New York City, Holland and Belgium in the Springtime
April 19 - May 6, 2014
Part Two - Amsterdam area
Page 5 - Another day in Amsterdam
The Amsterdam was an 18th-century cargo ship of the Dutch East India Company.
The ship started its maiden voyage from Texel to Batavia in January 1749, but
was wrecked in a storm on the English Channel. The shipwreck was discovered
in 1969 in the bay of Bulverhythe, United Kingdom, and is sometimes visible
during low tides. A replica of the ship is on display in Amsterdam.
Gables are Amsterdam and elsewhere in Holland. If you look up, you will
see many of the gables are adorned with a hook. Not a decoration, the hook
is there to enable residents to pull large, bulky objects up and into a window
at the proper floor. Most homes in Amsterdam have narrow, steep, often
winding staircases that make it difficult to bring large, bulky objects upstairs.
Many windows can be taken out of the wall completely for the same reason.
In warm weather you will pass by many an establishment that has removed
the windows to let the warm breeze through. Note how the buildings
are leaning in this photo, not uncommon.
Charming houseboats line almost every canal. You will see them with gardens
on decks and roofs, with cushy upholstered chairs on deck, with tables and
chairs. About 2,400 of these picturesque houses on water are docked in the city.
In the 1950's Amsterdam was experiencing a housing shortage (still is) and in
a display of typical ingenuity they looked to their beloved canals and the
houseboat was established.
Much of the Amsterdam canal system is the successful outcome of city planning.
In the early part of the 17th century, with immigration rising, a comprehensive
plan was put together, calling for four main, concentric half-circles of canals
with their ends resting on the IJ Bay.
Anne Frank wrote her Diary of a Young Girl in this house from 1942-1944.
It is perhaps the most renowned and widely-read account of daily life under
German occupation during World War II. The actual
house, located on the canal Prinsengracht, was constructed in 1635. It was
listed for demolition in 1955. A campaign to save the house was successful,
and the Anne Frank Foundation was established in 1957 with the purpose of
preserving the house. It was opened to the public in 1960. Two large
renovations closed the building temporarily in 1970 and 1999.
The canal that runs in front of the Anne Frank house.
King's Day celebration
King's Day is the biggest national event in Holland. Everyone turns orange and
celebrates on King's Day. You will find music shows, fairs, flea markets and parties
throughout the country. Even the Dutch royal family goes on tour to be received
by one or more Dutch towns for an entertainment-filled day.
Amsterdam is transformed into the nation's biggest orange party town.
Prostitution is legal in the Netherlands, and in Amsterdam most of
it is concentrated in the Red Light District. Women, clad in very
little, stand in windows. Here a man is looking at a series of 3 windows
where women were standing hoping to attract customers.
Oude Kerk, the venerable Old Church, which stands watch over
part of the Red Light district.
Dam Square lies in the historical center of Amsterdam, south of the main
transportation hub, Centraal Station, at the original location of the dam in
the river Amstel. It is roughly rectangular in shape.
The National Monument is a 1956 World War II monument on Dam Square
in Amsterdam. A national Remembrance of the Dead ceremony is held
at the monument every year on May 4 to commemorate the casualties of
World War II and subsequent armed conflicts. It is a common meeting place
in Amsterdam.
On the west end of the Dam Square is the neoclassical Royal Palace,
which served as the city hall from 1655 until its conversion to a royal
residence in 1808. Beside it are the 15th-century Gothic Nieuwe Kerk (New Church)
and the Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum.
Buildings along the water in the City Center area
Family walking away from a narrow street in Amsterdam
Science Center Nemo is a science center in Amsterdam. The museum has its
origins in 1923. It contains five floors of hands-on science exhibitions and
is the largest science center in the Netherlands. It attracts annually over 500,000
visitors, which makes it the fifth most visited museum in the Netherlands.
Overview of the city center of Amsterdam
Baby boy kissing his dad
I thought of buying an orange wig to wear during hunting season in
Colorado, but I did not. Waitress wearing one for King's Day
The Dutch celebrate King's Day on April 27, which is the birthday of the
new King Willem-Alexander. If April 27 falls on a Sunday, as in 2014,
the celebration is held the day before.
The River Harmony, the Grand Circle boat for our cruise of lakes and canals
in Holland and Belgium. The Movenpick Hotel in the background is where
we stayed while in Amsterdam.
Link to Page 6 - Hoorn and Enkhuizen, Netherlands
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