Paris1972-Versailles2003

I have come here several times on business, and once with the family. Usually , when I go on business is nice, will bring the family afterward. As we have older boys, Amsterdam is a natural for many things of knowledge and life. This is my introduction to Amsterdam, so will do in my black and white series, no pictures. Hope you enjoy the post as I.

First, a bit on the transport of course just the basics.  The city of Amsterdam has two peripheral boulevards which allow to bypass the city or to quickly cross the agglomeration. The outer ring of the city is the A10 highway; with a length of 32 km, it connects the 18 main urban routes numbered from S101 to S118 to the country’s main highways, and in particular to the A1 (which serves the east of the Netherlands), the A2 (which joins Utrecht, Bois-le-Duc, Eindhoven and Maastricht ) and the A4 which serves the axis drawn between Amsterdam, the Hague, Rotterdam and Belgium. The second peripheral of the city is known as the inner ring (Amsterdamse binnenring) or S100, and consists of a set of three quays that delimit the borough of Centrum along the Singelgracht, the Nassaukade, the Stadhouderskade and the Mauritskade. The city’s public transport network, managed by the GVB (Gemeentelijk Vervoerbedrijf), is highly developed, combining several modes of transport, both rail (tram and Metro), road (bus) as well as maritime and fluvial (ferries). The main train station is Amsterdam-Centraal which serves both the rest of the country (local Intercity trains and sprinter) as well as the international connections (Fyra, Thalys, Deutsche Bahn, etc. I have come here on the thalys trains to the Centraal station. However, most of the time I come by the  Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport (see post) located less than 20 minutes by train from the Centraal station.

Some of the things to do and see in Amsterdam are

Department stores such as de Bijenkorf founded in 1870. The high-end boutiques are located mainly in the Pieter Cornelis Hooftstraat (often abbreviated as “P. C Hooftstraat” or “PC”) and Cornelis Schuytstraat, located close to the Vondelpark. Two of the liveliest streets of Amsterdam are the narrow medieval street of Kalverstraat, located in the heart of the city near the Dam Square and Nieuwendijk which corresponds to its extension north of the square. Among the main shopping areas, the Negen Straatjes (literally “nine small streets”) consist of nine narrow alleys within the Grachtengordel, the system of concentric canals. Warmoesstraat, one of the oldest streets in the city, is known for its many coffee shops, sex shops and the nerve centre of the city’s leather community. The streets of Haarlemmerdijk and Haarlemmerstraat have been designated as the best shopping streets in the Netherlands by many publications. The Bloemenmarkt is a permanent flower market. Located on the Singel and stretching between Muntplein and Koningsplein, it is the only floating flower market in the world. The shops are located on boats stowed at the edge of the canal, which is a legacy of the time when all the trees and plants were to be routed daily from outside the city via the canals. The city also has a large number of open-air markets such as the Albert Cuyp market, Westerstraat, Ten Kate and the Dappermarkt. Some of these markets operate daily, such as the Albert Cuyp and Dapper markets, popular with tourists and renowned for the variety and exoticism of the products that are offered. Others, such as the Westerstraat market, are organized on a weekly basis.

The oldest wooden building dates back to 1425; It is the Houten Huys (“Wooden House” in ancient Dutch) which is located in the Begijnhof. This is one of only two wooden buildings still present in Amsterdam and one of the few still visible examples of Gothic architecture largely influenced by the French culture, Baroque architecture develops strongly throughout the 18C as evidenced by the Royal Palace on the Dam. Three canals are reserved for residential development: the Herengracht (“Canal of the Lords” in reference to the Heren Regeerders van de Stad Amsterdam, the reigning lords of Amsterdam), the Keizersgracht (literally the “Emperor’s Channel”) and the Prinsengracht (the “Prince’s Channel”). Built during the Dutch Golden Age, they form the so-called “golden boot” (Gouden Bocht). The fourth and most peripheral of the channels is the Singelgracht, which is seldom mentioned on the maps since it is a generic term for all small peripheral channels. This channel should not be confused with the Singel, the old canal that surrounded the medieval city and which is located more in the center of the city, in what constitutes the hypercenter (Binnenstad).

