Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the capital and most populous municipality of the Netherlands.

IJ-Festival
Posts | City Guide Those who want to can visit Amsterdam. And canal boat tours can take a ferry right behind the Central Station to the northern part of the city. On the other side of the inland bay called the IJ, which divides Amsterdam into two parts, is the NDSM, a former shipping wharf, which now hosts festivals (and student housing) in shipping containers. Yes, shipping containers.

One of these events is the Over het IJ festival, which runs from July 7 to 17. On the waterfront, surrounded by cranes and with the city center in the background, theater performances, music and food combine for a great night out (the ferry runs all night).

Performances are scattered out over the terrain. The biggest eye-catchers are 12 containers turned into mini venues, where short plays run continuously, for an audience no bigger than a dozen people, sometimes fewer. Prices are modest, around 3 euros (about $4.30) per show.

Pablo Fontdevila, a choreographer, will perform in one of the containers. “I play with the conditions of proximity in a limited space, getting closer to the audience,” he said. “As a student, I lived in a container for one and a half years. I found it an inspiring place.”