Savvy Guides
Kendra– Savvy Dame
Those AmsterDames was started as a female tour-guide collective. Founder, Kendra Borgen, has been giving tours of the city since 2010, specializing in history and cultural tours of Amsterdam. When she’s not guiding she’s also entertains folks as an internationally recognized stand-up comedian. The main idea behind the company was to connect fun and funny guides with savvy travelers, and has curated some of the best guides Amsterdam has to offer.
She has designed a range of engaging city tours, covering history, food and drink, bicycle tours to the countryside, and the infamous Red Light District, with more to come. Feel free to ask if you'd like anything specific on your tour as most private tours can be easily customized.
Check the blog for some of my city do’s and don'ts, my favorite places and tips for surviving this wonderfully complicated city. Don’t hesitate to reach out should you have any questions.
Raven - Savvy Dame
Originally from Canada, Raven's special talents include eating large quantities of food in one sitting, lip-synching to Celine Dion while biking in the rain, and making the best pancakes you've ever tasted. Having grown up in Toronto, one of the most multicultural cities in the world, she knew from a very young age she wanted to go out and experience them all first hand. After traveling to over 25 countries, Raven chose to call Amsterdam home because of its fascinating history, beautiful architecture, and ‘gezellig’ way of life. Amsterdam is one giant museum, and every corner tells a story more fascinating than the last. It’s the history of these sights, and the stories of the amazing people who helped create them that makes the city what it is today.
Rachel – Savvy Dame
Rachel is an energetic and sociable stand-up comedian and public speaking coach from the UK. Proud of her Dutch heritage (her British Grandfather met her Dutch ‘Oma’ during the liberation of the Netherlands in 1945), she has lived here since 1998. After 18 years’ experience working in the travel and tourism industry, Rachel now combines her love of tourists with her love of talking, showing off her adopted country to savvy travelers. Feel free to ask her lots of questions and tell her interesting facts; she really does love chatting!
Karl - Savvy lad
Honorary dame Karl grew up in the north of England but never really felt at home there. So he ran away. After living and working (teaching and writing) in London, Istanbul, Bologna and Farafenni, he decided to go Around the World in 80 Festivals, writing about his experiences as he went. Unfortunately he ran out of money after only four festivals. Then, rather than get a proper job, he ran away again, this time to rural France, where he spent 18 months in a shack in a forest with a chainsaw, two kittens and no electricity. After writing a few books with varying degrees of success, he finally came to Amsterdam, convinced by three brief visits that it was the finest, freest, funkiest city in the whole goddamn world. He was right. Now he spends his time trying to convince other people.
Gabe -Savvy Lad
Born and raised in Washington DC, Gabriel - or Gabe - grew up meeting people from all around the world. As a “grown-up” he thought he should return the favor and go see the world himself. However, after several years, he eventually decided he’d still rather be a kid playing in the sandbox rather than working a nine to five in order to travel. Instead, he compromised by studying Archaeology and History at the University of Amsterdam. Nowadays, he spends most of his time doing the two things he really loves; sharing local histories with anyone willing to listen and digging in the dirt to learn more about the past. In Amsterdam, Gabriel has found the perfect home to express himself and his interests. One could even say that Amsterdam is ‘Mokum’ for Gabriel.
Corbin -Savvy Lad
Corbin moved to the Netherlands in 1999 and has lived in Amsterdam ever since. A graphic designer by trade, he was initially attracted to the Netherlands for its remarkable design and egalitarian visual culture; but after repeated visits, including a top-to-bottom cycle tour of the whole country, it was the bicycle culture that sealed the deal for him. "When you grow up on a bike from before you can walk, instead of in a car, it changes everything," he remarks. "It reaches down and affects the whole social outlook; it attunes people to their surroundings, to other people, and of course to the weather." His passion for cycle and love of all things Dutch means his knowledge of the history and culture is extensive. Having grown up in Oregon —"the Netherlands of the US," as he's fond of saying— he traded rain and hippies for more rain and hipsters.