TheKrijtberg(1642), a former Catholic clandestine church of the United Provinces, is one of many such churches (the Schuilkerken), which developed while non-Calvinist cults were tolerated provided that no outside sign is shown. Ons Lieve Heer Opsaler is also in this situation: built between 1661 and 1663 in an attic by a wealthy Catholic merchant, it was clandestine., the Oude Kerk (old church), having for Saint-Patron Nicolas de Myre, is the the oldest church in the city and is also one of the oldest monuments in Amsterdam. Originally built in the form of a Roman Catholic church, it became a Calvinist church following the Reformation in 1578. It was built on an ancient cemetery, and continued to welcome the bodies of citizens of the city until 1865. In total, it has 2 500 tombs where 10 000 Amsterdam, including Jacob van Heemskerk, Frans Banning Cocq and Saskia van Uylenburgh, Rembrandt’s wife, are buried. It is now on Oudekerksplein, right in the heart of the Red Light District. The Nieuwe Kerk (“New Church”), located on the Dam, was built only a century later and completed in 1408. Built in a Gothic style, it is the national Church of the Netherlands but also a major place of exhibitions. In particular, it is the place of the investitures of the sovereigns of the Netherlands. The Queens Wilhelmine, Juliana, Béatrix and King Willem-Alexander were inducted into it. On February 2, 2002, there was celebrated the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange with Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti . Located close to Amsterdam Central Station, St. Nicholas Church in Amsterdam is the largest Catholic Church in the city. It was erected between 1884 and 1887  and is the third Church in the city to bear the name of Saint Nicholas. Four churches dating from the 17C and designated by a cardinal point, are located in the center of the city. The Noorderkerk (Church of the North), built especially for the inhabitants of the Jordaan, is of modest size. The Westerkerk (Church of the West), located on the Prinsengracht, is on the other hand the largest church in the Netherlands and has become one of the symbols of the city, especially because of its peculiar architecture, the crown of the Emperor Maximilian of Austria which covers it and its carillon adorning its steeple. The Zuiderkerk (Southern Church), located towards the Nieuwmarkt, was the first church in the city to be built especially for Protestant worship between 1603 and 1611. Finally, the Oosterkerk (Eastern Church), also of modest size, is no longer used for religious services since 1962.

The Amsterdam Zoo, nicknamed Artis, is named after the Royal Society of Zoology Natura Artis Magista (“Nature is the Master of Art”). It is one of the oldest in the world (the main building dates from 1838) located right in the city center, its ambience contrasts strongly with the surrounding urban bustle. It features an aquarium (built in 1882), zoological and geological museums, a planetarium and a library. The most important museums in Amsterdam are located on the Museumplein (Museum Square). This space was created at the end of the 19C on the grounds of the previous international and Colonial exhibition of 1883. The square is almost entirely covered with lawn, except for the northern part, covered with gravel and in the center of which is a long rectangular basin which turns into a skating rink in the northern winter of the square is bordered by the Rijksmuseum of Gothic architecture. This museum opened in 1885 and underwent a major renovation between 2003 and 2013. The Rijksmuseum has the largest and most important collection of Dutch classical art.The Van GoghMuseum to commemorate the visit and living of Van Gogh in Amsterdam.  The museum is house in one of the rare examples of modern building in the district and host an important  permanent collection.  Next to the Van Gogh Museum is the most important modern art museum in the city, the Stedelijk Museum. Built at the same time as the square, the building was inaugurated in 1895. The Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum (Dutch Maritime Museum) is home to the world’s richest marine collection. There are paintings, models, weapons or maps of maritime geography. The Amsterdam Museum (formerly Amsterdams Historisch Museum) is entirely dedicated to the history of the Dutch capital through works of art and various documents. The Anne Frank House, where Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis before her deportation in August 1944.

The Heineken Music Hall is a concert hall located near the Amsterdam ArenA which hosts the great concerts of internationally acclaimed artists. It also hosts numerous electronic music festivals such as the Amsterdam music Festival, opened its doors in 2012, and welcomes international artists . The Paradiso a room of Spectacles and a cultural center located in an old church of Amsterdam, built between 1879 and 1880 near the Leidseplein, one of the tourist and cultural centers of the city.

