When I first starting researching The Netherlands I was thinking we’d hit a few cities, and then move on to Germany. It turns out there is so much to see in this small country that it deserves it’s own exclusive trip.
We start our trip in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. My first impression is I’ve never seen a place quite like it. It seems filled with energy, and everybody seems happy. Covid is defintely over, as the place is FILLED with tourists, even in the shoulder season. It definitely has it’s own vibe, and I felt attached to it immediately…and I don’t even smoke weed…well, not anymore at least.
A little history first. The city was founded at the mouth of the Amstel River, which was dammed in about 1270 to control flooding, hence the name Amsterdam. With the cities access to the North Sea, it became THE major world port during the 17th century, and the city, along with it’s canals, expanded exponentially from the center in a semi-circular pattern. Here is an artist’s depiction of the city in 1538.
Every time they expanded the city they went southwest and added another semi-circular canal for transporting goods to the new parts of the city. This is the current cities layout.
The concentric pattern of the canals with 1300+ bridges makes the city quite easy for walking around, just make sure you keep an eye out for the bicyclists, of which there are approximately 921,402 (the current population of Amsterdam) who apparently believe they have the right of way regardless of the circumstance! Not a one of them is wearing a helmet by the way…quite different from Belgium, only about a hundred miles away.
Our first day here we met with Olav, of Olav’s Amsterdam Tours. Olav was born and raised in Amsterdam, and he knows the city better than any other tour guide. He went out of his way to find out what we were interested in so he could tailor his tour to our interests. I highly recommend him!
Our first stop was the oldest part of the city, a courtyard that was built in the 1300’s known as the Begijnhof (basically a convent), which was first historically mentioned in 1389.
The black house in the below photo is the oldest of only two wooden houses left in the center of Amsterdam. The wooden houses burned so often that all houses had to be built from stone at a certain point. This house dates from 1528, and it’s construction is said to hold many childhood memories for Nancy Pelosi.
This building, the Munttoren, was originally a gate to the city, as the city was originally surrounded by a wall. The original tower and associated building was built in 1480, but most of it burned down in 1618. The upper portion of the tower was rebuilt in 1620. In the 17th century the tower was used to mint coins, hence the name (munt=mint).
This view up the Groenburgwal canal is postcard worthy! The church in the distance is Zuiderkerk, a Protestant church constructed from 1603 to 1611. I could swear I had a puzzle with this view at sometime in the past.
Even Monet found this view postcard worthy, with this painting dating from 1874. My photo was taken from the bridge in the foreground of Monet’s painting.
Olav took us into the Jewish Quarter of Amsterdam, and talked about the famous Jewish philosopher, Baruch Spinoza. He was one of the foremost thinkers of the Enlightenment. He was considered a radical, with the absolute audacity to have ideas questioning the authenticity of the Hebrew Bible, and other seemingly atheistic thoughts. He was expelled and shunned (the issuance of a “herem”) by Jewish society and his own family in 1656 at the age of 23. To this day the Jewish community refuses to remove the “herem”.
In more modern times, he has been revered by other notable intellects. In 1929, when asked if he believed in God, Einstein responded “I believe in Spinoza’s God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings.” If Einstein has your back, you did something right! At the base of the statue is a quote from Spinoza, “The objective of the state is freedom”. If only that were true in today’s America.
We then visited the National Holocaust Namenmonument.
The names of every Dutch victim of the Holocaust are represented on bricks within the monument. There are 102,000 Dutch Jews, and 220 Dutch Sinti and Roma represented here. Walking through all of these bricks makes for quite the somber visit.
Adjacent to the monument there are brass plaques at the edge of the canal. These plaques identify the names of the Jews who once lived across the canal, and when and where they were murdered by the Nazis.
On a lighter note, did you know that the term “Red Light District” came from the prostitutes carrying red lanterns? Most of the prostitutes had poor hygiene and no running water, and the red light was helpful in covering up their skin blemishes, boils and zits. Sounds just lovely! No wonder the sailors drank themselves blind!
I didn’t take any photos of the booths we walked by. Olav warned us that somebody may come out and punch you in the face for that. There are still decent views in the Red Light district, however.
Apparently this is a huge problem in the area. Sounds like Vegas!
Throughout the city you will find these brass plaques on the ground in front of homes where holocaust victims lived. There are constant reminders everywhere.
At the end of our first full day in Amsterdam, we had dinner with Olav and his wife Martine in their home. This was something we did previously in Lisbon, and it’s a great way to meet some other people, and have a fabulous meal at the same time!
From left to right, that’s Maria, Jenny, our host Olav, Chris, yours truly, my better half, and Janelle. It was great fun, and I highly suggest you do this if you visit. Their website is Martine’s Table.
More Amsterdam to come!