Amsterdam, Netherlands Fri 25/7/14 & Sat 26/7/14
After photos of the house and with the family we said goodbye to Ines, Feline and Aurelie and set off northwards to Amsterdam. Mark very kindly drove us from Landegem so that we were spared the complexities of an interrupted train journey with 2 changes of line. The drive took about 3 hours and about half way into the journey we knew were in The Netherlands because we started seeing windmills. Ah, so sad to think in national stereotypes - but they are often helpful and contain a good deal of truth.
For years I have known that although Amsterdam is the largest city in The Netherlands (the greater metropolitan area contains about 1.8 million people - about Perth's population) the "seat of government" was in The Hague. It is somewhat like Sydney being the largest city in Australia but the seat of national government is Canberra. The important difference is that Canberra is not just the seat of Government, it IS the capital. Amsterdam IS the capital, but is NOT the seat of government. Now I know better.
After an early check-in at our hotel we caught the light rail (a biggish tram) to Central Station and then took a boat trip along several of the canals in Amsterdam's system. The city is sometimes tagged "the Venice of the North" but there are so many differences that it is a poor comparison. Brugge in Belgium also uses the "Venice" tag. Venice is an almost random set of canals between islands in the middle of a tidal lagoon. Amsterdam has an orderly set of canals ringing the city. A bit over half way through the boat trip the light drizzle became rain and the retracted roof was extended along the boat somewhat limiting our view and changing the feel of the trip (not that we wanted the "wet" feeling).
The sky stayed grey for most of Friday and although there were short spells with blue skies on Saturday, there were also showers, even heavy rain, through the day. The sky did however clear late on Saturday so we took the "sunset" boat trip as the lights came on along the canals. Only a few of the photos will have blue skies and hazy grey or black stormy clouds will be common.
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Our first activity was to take a boat tour of Amsterdam's harbour and main canal ring |
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Three forms of inner city transport: light rail, bicycle, and canal boats for the visitors. |
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The water-facing end of NEMO, the Science Museum for children |
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Replica VOC (East India Company) at the National Maritime Museum |
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Another view of NEMO. From this angle it looks as if the stern has broken off a ship and is slipping under the water. |
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The National Maritime Museum and VOC ship |
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One of the many characteristic bridges across the canals |
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Judy captures a scene from the canal boat before the rain came and the roof top was shut. |
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This bridge opens in two sections. Each side is raised. |
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The 5-star "Amstel" Hotel on the Binnen-Amstel Canal |
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The Central Railway Station |
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A sight we wouldn't see at home. A shop advertises its hemp products. |
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Another section of Amsterdam's ring of canals. Many barges are permanently moored "houseboats" |
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An "Amsterdam cliche" shot. Bicycle, clogs and "tulip" all in the one photograph. |
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At the Anne Frank museum the queue just grew longer and longer, winding down the street, around the corner and into the next block. |
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A display of famous blue and white "Delft" pottery.
There were a few nice (and expensive) pieces, but in
general these are not in a style I find attractive. |
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Interior of a swish shopping gallery built inside an old building opposite the Palace |
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The Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw is famous for its superb acoustic properties as well as fine players and renowned conductors |
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The Royal Palace faces Dam Square |
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The National Monument in Dam Square honours victims of WW2.
(Here's a bit of blue sky for a change, bit it didn't last long) |
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Bicycles are chained to just about every available piece. of railing. The buildings display a variety of styles. |
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A smart looking "Tesla" sports car at the kerb-side. Note the cable going to the hatch above the mirror. |
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It's an electric car charging its batteries from the supply. It brings a new meaning to "parking charges" |
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Canal, barge and the typical tall, narrow buildings. |
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Many streets along the canal were lined with trees. Amsterdam is quite a "leafy green" city. |
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A peaceful canal view |
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A cheese museum. I'm sorry that we couldn't visit it. What could be more "Dutch" than a cheese museum? |
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I suppose that this could even be more "Dutch" than the cheese museum. |
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The Westerkerk (Hendrick de Keyser, 1631) in the Renaissance style. The cathedral's "Westertoren" steeple is the highest in Amsterdam (85m). |
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The canals flanked by tree-lined streets look very peaceful and visually appealing. |
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Above and below: some elaborately decorated windows |
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The Van Gogh museum houses a large collection of the works of Van Gogh and contemporaries. There are many of his great works, and also many quite new to us. (No photos inside) |
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We've seen the canals, cheese, clogs and tulips. No trip would be complete without a closeup look at a windmill. The guide book says that there are now just 8 left inside the city. The De Gooyer is probably the most accessible. It was built in 1725 and was relocated to its current site in 1814. |
Rembrandt is probably the artist most closely associated with Amsterdam. His former house is now a museum, and the Rijksmuseum houses his greatest work "The Nightguard". In 2006, to mark the 400th anniversary of his birth, many of the figures depicted in "The Night Watch" were cast in bronze by Russian sculptors Dronov and Taratynov and placed around his statue in Rembrandtplein ("Rembrandt Square).
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"The Night Watch or The Militia Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq" (1642) Oil on canvas; on display at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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The statue of Rembrandt in the Rembrandtplein (Louis Royer, late 1830's) and bronze figures from
"The Night Watch" (Dronov & Taratynov, 2006). |
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Nicely decorated building now housing a cafe |
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The "Magere" (skinny) Bridge over the Amstel canal |
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Bridge supports in the shape of the bows of ancient boats |
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Decorative lamp post on the bridge shown above.
These bear more than a passing resemblance to the
lamp supports around the Garnier Opera House in Paris. |
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Lamp stands on the footpath around the Paris Opera House. They are not the same but the "ship theme" is certainly similar. |
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Locks to regulate water levels and flow on the River Amstel |
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Leaving from Schipol Airport. Flowers and tributes left in memory of those killed when flight MH17 was shot down. The flight left from here. It gave us a slightly uneasy feeling. |