And of course a bit of history I like

Amsterdam is located in the north of the Netherlands, The name of the city comes from the old Dutch name Amstelredamme evoking the origins of the city: La Digue (dam) on the Amstel. A small fishing village in the 12C, the city experienced a very strong growth in the Middle Ages to the point of becoming one of the most imporant of the world during the Dutch golden century. The district of Wallen is the oldest part of the city, which develops around a concentric network of semi-circular canals connected by perpendicular channels, forming a spider’s web. In the center of the old Town is the Royal Palace of Amsterdam, built in the 17C, on the Dam square, symbol of the importance of the city.  king William I made his residence in 1815. The Grachtengordel district, delimited by Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht, is the area renamed Amsterdam crushing, a tree-lined courtyard with ancient dwellings , the oldest dating back to about 1528 , housing an Anglican chapel. The first mention of the name “Amsterdam” in the historical documents dates back to an act of Florent V, Count of Holland from 1256 to 1296. The bourg Amsterdam gets the status of City in 1300 or 1306,, probably by the bishop of Utrecht, and becomes an important trade place in the 14C, thanks to its Port that develops on the Damrak, downstream of the original dam. Before 1385, the Amstel separates the city of Amsterdam into two parts of roughly equal size: the “Old Town” (Oudezijde) where the “Old Church” (Oude Kerk) is located, whose construction began around 1300, and the “New City” (Nieuw zijde) where the “New Church” (Nieuwe Kerk), built at the beginning of the 15C is located. In order to guarantee its protection, the city is endowed with canals, supplemented by a palisade (Burgwal) composed of a wall of earth overhung by a wooden palisade. When after 1385, new enclosure walls are built, the existing wall takes the name of Voorburgwal (before-palisade) while the new one is baptized Achterburgwal (back-Palisade), both in the old and new cities. In the historic center, there are still four canals/streets bearing the names of Oudezijds Voorburgwal, Oudezijds Achterburgwal, Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal and Nieuwezijds Achterburgwal (now Spuistraat).

In the 16C, the population revolted against the successor of Charles V, King Philip II of Spain.  Philip II showed intransigence in religious and political matters, which generates strong  opposition. The revolt quickly degenerates into a row war to which Amsterdam rallies from 1578 and leads to the independence of the seven northern provinces of the Spanish Netherlands, under the name of the United Provinces. The year 1578 is also marked by the overthrow of the Catholic government of the city during the episode of the Alteratie, which sees the Protestants taking power without bloodshed. The 17C is considered the golden age of Amsterdam because it at that time became the richest city in the world. After the hegemony of the Golden Age, the 18C saw the decline of the city’s prosperity. Eleven years after his arrival in power in France in 1799, emperor Napoleon I was able to extend his empire to the Netherlands, which were annexed during the First Empire in 1810. Amsterdam thus acquired the status of third city of the Empire, alongside Paris and Rome, the brother of Napoleon I, Louis, imposed as ruler of the Kingdom of Holland from 1806 to 1810, decided to make Amsterdam his capital when he arrived in The Hague in 1806.  In 1808, he moved to the capital, and settled in the town hall which  he made it his Royal Palace. After the ousting of the French troops by the Russian and Prussian armies in 1813, the new monarch of the House of Orange Nassau again chose The Hague as a place of residence, and as seat of the States General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Amsterdam remains, however, the capital of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1815 to 1830, alongside Brussels. 

Even if the Netherlands remained neutral in WWI it suffers greatly economically and hunger of the population . During WWII  nazi Germany invades and take control in May 1940.  One of the most famous episodes of the war took the story of the young Anne Frank , hidden for 25 months wiht her family and friends below a store in the center of Amsterdam, before found and deported to  nazi concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen.  At the end of WWII another period of hunger and economic hardship came in.  At the end of the reform, the new boroughs are Centrum, Nieuw-West, Noord,, Oost, West, Zuid, Zuidoost, and Westpoort. Legal prostitution is limited geographically to the “red districts”, which   consists of a network of alleys containing several hundred cabins rented by sex workers. These offer their services behind a glass door usually illuminated with red. The most famous red light district of Amsterdam is De Wallen, which has become a major tourist attraction over the years. However, it is also possible to find cabins in the Spui district and south of the Singelgracht.

The Amsterdam tourist office: https://www.iamsterdam.com/en

The Netherlands tourist office on Amsterdam: https://www.holland.com/global/tourism/destinations/amsterdam.htm

There you go folks ,you have a whole wonderful city of Amsterdam to see and enjoy with the canals it is sublime, Again, hope you enjoy the post as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!