The first thing that I like to do when I visit a new city is walk around to see what there is to see and then narrow it down from there, so that’s exactly what I did. That’s the great thing with cities in Europe…everything is within walking distance, if you like to walk that is! I couldn’t believe how many tourists there were!! Incredible! I can’t imagine what it’s like in the summer…
The great thing about Amsterdam is that there are soooo many things to see and do, such as museums, bicycles, canal boats, not to mention the great architecture. That was one of my favorite things, just walking around the streets and admiring the different houses and styles. I had 2 ½ days in Amsterdam, then I took 2 tours…one to the northern countryside of the Netherlands to see windmills and the other to Belgium.
In Amsterdam itself, these are some of the things that I was able to see. First of all, the typical houses on the canals.
Centraal Station with a tram in front of it.
The Koninklijk Palace, which the Dutch royal family still occasionally uses. It was originally built as the Town Hall.
The Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), which is right next to the Koninklijk Palace in Dam Square. And yes, that’s its name!
The Begijnhof was built in the 1300s as a sanctuary for a Catholic sisterhood who lived like nuns. It is a square enclosure with these beautiful houses.
The Anne Frankhuis where I saw the hidden rooms where her family and others hid from the Nazis during WWII, accessible behind a bookcase.
The Westerkerk is right next to the Anne Frank house and has a spectacular view of the city and canals, so I’m told anyway. The tower is closed in the winter unfortunately.
And of course, the famous, or infamous, Red Light District. So I was walking and saw a tour group and decided to follow them and before I knew it I was right in the center of the Red Light District! In the picture there’s a police car driving through…
The Oude Kerk (Old Church) is right in the heart of the Red Light District, but was closed so I didn’t get to see inside.
The Nieuwe Markt with a castle-like building.
Bloemen Markt is a floating flower market on the canals selling tons of flowers and tulip bulbs.
Leidseplein is a popular area for night life and there was an ice-skating rink for Christmas.
Rembrandtplein is also an area popular for night life, as well as a tribute to Rembrandt, obviously.
The Rijksmuseum, which is the Dutch museum comparable to the Louvre in Paris, the Prado in Madrid, the Uffizi in Florence, the Vatican in Rome, etc. There are a couple famous pieces on display here, the most famous being The Night Watch by Rembrandt. It amazes me how these painters made such ginormous pieces of art…I think it would be hard to get the proportions right. Rembrandt lived and worked in Amsterdam during the 17th century. Here is a picture of his house.
In the Rijksmuseum, there are also many things from the Dutch East and West India Trading Company on display (Pirates!!), delftware (which is famous blue and white porcelain made to offset the shortage of Chinese porcelain because of a civil war), and giant dollhouses that was fashionable for Dutch women to display in their houses…very expensive! One woman paid the equivalent of a canal-side home for hers! ¡Qué loco!
The great thing about Amsterdam is that there are soooo many things to see and do, such as museums, bicycles, canal boats, not to mention the great architecture. That was one of my favorite things, just walking around the streets and admiring the different houses and styles. I had 2 ½ days in Amsterdam, then I took 2 tours…one to the northern countryside of the Netherlands to see windmills and the other to Belgium.
In Amsterdam itself, these are some of the things that I was able to see. First of all, the typical houses on the canals.
Centraal Station with a tram in front of it.
The Koninklijk Palace, which the Dutch royal family still occasionally uses. It was originally built as the Town Hall.
The Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), which is right next to the Koninklijk Palace in Dam Square. And yes, that’s its name!
The Begijnhof was built in the 1300s as a sanctuary for a Catholic sisterhood who lived like nuns. It is a square enclosure with these beautiful houses.
The Anne Frankhuis where I saw the hidden rooms where her family and others hid from the Nazis during WWII, accessible behind a bookcase.
The Westerkerk is right next to the Anne Frank house and has a spectacular view of the city and canals, so I’m told anyway. The tower is closed in the winter unfortunately.
And of course, the famous, or infamous, Red Light District. So I was walking and saw a tour group and decided to follow them and before I knew it I was right in the center of the Red Light District! In the picture there’s a police car driving through…
The Oude Kerk (Old Church) is right in the heart of the Red Light District, but was closed so I didn’t get to see inside.
The Nieuwe Markt with a castle-like building.
Bloemen Markt is a floating flower market on the canals selling tons of flowers and tulip bulbs.
Leidseplein is a popular area for night life and there was an ice-skating rink for Christmas.
Rembrandtplein is also an area popular for night life, as well as a tribute to Rembrandt, obviously.
The Rijksmuseum, which is the Dutch museum comparable to the Louvre in Paris, the Prado in Madrid, the Uffizi in Florence, the Vatican in Rome, etc. There are a couple famous pieces on display here, the most famous being The Night Watch by Rembrandt. It amazes me how these painters made such ginormous pieces of art…I think it would be hard to get the proportions right. Rembrandt lived and worked in Amsterdam during the 17th century. Here is a picture of his house.
In the Rijksmuseum, there are also many things from the Dutch East and West India Trading Company on display (Pirates!!), delftware (which is famous blue and white porcelain made to offset the shortage of Chinese porcelain because of a civil war), and giant dollhouses that was fashionable for Dutch women to display in their houses…very expensive! One woman paid the equivalent of a canal-side home for hers! ¡Qué loco!
Amsterdam at night. All the bridges have lights on them.
1 comment:
Wow, so many great stories and pictures!! Thank you for sharing all this with us!
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