Netherlands, Enjoying Amsterdam

Amsterdam is a fun-loving city and visitors can’t help but join in and celebrate its joie de vivre. The city is full of interesting sites and the canals, quaint streets and beautiful green spaces provide wonderful places to explore.

Townhouses Along the Canal

I have read that bad behaving tourists have becoming quite a problem in Amsterdam, and that is a terrible shame. It is a lovely city and visitors have no right to act inappropriately, especially since they are guests in the city and country. Except for dinner our last evening, that was made unbearable by a rowdy sports team, we didn’t experience the kind of raucous behavior by foreigners that we have heard about, although we have seen it from time to time in other cities.

The Netherlands is part of the European Union and uses the Euro (€) as its currency. The official language is Dutch, but English is widely spoken. In Amsterdam most signage is in both Dutch and English. It’s best, however, to learn some basic words and phrases of a country’s language, it can be very useful, especially if venturing out from the larger cities.

Tulips' Reflection Creates a Monet-Like Painting

Amsterdam was founded as a fishing village around the thirteenth century. The 1500s brought much growth and the city developed into a prosperous trade and banking center. In its 1600s ‘golden age’ Amsterdam became wealthy due to its trade with the far east, but its fortunes declined in the 1700s. In the 1800s a canal was dug to the North Sea rejuvenating the port which, along with the industrial revolution, helped Amsterdam’s economy until the 1930s depression. Nazi occupation followed but postwar prosperity once again lifted the city.

Early in this century Amsterdam attracted a large number of tourists by using promotions such as the 'I Amsterdam' campaign. Thousands of additional hotel rooms were built, and Airbnb added even more. The annual number of visitors nearly doubled in just a few short years. This has driven real estate prices up, making the city center unaffordable for many of its residents and businesses. It appears that, in some ways, Amsterdam has become a victim of its own success. And it is not just Amsterdam, an influx of tourism has had overwhelming ramifications for other European cities such as Rome, Venice, Barcelona, Prague, Santorini and Dubrovnik.

Charm Abounds in Amsterdam

This is not to say that one should not visit, but it is important to be a good, thoughtful tourist. If possible, travel off season to lessen the burden, and always obey and respect local laws and customs.

We flew into Schiphol Airport and took the train to the central station (Centraal). We stayed at the nearby Renaissance Hotel which is within a short walk. For those traveling further, trams are a great option, or taxis are available.

My favorite part of visiting Amsterdam was simply wandering the streets, stopping by an outdoor café to enjoy a meal or a drink, and watching the locals have fun in the park. However, there are plenty of great sites to see.

The Rijksmuseum is a gem of a museum that is dedicated to the arts and history of Amsterdam. The museum is located at the pretty Museum Square near the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum, and the Concertgebouw.

Rijksmuseum 

The Rijksmuseum was founded in The Hague in November 1798. It was moved to Amsterdam in 1808 where it was first located in the Royal Palace. It was later moved to the Trippenhuis. The current building was opened in 1885. After closing for a massive ten-year renovation, it was reopened on April 13, 2013 to much fanfare.

The museum is the largest art museum in the country and displays 8,000 objects of art and history from the year 1200 to the present, including masterpieces by Rembrandt, Frans Hals, and Johannes Vermeer.

For fans of Van Gogh, the museum of the same name houses some 200 paintings owned by his brother Theo. Van Gogh led a troubled life and the chronologically laid out paintings reflect his different moods and styles over the years.

The Stedelijk Museum is the Netherlands top modern-art museum. It houses a fine collection of 20th-century works including some by Chagall and Picasso as well as popular modern Dutch artists.

Concertgebouw

We enjoyed a wonderful concert in the nearby Concertgebouw. We always try to take in a concert or event when we travel. A concert, or other performance, in a beautiful venue makes for a special memory.

I often mention how much I enjoy city museums and recommend visiting them whenever possible. They are a great way to get a feel for the city’s history from its beginning until present day. Amsterdam has a good one that begins from the time the city was no more than a small fishing village.

The Netherlands Maritime Museum is certainly appropriate considering the seafaring history of the Dutch. The main collection includes globes, navigational tools, and artwork. Moored outside is a replica of the 18th-century cargo ship, the Amsterdam. Looking as though it is rising from the sea, a favorite of kids is the NEMO Science Museum. The museum is packed full of interactive exhibits as well as a space to perform simple science experiments. The top houses a restaurant with nice city views.

Royal Palace in Dam Square

A very unusual type of museum is the Our Lord in the Attic Museum. When Protestants took power in 1578, Catholic churches were vandalized and shuttered, forcing Catholics to gather secretly in homes and offices to celebrate mass. In 1663 a wealthy merchant built Our Lord in the Attic, a three-story church, in his home. The church survives to this day in the historic townhouse.

Originally built as a lavish city hall, the Royal Palace became a royal residence in 1806. Today it is one of King Willem-Alexander’s official residences. Around twenty rooms are open for the public to tour.

The Old Church, Oude Kerk, was the medieval city’s original church. It took decades to build and is a bit of a hodge-podge as it began as a humble wooden structure and eventually evolved into to the stone building it is today. It stands in the middle of the city’s red-light district which I don’t find particularly interesting, but I’m sure others do.

Vondelpark 

During World War II German troops occupied Amsterdam. The Jewish community was almost completely wiped out. More than 100,000 Jews were deported, including the author of the well-known Diary of Anne Frank. For twenty-five months Anne, her family, and four others hid in a secret annex in the back part of their house accessed by a swinging bookcase. On August 4, 1944, the Nazis entered the main floor, went right to the bookcase and took them away. It was never known who betrayed the Franks. The only one that survived the concentration camps was Anne’s father, Otto. It was Otto who made sure Anne’s diaries were published.

The Anne Frank House takes visitors on a tour of life under fascism and shows how the eight hid together in the small space. This is a popular attraction and tickets sell out quickly. Tickets can only be purchased on-line and they have specific timed entries.

Houseboats Along the Canal

For more light-hearted entertainment, the gorgeous Vondelpark is a terrific place to while away a few pleasant hours. The park is huge and includes paths, playgrounds, a lake, statues, flower beds, wildlife, and a bandstand for free summer concerts. We happened to visit on a Sunday and the park was packed full of locals enjoying the day and the music. It was nice to be able to join in on the fun and watch the people at play.

Other enjoyable areas include Dam Square, the birthplace of the city. Enjoy a coffee, people watch and admire the National Monument, Royal Palace, and the New Church. Explore the Jordaan area with its chic townhouses, cafés, and art galleries. Stroll along the Prinsengracht, Princes’ Canal, and picture what it would be like to live on one of the many houseboats. Stop by an open-air market and pick up some flowers.

Romantic Evening Canals

Just for fun, join the locals and rent a bike. Or take a canal cruise to see the sites from a different vantage point. We did this and thoroughly enjoyed it, even though it was raining a bit. Make sure to view the canals at night, the lighting is magical.

There are many side trips available from Amsterdam by car, bus, or train. We spent a lovely day in Delft and would have liked to have visited Haarlem, but simply ran out of time. 

Our next destination will be Bruges in Belgium via a stop on the way in Antwerp. I’ll post about our time in Delft and Belgium in future posts.