Amsterdam - canals, windmill and cheese, but no tulips

Amsterdam, Netherlands  Fri 25/7/14 & Sat 26/7/14

After photos of the house and with the family we said goodbye to Ines, Feline and Aurelie and set off northwards to Amsterdam.  Mark very kindly drove us from Landegem so that we were spared the complexities of an interrupted train journey with 2 changes of line.  The drive took about 3 hours and about half way into the journey we knew were in The Netherlands because we started seeing windmills.  Ah, so sad to think in national stereotypes - but they are often helpful and contain a good deal of truth.

For years I have known that although Amsterdam is the largest city in The Netherlands (the greater metropolitan area contains about 1.8 million people - about Perth's population) the "seat of government" was in The Hague.  It is somewhat like Sydney being the largest city in Australia but the seat of national government is Canberra.  The important difference is that Canberra is not just the seat of Government, it IS the capital.  Amsterdam IS the capital, but is NOT the seat of government.  Now I know better.

After an early check-in at our hotel we caught the light rail (a biggish tram) to Central Station and then took a boat trip along several of the canals in Amsterdam's system.  The city is sometimes tagged "the Venice of the North" but there are so many differences that it is a poor comparison.  Brugge in Belgium also uses the "Venice" tag.  Venice is an almost random set of canals between islands in the middle of a tidal lagoon.  Amsterdam has an orderly set of canals ringing the city.  A bit over half way through the boat trip the light drizzle became rain and the retracted roof was extended along the boat somewhat limiting our view and changing the feel of the trip (not that we wanted the "wet" feeling).

The sky stayed grey for most of Friday and although there were short spells with blue skies on Saturday, there were also showers, even heavy rain, through the day.  The sky did however clear late on Saturday so we took the "sunset" boat trip as the lights came on along the canals.  Only a few of the photos will have blue skies and hazy grey or black stormy clouds will be common.

Our first activity was to take a boat tour of
Amsterdam's harbour and main canal ring

Three forms of inner city transport: light
rail, bicycle, and canal boats for the visitors.

The water-facing end of NEMO, the Science Museum for children

Replica VOC (East India Company) at the National Maritime Museum

Another view of NEMO.  From this angle it looks as if the stern
has broken off a ship and is slipping under the water.

The National Maritime Museum and VOC ship

One of the many characteristic
bridges across the canals

Judy captures a scene from the canal boat before
the rain came and the roof top was shut.

This bridge opens in two sections.  Each side is raised.

The 5-star "Amstel" Hotel on the Binnen-Amstel Canal

The Central Railway Station

A sight we wouldn't see at home.
A shop advertises its hemp products.

Another section of Amsterdam's ring of canals.  Many
barges are permanently moored "houseboats"

An "Amsterdam cliche" shot.  Bicycle, clogs
 and "tulip" all in the one photograph.

At the Anne Frank museum the queue just grew longer and longer,
winding down the street, around the corner and into the next block.

A display of famous blue and white "Delft" pottery.
There were a few nice (and expensive) pieces, but in
general these are not in a style I find attractive.

Interior of a swish shopping gallery built
inside an old building opposite the Palace

The Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw is
famous for its superb acoustic properties
as well as fine players and renowned conductors

The Royal Palace faces Dam Square

The National Monument in Dam Square honours victims of WW2.
(Here's a bit of blue sky for a change, bit it didn't last long)

Bicycles are chained to just about every available piece.
of railing.  The buildings display a variety of styles.

A smart looking "Tesla" sports car at the kerb-side.
Note the cable going to the hatch above the mirror.

It's an electric car charging its batteries from the supply.
It brings a new meaning to "parking charges"

Canal, barge and the typical tall, narrow buildings.

Many streets along the canal were lined with trees.
Amsterdam is quite a "leafy green" city.

A peaceful canal view

A cheese museum.  I'm sorry that we couldn't visit it.
What could be more "Dutch" than a cheese museum?

I suppose that this could even be more "Dutch" than the cheese museum.

The Westerkerk (Hendrick de Keyser, 1631) in the Renaissance style.
The cathedral's "Westertoren" steeple is the highest in Amsterdam (85m). 

The canals flanked by tree-lined streets
look very peaceful and visually appealing.

Above and below:  some elaborately decorated windows

The Van Gogh museum houses a large collection of the works
of Van Gogh and contemporaries.  There are many of his great
works, and also many quite new to us.  (No photos inside)

We've seen the canals, cheese, clogs and tulips.  No trip would
be complete without a closeup look at a windmill.  The guide book
says that there are now just 8 left inside the city.  The De Gooyer
 is probably the most accessible.  It was built in 1725 and was
relocated to its current site in 1814.

Rembrandt is probably the artist most closely associated with Amsterdam. His former house is now a museum, and the Rijksmuseum houses his greatest work "The Nightguard".  In 2006, to mark the 400th anniversary of his birth, many of the figures depicted in "The Night Watch" were cast in bronze by Russian sculptors Dronov and Taratynov and placed around his statue in Rembrandtplein ("Rembrandt Square).

"The Night Watch or The Militia Company of
Captain Frans Banning Cocq" (1642) Oil on canvas;
 on display at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

The statue of Rembrandt in the Rembrandtplein
(Louis Royer, late 1830's) and bronze figures from
"The Night Watch" (Dronov & Taratynov, 2006).

Nicely decorated building now housing a cafe

The "Magere" (skinny) Bridge over the Amstel canal

Bridge supports in the shape of the bows of ancient boats

Decorative lamp post on the bridge shown above.
These bear more than a passing resemblance to the
lamp supports around the Garnier Opera House in Paris.

Lamp stands on the footpath around the Paris
Opera House.  They are not the same but
the "ship theme" is certainly similar.

Locks to regulate water levels and flow on the River Amstel

Bicycles at the doorstep

Family outing on a bicycle - kids in the
front carrier.  Bicycles are widely used

Another form of family transport.  Children, shopping
and baby buggy all fit in the front luggage compartment.

Bicycles are widely used.  It's a very sensible form of
 transport as the city is flat and distances are generally
not great.  Parking is easier and there are usually no fees.

Perhaps you've seen the Zuiderkerk in the Nieuwmarkt area before?
It was the subject of a painting by Monet and important to Rembrandt.

Bicycles at a lock on the river

"We'll have one cappuccino, an espresso and 2 reefers!"
Perhaps in Amsterdam, but not in many other places.

The Zuiderkerk again, from a different angle.

Cheeses on sale at an outdoor market

Ceiling of the old "anatomy theatre" in the "Waag" building

"Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp" (Rembrandt, 1632)
Poster of painting displayed in the former operating theatre
in the "Waag" building during a display of old equipment

Cruising the canals

A smaller, more modest type of boat cruising the canals

Bikes, bike, and more bikes.  These are for local rental.

Central Station

Nicolaaskerk on the waterfront

Multilevel bicycle racks at the boat terminal
 in front of the Central Station

From the canal cruise boat at sunset

The Westerkerk (opened 1631) on Prinsengracht (canal).
Gliding quietly down the canal at sunset
gives you quite a different view of the city.

It's dusk and the lights along the canal are just coming on

St Nicolaaskerk

Central Station (L) and a waterside cafe

We left Amsterdam for Singapore on Sunday morning (27/7/14) from the same terminal used by the Malaysian flight MH17 at Schipol.  At the entrance were masses of flowers, toys and remembrance messages.  It left us with a real sense of sadness and also a feeling of "it could have been our flight".

Leaving from Schipol Airport.  Flowers and tributes left in
memory of those killed when flight MH17 was shot down.
The flight left from here.  It gave us a slightly uneasy feeling.