Amsterdam - Vlooienmarkt

After almost a 10-year interval Amsterdam's famous flea market, the Vlooienmarkt, is back on the Waterlooplein where it had been held since 1886. "Whether there are fleas in the flea market in Amsterdam is hard to say; there is certainly everything else. Threadbare clothes, once the height of fashion, and factory surplus lie side by side waiting for buyers, to be gaped at, smiled at, scoffed at, unsold." This is one writer's description of the scene on the Waterlooplein, where dealers large and small offer their wares for sale on stalls or simply on the ground - a colorful jumble of junk and handy bits and pieces, a tatty treasure trove. Although new goods are on sale as well the emphasis is still on old second-hand goods.