But Amsterdam is also a polyglot of culture. Because it has always been tolerant of differences, Amsterdam has opened its arms and borders to people of all races and color. The Spanish Jews avoiding religious persecution, the French Huguenots..refugees from Africa and Asia. And don't forget young people who have flocked here because of Amsterdam's relaxed stance on social issues. It is truly a city of people who respect each other, and each other's differences.
Having said that, the restaurants are varied and wonderful, the music is ecclectic and the art....how do you measure the Dutch Masters to the Moderns? The city is full of elegant canals and magnificent houses abound....and then there is the Red Light District. What a mixture to make this city flourish.
We stayed at the Legend Sofitel...which originally was an old monastery right along a major canal.
The hotel is wonderful...and the service is exemplary. Nothing asked was too much...and the staff was always there to help in any way. We had a lovely suite overlooking the courtyard. with a bathroom as large as mine at home!!
Our first day we wandered around getting our bearings. We have been here before and had done most of the sites, but it has been a while. So we got to Dam Square and oriented ourselves. Truthfully, however, I don't remember the traffic being this horrific!!! If you don't get hit by a car, then the tram will get you. And if not the tram, then the bicycles will. I never knew which way to look. If we thought the bikes in Vietnam were treacherous...the ones here are worse!!! In Amsterdam, everyone has 2 bikes....1, as they say, to ride....and 1 to get stolen. So there are good ones and bad ones all over. And the sounds of the bike bells and the tram bells still resounds in my ears.
The most exciting thing about Amsterdam is that the Rijksmuseum has completed its 10-year project and is fully operational. When we were here last, 1/2 of the collections were not on display and many rooms were shut down. This time.....everything was open and on view. What a treat!!! Every painting you ever saw in any art class attributed to a Dutch Master is here...including the "Night Watch" by Rembrandt and the "Milkmaid" by Vermeer. A real treat for the eyes.
And then, to make the day complete, you can do down the street to the Van Gogh Museum...which is mind-blowing. This area is called the Museumplein..and also houses the street of all the major designer boutiques.
After a day of museums, we wandered home along the Singel canal and crossed over to the floating flower market..the Bloemenmarkt Locals come here to buy the plants they use all over their house...and have done this for over 200 years. The market is now permanent, but still use boats to see the flowers from.
If flowers are your thing, however, then a MUST...if you are lucky enough to be in Amsterdam during the three months that the show is on....is the Keukenhof, which is the most beautiful spring garden in the world. The Keukenhof is located on 32 hectares of land 30 minutes outside of Amsterdam on the other side of the airport. There are millions of tulips, as far as the eye can see, in thousands of different varieties. BUT, it is only one for 3 months, regardless of whether spring is early or late. In our case, Spring was early, and the flowers were almost gone. But there were enough left to get the idea of how spectacular these fields are, and must have been. IT is truly a site to see.
The Jordaan area in Amsterdam was once a working-class district, but is now becoming gentrified. There are galleries and shops, with a lot of smaller canals. Within a couple of blocks is Waterlooplein, which was the heart of the Jewish quarter. The Portugees Synagogue was built there in 1675 by the large community of Spanish Jews who fled from Spain the Portugal in the late 16th century. It still operates today for major holidays. There is also a Jewish Historical Museum. And a block or two away is the Flea market..open every day selling lots and lots of "Junque". It was fun to see, but we didn't buy a thing!!
It did get us to the Rembrandthuis museum, however, where Rembrandt lived for 20 years until he went bankrupt and had to move to the Jordaan district. Many of his etchings are still on display there.
I haven't mentioned food yet, because we ate at so many fun places...but "Dutch" food is really Indonesian (as in Dutch East Indies) and they pride themselves on their Rijsttafel (rice table).
You put a mound of rice in the center of your plate, and build around it with spoonfuls from your dishes of pork, meat, pimento and fish paste, soy beans, fried bananas, and mix it all up. This dish tastes better than it sounds...but it is really fun. So is the beer...and the jenever (gin) And I must confess, we went to a Pancake House for lunch one day and had the "Special". Almost like flat crepes filled with apples, cinnamon and sugar. How bad can that be?
We tended to walk to dinner, because it is hard taking a taxi...and besides, we needed the exercise after eating all those carbs! And in case I forgot to mention it, the cheese in Amsterdam is nothing short of amazing. I knew we couldn't bring it home, though, so we ate our weight in cheese during our stay.
Also, I haven't mentioned that the shopping in Amsterdam is a lot of fun ...especially on the 9 Little Streets...which are filled with adorable boutiques of all kinds...even a toothbrush store!! There are 3 streets of three blocks each filled with fun stuff...and a great "People Watching" area.
Every one of the three days we spent here was perfect. And we really got to know the city fairly well. Navigating the canals is tricky, but since I have no sense of direction, it was all confusing. Dick got a much better sense of the city than I did...but I could get back to our hotel by foot.
I hope someday to return to this gorgeous city. It is truly a treasure in every sense of the word.
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