Amsterdam (Oct 4-11) - Euro Advnture 2023

From Basel, we braved a second overnight train adventure, this time to Amsterdam. However, given two weeks’ notice, we were able to book a full couchette for ourselves. Pillow, blankets and water bottles were provided. Curtains covered the windows looking into the train corrido, and we were able to lock the door from within to create a sense of security in our cabin. Arriving in Amsterdam, we saw the NCL “Getaway” sail through the harbor behind the train station (see NCL Transatlantic Cruise Oct 22-Nov 4, 2023). We exited the station into the heart of city’s canals.

CANALS AND NAVIGATING THE CITY

More than 165 canals, built in the 17th century, dissect Amsterdam, requiring more than 1280 bridges to navigate. As the city began to expand in the late 16th century, the canals were designed to manage the growing population and assist in the movement of goods and people. Approximately 65 species of marine and freshwater fish call these 8-15 feet deep canals, home. While dissuaded, its estimated that 1 of 20 citizens swim in the canals annually.

Sometimes referred to as the "Venice of the North," Amsterdam actually has more canals than Venice. The Canal Ring, with distinctive architecture representing Amsterdam's economic prowess was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010. The four primary canals creating concentric half circles on the city's west side include Singel, Keizersgracht (the emperor’s canal), Prinsengracht (the prince’s canal, most iconic) and the Herengracht. Brouwersgracht or Brewers' Canal, is considered one of the most picturesque canals, due to its charming bridges and merchant houses, built in the Netherlands' Golden Age.

In addition to its canals Amsterdam is known for cycling, not necessarily as a means of exercise (although that occurs), but as a primary source of transportation, and often at high speed. Bike lanes take priority along every sidewalk and cyclists’ approach from all directions. When you factor in multiple train and tram tracks, and don’t forget automobiles, it’s easy to understand why our daily mantra was “head on a swivel”. I just didn’t know from which direction something or someone might cross my path!

At this point in our adventure, like most Europeans, we relied on public transportation. Europe is light years ahead of us and they’ve mastered moving people in an efficient, fast, clean and reliable manner. Upon arrival we purchased a multi-day transit pass ($75 for 6 days for two!) and used the heck out of it. Pass in hand, we navigated to our hotel #ConsciousHotelAmsterdamCity (The Tire Station) in the Surinamepleinbuurt neighborhood very near Vondelpark, where we started seeing signs announcing road closures for the upcoming Amsterdam Marathon.

(SIDE NOTE: Twenty-four years ago, October 1999, I brought my parents and three-year-old daughter – sporting a green neon cast protecting her broken arm - to Amsterdam to cheer me on as I completed the marathon as part of a fund-raising effort for the American Diabetes Association. My dad had been diagnosed with diabetes, I was selling pharmaceuticals to treat the disease and I was running regularly. It was an incredible experience, running the beautiful streets of Amsterdam with athletes from all over the world, speaking multiple languages. Sadly, it would be my one and only marathon, as I tore my left meniscus during my last long training run in September. It did not stop me from traveling and completing the race in exactly four hours, but it would lead to later meniscus repairs and ultimately a patella replacement in 2021.)

In total, we spent six incredible days exploring the city, enjoying the food, soaking up the history and finding new and interesting neighborhoods. The city is filled with fascinating architecture (narrow houses with gabled facades) and museums. I found myself overstimulated trying to take it all in. Our pictures tell the story of some of our favorites, including me recreating my marathon finish at the Olympic Stadium!

SO MUCH TO SEE

• Vondelpark was both a favorite memory from the 1999 marathon, and also this trip. We frequented its walking paths, circled its ponds and admired the houses along its canals.
  

• Willemspark neighborhood, starting a block from our hotel and including the west end of Vondelpark, is apparently the most expensive neighborhood in Amsterdam. No wonder I loved it and enjoyed our multiple days of eating breakfast at Anne & Max just outside the neighborhood border!
  

• Teds All Day Brunch – Jordaan neighborhood, across the Prinsengracht canal from the Anne Frank House. If you can’t tell, we’re fans of breakfast and had heard this place was worth the wait, but recommended a reservation. We took a chance and fortunately got seats after a brief wait. It was fabulous – serving drinks and to die for waffles, eggs, burritos and more. Highly recommend!
  

• Jordaan neighborhood, with narrow canals and trendy boutiques, is home to the Tulip Museum, which was quite fun and fascinating.
  

