I went to Amsterdam by train Saturday morning and came back by train after dinner Sunday. It's 2 hours by train. Travelers except tourists and commuters pay around €28 for the round trip, or less. (Commuters traveling during rush hour and tourists without access to one of the rail system's many discount programs pay nearly €50.) Trains are frequent, on-time, and full. (The Dutch complain endlessly about trains being late. In Dutch, the phrase for something being late is te laat, "too late." To them, 5 minutes off schedule for a 2-hour train trip is unacceptable.)
It's early December, but after Sinterklaas, so the Christmas season is upon the city of Amsterdam. While the Sinterklaas traditions are completely alien to Americans, Dutch Christmas looks a lot like American Christmas, without the year's worth of debt slavery attached, as the Dutch use very little credit.
At the end of the post, there's a map of Amsterdam with markers showing where each picture I'm including was taken, for those of you who would like to get oriented a bit. Note that this is only a map of the very very oldest, central heart of Amsterdam. It's a city that has been evolving since the 13th century from a fishing port to one of the most intriguing cities in the world. The part shown in the map image dates from the 16th century and before, although many of the structures were replaced in the 17th century, when Amsterdam experienced a golden age and underwent extensive changes.
4. Royal Palace of Amsterdam
This is a 100% Dutch picture to me. First, the Palace was not built as a Palace. It was the people of Amsterdam's conception of a City Hall befitting to the glory of their city in the 17th century. It remained the Stadhuis for nearly 200 years before Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (the other Napoleon's brother) became king of Holland and made it his own personal palace. The large plaza in front of the building had a canal through it, which Louis Napoleon's wife Josephine (yes they were both married to Josephines) complained stank. Louis Napoleon had it filled in, but in vain. Josephine hated Amsterdam and stayed in the city for only two months. Louis had to follow just two years later, in 1810, after ruling Holland for only four years.
By 1813, Willem Prince of Oranje was on his way to becoming King of Holland and gave the building back to the people of Amsterdam for government administration. After becoming King of Netherlands in 1815, Willem asked the city if he could establish himself in the building and the city consented. The Palace remains the official residence of the Dutch Royal Family.
All interesting, but what makes the picture quintessentially Dutch to me is this juxtaposition of a publicly owned Palace; an efficient, modern tram; a minimum of automobiles; a vibrant, healthy population on foot in the town center; and a clear, cold December day--with a Christmas tree. The Dutch take what they like from other cultures without reservation, cherish what they love most about their own, and heartily enjoy the resulting combination.
2. The Royal Palace at Night
Yes the white circles are bike tires. They're parked on the square.
1. De Bijenkorf. De Bijenkorf is to Amsterdam what Macy's Union Square is to San Francisco. It's located on the other side of the Dam from the Royal Palace. Here's the parking lot of De Bijenkorf at night:
10. Beurs van Berlage. Just a bit up Damrak from the Dam is the Beurs van Berlage.
This picture is taken from the back side of the building, on the Damstraat side, showing the XXX flag of Amsterdam. Beurs van Berlage was built as the central exchange for Amsterdam in 1611. It was the first fixed-location stock exchange in the world. Today it hosts public and private events, has a cafe and houses a bike shop.
Moving from the Dam down Damstraat to the Oudezijds Voorburgwal, you reach one of the 1500 or so bridges over the canals.
15. Varkenssluis (That's the name of this particular little bridge that carries Damstraat over the canal at Ouderzijds Voorburgwal.)
There is a massive number of bicycles in this city. They're chained to every possible tree, post, fence, and railing, and often just to each other. The bottom foot or so of the canals is reportedly lined with discarded bikes that have to be dredged out routinely. Tens of thousands of bikes are stolen annually in Amsterdam. Many end up in the canals. Bike theft is an annoyance in this culture; it's not a "real crime." Many of the thieves are not hardened criminals whisking your bike away for resale or to a chop shop, but another citizen whose own bike was stolen or got a flat. The bike I have is fancy. The vast majority of bikes in Amsterdam are of the most basic, cable-gear, no-frills variety. I did not take my bike with me to Amsterdam.
15. Seeds. This same intersection hosts the High Quality Seed Bank, which offers in the window:
No. I can't send you one.
14. Amsterdammers. Moving a little way up the Wal, we meet our first Amsterdammer:
XXX is the symbol of the city, as it has been since 1505. The three X's represent three St. Andrew's crosses. Andrew was a fisherman; Amsterdam was established as a fisherman's port. The other meaning of XXX is coincidental. :-) At any rate, this little pole is called an Amsterdammer. Its purpose is to block cars from parking or driving on sidewalks, while not inhibiting foot and bike traffic.
