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Published: September 11th 2006
The streets of Amsterdam
When you walk out of the Central Station, this is the main street you come out on. I never saw any fewer people on it than this.Ahh…the Netherlands. Ok, so all I saw was one city, but I stayed three nights and explored it thoroughly by foot. I was surprised by Amsterdam, but in a good way. Its reputation precedes it and the one that I had heard, I now feel gives people a poor impression of the city. The only preconception I had of Amsterdam was that of its reputation with the Red Light District and drugs. I found that the Red Light District isn’t the only thing that Amsterdam has to offer, it’s just the only thing that people in my generation talk about after visiting there. I think that if I had spent a week there, I wouldn’t have found myself being bored at any given time.
I arrived in Amsterdam around noon without any housing reservations, and as such I headed straight for the Tourist Information office. It was directly in the train station, which was incredibly convenient. For a small fee of something around 3 euros, they were able to find me a place to stay and I was assured that it was in a quiet, residential area away from the noise and traffic of the Red Light District. It
Southern Comfort
Here's my B&B. I had a balcony and everything. The bed is just off to the left in this photo, you can't see it. was also at a comparable price to any other housing that I would have found outside of the Red Light District. The place I stayed at is called the Southern Comfort Bed & Breakfast and the owner was simply delightful! I received breakfast on a daily basis, had an entire room to myself, was only two blocks from the closest tram stop, AND the bathroom had a tub! You can be quite assured I made good use of that. :-) My feet ached at the end of the day from walking so much, so being able to soak in a bath was a definite plus.
The weekend I was there, I really lucked out, since there was an arts festival going on…performing arts, that is. All weekend long there were performances throughout town, ranging from opera and ballet to big band and rock. The performances were free to the general public, so I found a schedule and made note of the ones that interested me. I was able to make it to a Musical Sing-a-long, which turned out to be a blast. The language in Amsterdam is Dutch, so it was interesting to see familiar Musicals being sung
Musical Sing-a-long
This is where the Musical Sing-a-long was held. The building in the background is not really green, but I think it looks pretty cool. Due to the lights, the building would change from purple to blue to green and other various colors throughout the night. in another language, but that also made it really cool. There were songs from musicals such as Sound of Music, Beauty and the Beast, Wizard of Oz, Annie, My Fair Lady, and a few other national ones. What really made this evening performance fun was how involved the audience got. The entire crowd was participating and standing right in the middle of it was just exciting. On another day I was able to watch a big band performance. There were a few oldies, but there were several I didn’t recognize. The band was really good and the singers could more than hold their own, so it turned out to be a good performance.
Museums, museums, museums… Amsterdam is chock-full of museums and I was able to make it to 5 of them, plus the botanical gardens, and a canal tour. First stop, the Anne Frank House, “A Museum With a Story.” I’ll be honest, I’ve never actually read the Diaries of Anne Frank, so perhaps the house would have made a stronger impact on me if I had. I was, however, impressed with the preservation of the house and the display of materials. Throughout the tour, quotes from
Wooden Cabinet
This piece was in the Rijksmuseum. It's the door of a cabinet and it's all inlaid wood. It was stunning! Anne’s diary were posted on the wall or by the items on display, and they coincided with what you were seeing. This little girl seemed to have a very mature outlook on the life she was leading, but then again, she missed out on things like being able to play games during the middle of the day for fear of someone downstairs hearing them. I rather enjoyed going through Anne’s bedroom, because the original wallpaper was still in place. She had found the walls to be too bare, so she cut pictures from magazines and postcards or drew her own, then pasted them on the wall to brighten the place up. It’s amazing to me how the thoughts of one little girl have made such an impact on an entire world. One of the last rooms you walk through in the house displays copies of the book “Diaries of Anne Frank” written in at least 50 different languages. The book is now on my ‘To Read’ list, and now when I read about the different rooms in the house, I’ll be able to mentally picture what Anne is writing about.
The Rijksmuseum was relatively small, but held an
impressive display of pieces. The main floor consisted primarily of pieces pertaining to the history of the Dutch Republic (cannon, dishes, replica of a ship, etc.), but then the second floor was nothing but paintings and sketches. The pieces were largely those of Rembrandt. The museum holds two of Rembrandt’s most well-known pieces, “The Night Watch” and “The Syndics of Drapers’ Guild.” We were allowed to take photos, so Rembrandt is now a part of my digital collection. :-)
The same afternoon I made my way to the Van Gogh Museum, where you guessed it, pieces by Van Gogh are housed. It was definitely worth visiting, but to those going in the future, I would recommend arriving early as this is a very popular tourist stop. If I remember correctly, the museum holds the largest number of Van Gogh pieces out of anywhere in the world. The special exhibition on display was about Japanese art, which tied in with the rest of the museum due to the fact that Van Gogh used to use some of the traits of Japanese art in his work. Sometimes he would even copy another Japanese piece, but alter the style a little.
Rembrandt
This was part of the marketing for the Rijksmuseum and the Rembrandt exhibit. Rembrandt was born in 1606. The crowd was so thick at the museum that it was tough to see all of the pieces up-close, but if you had the patience and the time, it could be done.
