Walking Around Amsterdam

 There were just so many things to see walking about the city.  There were so many people and it was crazy busy, but there were also lots of little quiet spots to get away and just sit.  I loved it.

Cheese Shops

The Dutch are serious about their cheese.  There are cheese shops everywhere! And the varieties…endless!

This photo is for our friends who own a lavender farm.  This is lavender cheese.

Hidden Church

If you travel much in Europe, you have probably heard about Rick Steeves.  He is an incredibly popular travel writer/guide.  He has a free app with audio tours in different European cities.  We followed it one day, and it lead us to this tiny church that is right across from a McDonald’s!  It is a Catholic Church that was built during a time when the catholic religion was not popular.  It was quietly tolerated, as long as the Catholics were not loud and “in your face” about it.  This is the. Petra’s en Paulus Kerk, also known as De Papegaai Hidden Catholic Church. “De papegaai” is a parrot. A carved parrot was over the entrance of the house that formerly stood on this site.  Now, a stuffed parrot hangs in the nave.

You step off the street and walk only a few steps into this beautiful, quiet space.

De papegaai

The Begijnhof

This is a quiet courtyard, lined with houses around a church.  It is just steps away from one of the busiest streets in Amsterdam, yet is a quiet refuge.  For centuries, this was the home of Beguines, women who were something liken nuns. 

The green space inside the Begijnhof.

This is the English Reformed Church in the center of the Begijnhof.

Inside the church.  Rick Steeves said that since the Pilgrims came to Amsterdam before sailing to North America, it is likely they prayed in this church.

This stain glass window at the front of the church depicts the Pilgrims praying before boarding the Mayflower.

The fancy bench to the far right is called the “Mayor’s pew”.  It dates from the time the Pilgrims were here.  I talked a tour guide who told me it was never really used. Then for a special anniversary, the Queen of England and Prince Phillip were coming! They were excited that finally someone would sit there!  However, the Queen and Prince insisted on sitting at the front, they didn’t want to sit in the special pew.  She laughed at how even the mayor that day sat up next to the queen and not on the special bench.

Just across the path from the English Reformed Church is this doorway to another hidden Catholic Church.

Inside the Catholic Church it is small, but beautiful and quiet.

Street Cleaners

Flower Market

Of course Holland is known for tulips.  The season was over by the time we went.  It starts sometime about the end of March and lasts until the end of April.  However, Holland is a major producer of flowers for the world.  There are flowers everywhere.  It is refreshing and beautiful. This section of Amsterdam is known as the Flower Market.  It consists of a series of greenhouse shops along the canal.  This is what it looks like from the back, it gives an idea of how long it is.

The front of the shops.

Seeds, seeds and more seeds…

Tulips made from pipe cleaners

There are just bulbs everywhere!  I heard that some of them are marked “okay to take to America” or something like that.  I choose some to buy and asked the clerk if they were okay to take to America.  He said “NO!” And quickly walked away.  So…I didn’t get any bulbs. lol

Across the path from the flower stalls were these shops in the basements of the buildings.  You had to go down the steps to get into them and kind of duck.

Canals

We were told that Amsterdam has more bridges that Paris and more canals than Venice.

Can you see Caleb? This is where we sat to eat for our walking food tour.  There were people sitting all along the canals, going down them in boats in the evening, etc.  It is a gathering place.

We were told that there are so many houseboats in Amsterdam that they no longer issue any permits for them.  The permits are astronomically expensive, let along the cost of the boat.  Some boats are very old and junky, others are sleek and modern.  Some have curtains to give them privacy for all the tour boats and other boats that float right by, others you can look right in and see…everything.  The Dutch are not embarrassed easily, so some of them don’t mind if people go by their boathouse as they come out of the shower.  

Lifting Beams

Long ago, the government of Amsterdam charged taxes for buildings according to the amount of street front the building had.  Therefore, you saved money by having a skinny, long building that extended into the back.  As a result, they built their buildings up high to gain space.  Some even fan out in the back, getting much wider.  There are no alley ways, but there are gardens in the back, or courtyards.  Most blocks seem to be a solid wall of houses/buildings all the way around.  This creates the problem of getting heavy, bulky items into the higher floors.  Especially because the staircases are usually very steep, narrow and circular.  So, most buildings have this lifting beam sticking out the top of the front.  We heard that it was not unusual to see people moving in their new couch or moving in or out of a home using these beams.  They hook up the heavy time and lift it and then bring it in through the large windows.

Once it was pointed out to me, I saw them everywhere!

The two buildings in the middle used to be warehouses.  You can tell by the shutters, which did not originally have windows behind them.  Thus it was easy to hoist inventory up and in without messing with the window.

Architecture

I’m not an architecture expert, but I can appreciate it.  There were so many beautiful buildings all over the city. 

This is a fancy, famous hotel right along one of the major canals.

I never did find out what this funny shaped building was.  It reminded me of the Sydney Opera House in Australia.

This is a pretty tall skyscraper in a more modern part of the city.  The thing on the top right are three swings that you can swing out over the edge.  No thank you.

This might have been my favorite.  It was originally a post office.  Now it is a mall.  I didn’t get to go in, but it is on my list of things to do when I go back to Amsterdam.

The tower in the distance is called the Mint Tower.  It marked the limit of the medieval walled city and was part of the gate.  One of the canals around the city used to be a moat around the wall of the city.  Anyway, we learned that this tower is a favorite among the marijuana culture.  The clock has the date 1620 on it (sorry, you can’t see it in my photo) and people love to take their photo in front of it when the time says 4:20 pm.  In 24 hour time used in Europe, 4:20 pm = 16:20.

This building is actually in the little community I mentioned earlier - the Begijnhof.  It is the city’s oldest structure, from 1477. 

The next couple photos are from around the main square: Dam Square.  I forget what all the buildings are, but they are impressive.  By the way, the city gets its name because it is where they build a dam across the Amstel River.  Thus…Amsterdam.  

Memorial to people killed in WWII.

This was a fun row of buildings and shops that looked cool.

Shops of all sorts…

These little bunnies are everywhere.  It is the character Miffy from a popular Dutch children’s book series from 1955 that has taken off.  Miffy has her own movies, TV series, etc.  Mostly I saw books where Miffy visits the Rijksmuseum, or other famous places.  You can buy lots of different outfits, books, etc. 

Cool shop front

The shopping district is just fascinating.  So much to see and discover. Many of the streets are pedestrian only.

Lego Store Amsterdam

We are Lego fans.  So, of course we had to stop and check out all the cool things in the store!

The original Van Gogh painting of Sunflowers is in the museum here.  I didn’t know that there is a Lego set you can get that recreates it  - somewhat in 3D.

Good to Know….

There are “coffee shops” and “cafes” in Amsterdam.  We learned that if you want a cup of something to drink, DON’T go to a coffee shop.  They have nothing to do with coffee.  Coffee shops in Amsterdam are places to smoke weed…and maybe other things…I’m not sure.  

There were a couple of these duck stores that sold only rubber ducks.  I saw one of these last year in Montreal.  We were told that these are just money laundering businesses.  Apparently it is one of those “everybody knows this and no one stops it” things.  Is it true? No idea.