Works quite well. There is almost no automobile traffic in Amsterdam anyway. Cars are free to drive on most streets, and there are cars, but the incredible lack of parking space makes a car fairly useless. Visitors to the city either park at the hotel, never to move the car again during their stay, or park in any of many lots on the outskirts of the city located close to tram, metro, and bus stops, and take public transit or walk into the city. Residents primarily walk and ride bikes. Amsterdam's massive traffic jams primarily occur in the outskirts of the city and the highways surrounding the city.
15. Ouderzijds Voorburgwal
This is a stretch of the same street a bit further up. These houses mostly date from the 17th century golden age of Amsterdam, when much of the heart of the city was built. A belt of four canals was built around the existing city, which extended only to the Singel at the time, and residential and commercial areas were constructed in a single, planned expansion of the city between 1613 and 1664. The economy began to contract at that time and construction proceeded much more slowly. The first section (the northwest sector and the main canals) was completely finished by 1625. Although this particular area lies within the original borders of Amsterdam, most of it was also rebuilt in the 17th century.
12. Bulldog no. 90. A little further up, we find the Bulldog Coffeeshop no. 90.
Number 90 is the coffee shop's address, and its claim to fame is that it's not only the first of the Bulldog chain of properties, but also apparently the first "coffee shop" in Amsterdam. This is actually the third Bulldog coffee shop that you find on the very same block between Damstraat and Oudekerk.
11. Oudekerk & Oudekerkplein
I don't think an American like myself can easily grasp the span of history that Amsterdam embodies, just as it's nearly impossible for a Dutch person to conceive of the space and distances that exist in the US. The US has space; Holland has time. Vast, unfathomable spans of time. [The place I live now has been inhabited for over 10,000 years, with stone monuments dating back around 6,000 years.] This church was first consecrated in 1306 as a Catholic church and became Calvinist when Willem de Zwijger (Willem the Silent, same Willem I mentioned earlier) defeated the Spanish and made Holland independent again.
In Holland, nothing is sacred. While Oude Kerk continues to be a church, it also hosts a restaurant and is available for rental for private functions. Behind the church, Oudekerkplein hosts prostitution windows, a lunch room, a coffee shop and two bars.
This very helpful sign is also located on the plaza behind the church:
The time and date stamp is completely wrong. Ignore it. Please and thank you.
08. Nieuwemarkt. De Waag.
Nieuwemarkt is the neighborhood. This building is called De Waag. But originally, when it was constructed in 1488, it was St. Anthony's Gate. One of the three original entrances to the walled city of Amsterdam, this gate sat over one of the three main canals that flowed into the city to control shipping and to keep the city secure. The canal still flows under the building, but it's no longer visible.
When the city wall was removed in 1601 (to be replaced by that system of concentric canals mentioned earlier), the Waag was the only original gate fortress that remained. Now inside the city, it was repurposed as a weighing house, from which it got its name. Louis Napoleon used the plaza for public executions. Today it hosts a restaurant called In De Waag.
09. 't Mandje. Moving up Zeedijk back toward the top of Amsterdam, we find this little cafe:
The red sign says "Do you know that 't Mandje is the oldest gay cafe in Amsterdam?" Check out their website (http://cafetmandje.nl/). Yes, person-who-you-know-who-you-are, you can come here!
7. Holiday Street Lights, just above 't Mandje over a small canal that crosses Zeedijk.
Each little neighborhood had their own decorations.
6. Back at the very top of Amsterdam, along the Nieuwebrugsteeg (it didn't get a red circle but it's between 5 & 7 on the map), I caught a picture of Damrak at night with the holiday lighting up.
See? There are cars! (They are, however, considerably outnumbered by the bicycles.)
7. Street decorations along Damrak.
These were full-on chandeliers hanging over this street, which intersects Damrak. Damrak itself, between Central Station and the Dam, is an unabashed tourist trap with McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken, dozens of souvenir shops and the Sex Museum.
Not on Map. Albert de Cuypstraat Markt
You can get *everything* here. This isn't quite like a fleamarket. It's not particularly about bargains (which are there to be found, for sure). It's not about the unusual items or the vast assortment of goods available. This market has more to do with the Dutch notion of shopping. Winkelen is both the plural of the word for store and a verb that means going to the stores. Winkelen is a national, very social, relaxing hobby. I'll talk more about winkelen in the upcoming blog about what makes the city where I'm staying special.
Not on Map. Holiday Street Lighting.
This is to the south near the Jacob Obrechtstraat hotel where I stayed, 10 minutes by tram from Central Station. It's a little past the open-air market above.
So there you go. One weekend glimpse of Amsterdam. Barely scratched the surface.
Tot Ziens!
--Gayle
I think you can find this section of the map in this wonderful aerial photo of Amsterdam:
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--Gayle