I’ve realized that since the start of this trip, I’ve seen works by numerous famous artists: Rembrandt, Picasso, Claes Oldenberg, Andy Warhol, and Van Gogh. I would say that’s pretty good for just a few days on the road. It also beats just sitting in an art history class and seeing a slideshow of the paintings.
If you’re interested in maritime history, then the Scheepvaart Museum is the place for you. Its location is very fitting for the theme of the museum; it’s located right on the water. I personally don’t have a strong interest in naval history, but still found the museum to be well-done. There were numerous interactive exhibits and the building had 3 floors’ worth of displays. In the harbor, one could then board a ship and explore it from the deck to the hull. The ship was set up to replicate how things would have looked during the 1600’s. It was fun to explore it and see what the captain’s
quarters looked like, and even how the toilets were designed. They were tiny, located along the edge of the ship just off of the captain’s quarters, and I imagine that if you were to look into the toilet, you’d see water directly beneath you. I’m not so sure that’s how I would want to travel, but I would guess that the ship was pretty advanced in its time.
The last museum I made it to was the Jewish History Museum, and it turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. The museum was under construction for renovation, so most of the displays were down. I didn’t stay very long and spent most of my time in the special exhibit. It was a display of photographs taken in the Middle East, not of the warfare, but of the people in the everyday lives. The pictures in and of themselves were beautiful to look at, but they also gave you a different perspective than what is normally portrayed in the media. I didn’t figure out just how it tied into the museum, but enjoyed the display nonetheless.
Of all my days in Amsterdam, I chose the rainiest
Arrgggh....
At the Scheepvaart Museum. It was a beautiful day to be out at sea. :-) to visit the Hortus botanical gardens. As I’m sure most of you know, botanical gardens are usually meant to be enjoyed on a sunny day since the majority of the plants are outside. Well, my umbrella had broken earlier that morning, so the rain just forced me to stay in the greenhouses, of which there were several. There was one large greenhouse, which had then been divided into three sections each for different climatic conditions. I found the primary difference among the three to be the level of humidity, not so much the temperature. There were very few people in the gardens, which gave them a peaceful feeling. During the times that the rain let up, I wandered outside. And actually, the rain made for some opportune photos, as there were water droplets on all of the plants. My favorite were the giant, lily-pad-like plants in the pond, as you can see in the photo. If someone knows the correct name of this plant, please let me know. Hortus also housed a butterfly house. It was relatively small, and only had two types of butterflies that I could see, but it was a pleasant refuge when the rain was just
torrent.
So, as I said before, my umbrella had broken, so after the botanical gardens, I wandered around the area and found another one. It’s yellow and has a tulip for a handle. How Hollandish! Since I also have a red fleece jacket, all I need are black slacks and I’ll be a walking representative of Germany! :-)
The last activity I participated in while in Amsterdam was a canal tour. This was the same day as the Hortus botanical gardens, the day it was down-pouring. I figured it was a good way to get to see the city, but with protection from the weather. A few of the things I learned while on the tour were 1) that the water in Amsterdam’s harbor is fresh water, not salt because of the channel-locks, 2) also due to the locks, there is no tide in the harbor, which is a great advantage to the city, 3) almost all buildings in Amsterdam, old and new, are built with a hoisting system. This is because the buildings are all so narrow, the staircases are narrow and steep, which means that large pieces of furniture are not able to be
In the Butterfly Garden
Hortus Botanical Gardens carried up to the second floor. So, the furniture must be hoisted up through the windows using a pulley system. Just some random knowledge for you. :-)
The Red Light District - To be honest, I hadn’t sought out the Red Light District, I just happened upon it one evening when I was making my way to the big band concert. I had to do a double-take at when I glanced in one of the windows I was passing by…They looked like lingerie mannequins…but they were moving. It was very obvious what they were offering and it wasn’t Girl Scout cookies! I didn’t stick around very long, but now I know what all the talk is about.
Last thoughts: I found Amsterdam to be a wonderful city to explore and would definitely go back again. I would like to see the windmills that are located on the outskirts of the city, and see more of the country-side around Amsterdam. I felt like Amsterdam is a city that never sleeps and has something to offer for every type of person. At first I found it to be very hectic, but when you get out of the city
center, things tend to slow down a bit. Also, at the time I was in Amsterdam, I was reading a book titled The Sucker’s Kiss and the main character happened to be a pick-pocket, a little ironic considering where I was. Amsterdam is pick-pocket central and I was fortunate to not have lost anything there or anywhere else on the trip. It’s pays to be on your toes and aware of your surroundings.
Next stop: Belgium! Do you feel like you’re on the Groelz Express? :-) This train isn’t stopping any time soon, so I hope you’re enjoying the ride.
Take care!
Annie
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Jewels
non-member comment
I got your postcard today!
I am so jealous of all the art you've gotten to see already. Oh the Rembrants, they just aren't the same on slides... I did get to see one or two when I was in high school and went to D.C. but in Amsterdam! I really enjoyed your postcard. The painting and then what you wrote on the back made me think of our conversations when it comes to religion in general. I miss those talks! I anxiously await the next update on the Groelz Express!