -

Tijdens de 3e Biënnale opent Pakhuis Wilhelmina op 12 en 13 september haar deuren voor publiek. Ontdek een 134 jaar oud pakhuis met open ateliers van kunstenaars, ontwerpers, architecten, fotografen, musici en andere makers. Dwaal door het gebouw en bezoek exposities, workshops, filmscreenings, pop-up shops en muzikale verrassingen. 

Locatie: Veemkade 580, Amsterdam.

za 12 & zo 13 september

12:00-18:00 

Wees welkom!

www.pakhuiswilhelmina.nl/info

Please no comments on how I won’t be able to afford anything or for me to look outside the city. I’m genuinely looking for advice to buy the place I can afford in the city I love.

On my way home from work I saw a fairly large film crew shooting a movie scene in the parking lot of Het Breed near Buikslotermeerplein. Does anyone have any info on what it might be?

To all musician in the city, does anybody knows if there is a shop in Amsterdam where i can bring my MPC ONE sampler to repair and offer this kind of service specifically for electronicy music instruments? Thanks in advance!