AMSTERDAM

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!

Amsterdam at night. All the bridges have lights on them.

Bicycles

They say that every 1 in 2 people in the city own a bicycle and the population is about 800,000. I didn’t get around to renting a bike because it was dang cold, but maybe this summer…

So these aren’t the kind of bikes that you’re thinking of, they are actually bicycles. They look old school. They come fully equipped with a headlight to drive at night and a bell to warn people you are coming through. Other options include a satchel to drape over the back tire for groceries, a basket for the front, a second seat, an attachable trailer, etc. The sky’s the limit! Because the land is so flat there are bike trails all over the whole country, like miniature highways. You can bike from one city to another very easily.

Zaanse Schans Windmills, Volendam & Marken

This was my first tour. I was fortunate enough to have both of my tours in English and Spanish so it was very enjoyable. Our first stop was to see the famous windmills and a little village. These were used in the past to pump water, but not so much anymore. In the 17th century there were over 10,000 windmills, but there only about 1,000 left today in the country.

We also visited a wooden shoe shop where we saw how they make the shoes. They used to carve them by hand, which took about 3 hours, but now they use a machine, which takes a couple of minutes. The reason they wear the shoes is because the land is so marshy and wet. They are also a lot warmer and protect the feet better. But they only wear them in the country, not the city, obviously. Also, the ones they wear aren’t painted like these ones. These are just for the tourists!

Our next stop was a cheese factory. Look at all the cheeses! They explained to us how the cheese is made and then we got to try all the different kinds. Gouda is delicious I must say! There was also a sausage flavored cheese…interesting. They roast it over a fire to give it a smoky taste. So they make cheese from cow, goat, and sheep milk. They only add flavoring to the cow milk because they produce tons more milk. The goat and sheep milk is always natural. So these cheeses are wrapped in a special kind of plastic and can be stored without a refrigerator for several months and in fact, taste better after a few months of sitting when they become more mature.

Our last stop was Volendam, a small village right on the ocean and is actually lower than the sea. Scary! Family - it was like a Dutch Zermatt…very touristy and practically as cold too! The harbor had ice in it! There isn’t really any authentic Dutch food, except they do serve Pea Soup only from November to February so I had some to warm me up. We then drove to Marken just to see it. It used to be an island until they built a dike to connect it to the mainland. The countryside is beautiful though! It’s like a flat Ireland with a lot more water. The land is always green!

Polders

So 1/3 of The Netherlands is actually below sea level. How crazy is that?! I would be scared to live there. Many dikes and dams (made out of land, not concrete) were built to empty the water and create land. Therefore, the country is made up in large of empty lake bottoms, called “polders.” Going to Volendam, we drove over many dikes filled with water, with the land being about 3 – 6 meters lower. There are also man-made ditches all over the land draining the water away into the dikes and then into the ocean. That’s where the windmills come in…to pump the water away. They were also used to crush cocoa beans for chocolate, wheat for flour, or nuts for oil. Because the land is so low and flat, there are no mountains. The tour guide joked that the dikes were the mountains. So the people of The Netherlands have to pay a special tax…a dam tax (meant both ways. haha!). In the past a couple of the dams broke and the people got very mad so now the dams are checked every 5 years. Well, that gets expensive so the people have to pay for it…a dam tax!

BELGIUM - Antwerp & Brussels

ANTWERP

In the native language of Flemish, it’s “Antwerpen.” This city is the home of the famous painter Peter Paul Rubens and also the #1 world diamond center. It is located inland on the river Scheldt, which connects it to the ocean. At one point under the rule of Napoleon, Antwerp had the 3rd largest port in the world after London and New York City. So there are cobblestone streets all over and is still a very medieval city center. It wasn’t my favorite European city, but worth seeing I guess.

In the Stadhuis (Town Hall), there was a wedding just ending when we got there.

The Grote Markt (Main Square) had little outdoor stands with tables selling some of Belgium’s finest beer and delicious bratwurst, just for Christmas. Since I didn’t make it to Germany this time, I had to treat myself! To the bratwurst that is, not the beer! The main square is lined with guildhalls, which are meeting places for a group of people in the same trade or pursuits.

This guildhall is the Vleeshuis, or Meat Hall. It is built with alternating stripes of brick and stone, which appropriately makes it look like a piece of bacon! Haha!

An old castle directly on the river which now houses the maritime museum.

