And I am coming back a bit north west to the Netherlands or Holland you know what I mean. And the beautiful vibrant city of Amsterdam! I have come here often on business and once with the family. Always memorable moments.
Well the city has lots of to offer to all tastes and wonderful museums ,but once in it and walk around the best to me are the Canals of Amsterdam, just magical indeed. I told you a bit on another post a few years back,but worth the repeat on them along.
I always stayed in hotels by the Centrum or center area so walking was easy from there all over. The parking was done in the hotel Crown Plaza or by the canals. Crown Plaza centre; part of the Intercontinental Hotels Group, the hotel was very nice and very central to all. Right off walking from train station Centraal or center. Today, they are part of the IHG collection Kimpton DeWitt: https://www.kimptondewitthotel.com/us/en/index.html
rom there we went to eat the first night at Singel where we had a nice fish and vegetable dish with white wine, coffees, very nice , webpage:https://www.singel101.nl/
Next day I walk the nice quaint streets of central Amsterdam, and its nice architecture to get a feeling of it. Of course, I went by the red light district and its windows, very decadent I must add; I don’t pay for that, I earn it.
At night for the second day , a group went to cafe in de waag, a historical castle like building with nice ambiance and a good European steak (small by American standards).https://indewaag.nl/
Finally upon leaving I try a nice bio place, Cafe Dwaze Zaken, with very friendly service,and good ambiance,the food was just right in a chorizo sandwich with a nice pint of gulpener beer. Just to get me going for the train trip back home.http://dwazezaken.nl/en/
I just marvel at the hop on hop off bus,and the lovely Subway resto by the bay behind the Centraal train station for the memories. The church of Saint Nicolas near centraal train station
The Amsterdam canals extend over a total of more than 100 km, with some 1 500 bridges crossing them, connecting about 90 islands. The four main channels are the Herengracht, Prinsengracht, Keizersgracht and the Singel. Built in the 17C during the Dutch Golden Age, they form the so-called golden curvature.
These develop into a succession of concentric half-circles around the historic center of the city, the Centrum district. The first four channels are spaced between them by strips of land from 80 to 150 meters in width on average, while the distance between the fourth and fifth can go up to about 550 meters by the northern boundary of the Jordaan district. These channels are also connected by others perpendicular to them, such as the Brouwersgracht, Leidsegracht, and the Reguliersgracht.
The Singel is the first canal closest to the city center and served as a moat to the medieval city until 1585, when Amsterdam began its urban expansion. It flows to the east in the Amstel at the Muntplein level and to the northwest in the IJ. I stayed closed to it.
The Herengracht is the canal starting from the city center which is the most indoors among the three main canals. It is extended to the east by the Nieuwe Herengracht and flows to the northwest in the Brouwersgracht. It is very famous for its golden curvature between the bridges of the Leidsestraat and the Vijzelstraat. The main sights of this canal are the Biblical museum; the cat’s office which is an art museum dedicated to the cats, the Hendrikje Bags Museum, the Willet-Holthuysen Museum and the Amsterdam Botanical Garden.
The Keizersgracht is the third channel of the four mains starting from the city center. It was in honor of the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Maximilian I that he was named after. It is extended to the east by the Nieuwe Keizersgracht. It flows north-west into the Brouwersgracht. The main attractions of this canal are the Astoria, a house of Art nouveau style; Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk which is a Catholic Church; Huis Marseille, a museum of photography; The Geelvinck-Hinlopen museum; The museum Van Loon, and the FOAM, a museum of photography.
The Prinsengracht was named in honor of William I of Orange-Nassau. This is the longest of the four main channels because the most outside. It is extended to the north-west by the Korte Prinsengracht and to the east by the Nieuwe Prinsengracht. There is the Noorderkerk or northern Church, Noordermarkt or northern market, the Tulip Museum, Anne Frank’s house, the Westerkerk or west Church, the Amstelkerk, and De Duif or the Prince’s Church.
The Singelgracht runs along the outer side of the Houfmankade, Naussaukade, Stadhouderskade and the Mauritskade. On the inner side, it runs along the Houfmankade, Marnixkade, Leidsekade, Nicolaas Witsenkade, Sarphatikade, Spinozastraat and the Alexanderkade. The main sights are the Paradiso which is a concert hall, the Heineken Experience, building of the famous Dutch beer brand, and the Tropenmuseum nearby.
Jordaan Canals; these are the canals that are located in the Jordaan district, which is the western part of the city center of Amsterdam between the Singelgracht and the Prinsengracht. It is possible to cite from north to south the canals such as the Palmgracht, Goudsbloemgracht, Lindengracht, Anjeliersgracht, Egelantiersgracht, Bloemgracht, Rozengracht, Lauriergracht, Elandsgracht, Looiersgracht and the Passeerdersgracht.
There you needed to tell a bit of description on each and some things to see nearby that I like. Hope you enjoy the ride in the Canals or walking by them!
Some webpages to help you plan your trip here are
tourist office of Amsterdam on Canals cruising
tourist office of Amsterdam on the history of the Canals
tourist office of the Netherlands on things to see in Amsterdam canals
Private site on booking Canal Cruises in Amsterdam ok
There you go a nice deeper interpretation of the Canals of Amsterdam , now I can rest that the story is told brief the way I always try to do; but to the point or short and sassy! Enjoy them now.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 