Discovering Amsterdam from Land and Canals

Amsterdam is the largest city in The Netherlands and has a rich history as an industrial and economic leader. This shows in some of the unique ways the city has reinvented itself over the years. While there is much to see in this city, we toured the city in an afternoon knowing we were missing a lot.

To get to the center of Amsterdam from our hotel, we would normally ride the train and be there in ten minutes. This day we chose to go by ferry. When we first visited the windmills, we took the ferry. There is a lock right at this point on the river so there is another ferry that goes in the opposite direction to Amsterdam. This was a different ferry experience. First of all we could pay by credit card. The boat was also much nicer with tables and chairs in the main cabin along with a bar area to purchase drinks. There were only six of us riding the ferry on this morning.

The journey down the river was mostly through industrial areas. We saw factories as well as old and rusting boats along the way. In some places there were apartment complexes that overlooked the river, but it was mostly industrial views.

After we deboarded the boat near the train station in Amsterdam, we got ready to get into another boat (Our sixth boat ride on this trip}. One of the popular activities in Amsterdam is a canal tour, and there are a number of tour operators to choose from. Amsterdam has about 88 canals. No tour can cover that number of canals, but the tours do go down some of the major ones.

Most of the tour boats have a glass covering over them to keep out inclement weather. Much like the bus tours we took, the crew gave us headphones to plug in according to the language we wanted to listen to. Unfortunately the boat captain kept trying to give out information as well. He kept talking over the information coming from the headset. This was a little confusing as neither one was then very clear.

The tour starts near the Amsterdam train station and goes out into the river near where our ferry had come from. It then enters one of the canals. The boats are long and don’t maneuver very well so turning from one canal into another is not as smooth as one might expect.

The boats are low boats as they have to pass under various bridges. The bridges themselves are quite interesting. Some are quite old. I saw a date on one bridge of 1784.

The tour provides a lot of information. There is information about the houses that line the canals. They are very expensive now, into the millions of dollars. We learned about their design. One fact I found quite interesting is that at the top of the houses there is a hook that comes out from the house. People use this as a point for pulleys to lift furniture to the upper floors of the houses because of the too-narrow staircases.

We also learned about the houseboats. These began to appear in Amsterdam about fifty years ago as a less expensive alternative to the pricey homes. However, that is not so true today. Houseboats are hooked up to the city utilities and pay a houseboat tax so they are no longer inexpensive to live in.

As in all cities different neighborhoods attract different kinds of people. Expensive neighborhoods and working class neighborhoods were noted along the way. Apparently old warehouses have now been turned into apartment complexes after squatters found them to be an ideal place to stay.

When our boat tour had ended, and we were back on land, there was one place nearby that I wanted to visit, the Basilica of Saint Nicholas. This is a huge imposing Catholic church that one can see as he leaves the train station. Its towers are quite unique. I though it might be an orthodox church because of its architecture.

The church was open for visitors so we were able to go inside. We discovered beautiful stained glass windows and, as is often the case, really interesting ceiling details. There is again a very elaborate pulpit, but this time it is more to the front of the church than those in Belgium.

Back in the busy Amsterdam streets, we stopped at a Starbucks to get a mug for my wife’s collection. From there we walked farther into the city. We found quieter streets as we moved away from the areas near the train station.

We were heading to the home of Rembrandt van Rijn, one of the most notable of the Dutch painters. The actual house that he lived in has been turned into a museum of sorts. Like other homes, there are a number of levels to the home. The lowest floor contains the kitchen. It was interesting to see how low the counters were. There is also an enclosed bed here for the cook or maid. It is quite short. Apparently people slept half sitting up as they were afraid they would die if they lay flat on the bed.

The next level holds the reception area and living area which also contains Rembrandt’s bed. Not only was he a painter, he was also an art dealer who sold his own works and those of others from his home. He always filled his walls with paintings which were for sale.

The stairs going up to the third floor are very narrow so a rope hangs in the center of the spiraling staircase to help steady one. It reminded me of the rope we used when we climbed the bell tower in Brugges. The third level contains Rembrandt’s painting studio. There were two sources of heat here to help keep him warm. There is also another room which contains a variety of objects that he collected from the natural world such as shells as well as other objects that he found useful in his art or in his teaching.

Rembrandt had many students that he worked with, and they did their work on the highest level of the house. He put the students through a specific series of lessons that eventually led them to develop their own style of work. Some went on to be fairly significant artists as well.

The exhibit continues with an attempt to bring Rembrandt’s ideals and ideas into the modern world. When we visited it was all about the human body. Rembrandt painted all kinds of people. This was translated into the concept that the body should be seen for what it is, not in the idealized version we see in commercials. Various modern artists were featured. I didn’t find the work here all that interesting.

From here we began to wander back to Amsterdam’s train station. While there was still much to see, it was too late to visit any other major locations or museums. We walked through a garden along a canal and headed towards the waterfront as we found our way to the train station.

One more story to tell from this day. Since we thought we had to pay cash for the ferry ride into Amsterdam, Andrea took cash out to have available. We didn’t need it, and nothing else in the day seemed to require cash. She said she would take it home and save it for her next European trip. That evening we decided to go to a small Italian restaurant near our hotel for dinner. The owner was a very friendly woman, and we enjoyed our meal. However, when it came time to pay, they required cash so Andrea had to use over half of the money she had taken out to pay for dinner. We were just thankful she had the cash. We hadn’t thought to check when we entered if they accepted credit cards.

The next day we took a train to the Amsterdam airport. It was a very busy place, and the escalators weren’t working so there were huge lines for the elevators. We finally managed to wrestle our luggage up a flight of stairs. It was around noon, and as we stood in line to check in for our flight, one by one the agents left for their lunch break as they finished with a customer. It got to the point of being ridiculous. Finally someone came back from lunch, and they moved the line along.

Our flight to San Francisco was uneventful. From there I was to fly home on Delta. Unfortunately, the flight was delayed, and then delayed again, and yet again. About four hours after the intended departure, we finally left. However, the pain was not done. My suitcase never arrived. An agent told me it had been loaded onto the plane, but after that it never appeared. I was exhausted and frustrated. My poor son had come to pick me up so I just went home and crashed. The next day around noon, Delta delivered my suitcase to my home. Finished at last.

Other than the ending, this had been a great trip. I did have an improved perception of Amsterdam after our day, but I still think I like Belgium better, and it is a less popular destination. Of course spring is the best time to visit, otherwise you’ll miss the tulip gardens.

Be sure to check out next week’s blog post when my daughter will be sharing her perception of our trip. Until then I always look forward to your comments and questions. Keep them coming.