The Cathedral of Our Lady (Onze Lieve Vrouwe Kathedraal) was closed to the public because the Minister of State had passed away so there was a funeral. There were all kinds of police and press about. You’ll notice the funeral car (what’s it called? I’m losing my English vocabulary…) in the lower left corner. Therefore, we didn’t get to go inside. There were supposed to be some works by Rubens inside as well. Pero, bueno…

Antwerp has an interesting legend of how it got its name…There once was a fierce giant who lived on the river Scheldt. Well, he charged a toll to all the sailors to pass. To those who couldn’t pay, he cut off their hands. A Roman soldier named Silvius Brabo came along and beat the giant. Likewise, he cut off its hands and threw them into the river. The word “hantwerpen” means “hand throwing” in Flemish and so without the “h” came the name of the city…Antwerpen. So in the main square there is a statue paying tribute to Silvius Brabo, which shows him throwing the giant’s hand.

BRUSSELS

In the native language it’s Bruxelles. I really liked Brussels!! The old center anyway and a lot more than Antwerp. It is a very modern city, being the headquarters for the European Union and the NATO. In fact, there is a section called “Little Manhattan” with all the skyscrapers and office buildings. So Brussels has two main symbols. The first one is the Atomium, which was built for the 1958 World Fair. It is an atom of iron magnified 165 billion times. It is to Brussels what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris.

The second symbol, and most popular, is Manneken Pis, a little boy relieving himself. Yes, it’s a fountain! There are many stories about about the statue, but one says that in the 12th century the son of a duke was caught relieving himself against a tree in the midst of a battle, and was thus commemorated in bronze as a symbol of the country’s military courage. Manneken Pis has 650 outfits and are on display in one of the many museums. For example, he has an Elvis outfit, as well as Mickey Mouse and Santa Clause. Most of the time he is naked, but was dressed in this outfit the day we were in Brussels. This is what he looks like normally without the outfit…

Grand Place
The magnificent square in Brussels is surrounded by many guildhalls. The Hôtel de Ville, the city’s town hall, was the only building spared by the 2-day bombings by the French in 1695. Everything else was rebuilt.

La Maison du Roi, which I’m guessing means “mansion of the king.” No King ever lived here, but instead was used as a jail and tax office. Nice jail!! Today it houses the museum with the outfits for Manneken Pis.

Different façades of the Grand Place.

Christmas
Brussels was the coolest place to visit for Christmas! The Grand Place was decorated with tons of Christmas lights and an enormous Christmas tree…real mind you! There were light shows at night, the cutest little Christmas market, an outdoor ice-skating rink, delicious Christmas goodies, etc. I wish I could have spent more time there.

I made it just before mass at the Cathédrale Sts-Michel et Gudule, the national church of Belgium. Inside there were displays of miniature Nativity scenes representing countries all over the world. Have you ever seen a Pacific Island representation of the birth of Christ? You have now!

We also took a tour on the bus through Parliament Quarter and saw the many connected office buildings of the European Union, the working Royal Palace of the king (lives in a different one…must be nice!).

There were soooo many people in Brussels. There was actually a terrorist threat about 2 weeks ago, so our tour guide told us anyway. I looked on the Internet and sure enough there has been a continuing terrorist threat in Brussels. Apparently, last week police detained 14 people suspected of plotting to help an accused Al-Qaida militant break out of jail. Scary! They actually even canceled the fireworks for New Year´s and closed the Christmas market early...the same one that I was at!

Belgium is well-known for its chocolate and lace. On part of the tour we got to taste some authentic Belgium chocolate at a famous chocolate shop called Leonidas. Delicious! Many of the other chocolate brands have moved to Switzerland, which is another country famous for chocolate. Belgium chocolate has a secret…there is less sugar and more cocoa. That’s why it tastes so dang good. Therefore, there is a rule for chocolate…it can only be called Belgium chocolate, which is the best, if there is 35% cocoa. Normally, there is only around 20%.

Belgium is also the #1 beer country. Bet you thought it was Germany, didn’t you? Well, maybe they drink the most. Belgium, however, produces the finest beers. I learned about a few interesting brands. “Duvel,” for example means “devil” and there is another brand which means “sudden death” and contains 9% alcohol! Yikes! Normally, there is only about 5%, for example in Budweiser. Don’t worry; I didn’t start drinking, just thought it interesting. Haha! Also, beer started in the beginning by being brewed in monasteries by monks. Ha! How funny is that…kind of ironic, eh? Well, there are only 7 brands of beer in the whole world that are still made by monks in monasteries, which is supposed to be the best, and 6 of those 7 are in Belgium. So there’s some useless info. for most of you!