The Free Ferry and the Wind in Noord

It is one of the pleasures of a first visit: walking out behind the central station, onto a ferry that costs nothing, and crossing the wide grey water of the IJ to the north bank in a few minutes. Cyclists roll on and off, commuters stand with their bikes, visitors take photographs of the skyline behind them. On the other side is a different city, wider and more industrial, with old shipyards turned into studios and long roads beside the water.

The other side

Noord is part of Amsterdam but feels far from the canal ring. The streets are broad, the buildings are large, and the open ground by the water gives the wind nowhere to break. Visitors who cross on foot tend to walk along the waterfront for an hour or two; visitors on rented bikes ride further, out along the dykes and back.

The wind

On the canal ring, the tall houses shelter the streets. In Noord there is little shelter, and the wind comes straight off the water. Riding into it on a heavy one-gear bike feels like climbing a hill that never ends. Walking into it for an hour tires the legs and chills the face and hands. Visitors who crossed in a T-shirt at noon come back at four with a jacket zipped to the chin, or wishing they had brought one.

The cold is what catches people out. While moving, the effort keeps them warm. Once they stop, on the ferry back or in a café, the chill arrives, and it stays in the shoulders and the back for the rest of the afternoon.

What visitors book afterwards

After a day in the wind, visitors often ask for a warm room above everything else. Turn the heating up an hour before she arrives, and take a long, hot shower. Many choose body to body massage on days like this, describing it as the warmer of the formats; others prefer erotic oil massage. Either way, what the session includes is her decision, explained before she begins.

Ninety minutes is the usual length after a long day outside, at EUR 270. Two hours at EUR 360 suits a final evening. Write the booking on the ferry back, if you like; by the time you have walked from the station to your room, showered and turned the heating up, the forty to sixty minute window from confirmation will be nearly up.

A note in the thread

Mention the wind, the cold and the ride. A sentence about where the day went helps her plan. If the ride has left you with sore hands from the handlebars or a stiff neck from the cold, say so.

Practical points for the crossing

• The ferries run frequently, all day and into the night, and are free for foot passengers and cyclists.
• Stand clear of the cyclists at the front when the ramp comes down; they leave fast.
• Take a jacket even on a warm day; the north bank is several degrees colder in the wind.
• Take the ferry back rather than riding round; it gives the legs ten minutes off.

Where the booking goes

The view back

One of the pleasures of the crossing is looking back. From the deck of the ferry, the central station sits long and low on the water, with the old city behind it and the tower cranes of new building further along the bank. Visitors who have spent days inside the canal ring see for the first time how the city meets the water. It is worth crossing once each way simply for that, even if you do nothing on the far side but walk for twenty minutes and come back.

Food on the north bank

The waterfront in Noord has cafés and eating places in old industrial buildings, many with terraces facing the water. On a sunny day they are a warm place to sit out of the wind. On a grey day they are where visitors wait for the next ferry with their hands around a hot drink, planning the evening.

The booking is to your room in central Amsterdam, not to Noord itself unless you are staying there. Send the address with the floor and room number, the time, the length and a therapist's name from the roster or a note that you are open to whoever is free. The booking page sets out the sequence.