• Two landmark churches – Oude Kerk and Our Lord in the Attic Museum, cannabis coffee houses and Nieuwmarkt – (“New Market” operating since the 17th century), all found within the medieval city center are a cobblestone’s throw away from the famed 800-year-old De Wallen (Red Light District).
  

• Oude Kerk, Old Church, was built in 1213 as a wooden church, later replaced in the 1300s by a stone chapel. Today, it serves as a historic site and hosts artistic exhibitions and cultural events.
  

• A Catholic church, built on the top three floors of a canal house in the early 1660s, is reached by passing through narrow corridors and historically decorated living quarters, kitchens and bed rooms. Our Lord in the Attic Museum is an example of a “schuilkerk” or “clandestine church”, whereby religious minorities, or dissenters (Catholics in this case, Jews in others) from the Dutch Reformed Church, discreetly held services when they were not permitted a public façade.
  

• The notorious and oldest neighborhood in Amsterdam, represents a juxtaposition of ancient buildings, cafes, restaurants and glass-fronted rooms, identified by red (female, and now blue for transgender) lights drawing attention to scantily-clad sex workers.
  

• The Royal Palace of Amsterdam, built in 1655 as the Town Hall on Dam Square, is one of three palaces in the Netherlands available to the monarch. Today it is used for official functions and entertaining during state visits.
  

• Amsterdam’s Museum Square boosts the Rijksmuseum (national museum dedicated to Dutch art and history), Van Gogh Museum, (art of Vincent Van Gogh and his contemporaries), the Stedelijk (modern and contemporary art) and the Royal Concertgebouw (one of the finest concert halls in the world) within blocks of one another.
  

• A canal tour is a MUST to experience the city from a different perspective. Multiple operators, inexpensive and beautiful!
  

• The former Nederlandsche Dok en Scheepsbouw Maatschappij (NDSM) shipbuilding company’s wharf has become a cultural sanctuary, across the IJ river from the train station. The shipyard, including its crane track and huge boat ramp provides space for over 400 artists, designers, architects and other entrepreneurs. We enjoyed an interesting exhibit on refugees, street art, graffiti art and a Barbie peep show during our visit.
  

• Standing just over 87 feet, the DeGooyer Windmill, dating to 1609 is the tallest wooden mill in the Netherlands and a registered national monument. Next door, in the former 1911 city bathhouse is Brouwerij’t IJ, a small local brewery with a logo including the windmill.
  

• The Albert Cuypmarkt gets a lot of press marketed at tourists, we found it overrated. Similarly, and it could be we visited in October, not the height of growing season, we were not wowed by the floating Amsterdam Flower Market.
  

• We didn’t see much hype about another national monument we stumbled across, De Hallen, and it blew us away. Built in stages between 1901 and 1928, this refurbished and renovated former tram depot boasts charming historical detail in a trendy multi-cultural center with a cinema, library, independent shops, art galleries, a boutique hotel and a culinary hotspot with a central bar surrounded by upscale street food vendors. The Breakfast Club provided another great meal!
  

• Across the canal from our hotel, we frequented Caffee Oslo (Oslo Beers) on more than one occasion! Great outdoor seating and good food.
  

• And on a cold, rainy evening, we indulged in current culture mania by watching the Barbie movie at Leidseplain Square, a nightlife and culture hub of Amsterdam. (SIDE NOTE: And this reveals a LOT about me. I LOVED the movie. I relished the film’s exploration of patriarchy in our society, the complete flipping of roles and the irony of detractors who feel doing so objectifies men as devoid of value.)
  

Well worth repeat visits, Amsterdam was a favorite! Following breakfast at the Pancake Place, along the IJ, next to the train station, we purchased train tickets to Antwerp, and continued on to Ghent.

Overnight couchette to Amsterdam.

Watching the "Getaway" sail by the train station as we arrived.

Park Plaza Victoria Hotel, opposite Central Station.

Sign advising of road closures due to the running of the marathon.

Entrance gate to Vondelpark.

Walking the streets of Amsterdam, near Willemspark.

Houses along the canals in Vondelpark.

Canals of Amsterdam.

Houseboats on the canals.

One of many cute, decorated bikes locked along the canals.

More canals.

Our new motto!

Singel, one of the oldest, and one of the 4 canals creating a semicircular ring of canals in city center.

Royal Palace of Amsterdam on Dam Square in city center, opposite the War Memorial and next to Nieuwe Kerk.

Close-up of the top of the Royal Palace.

Home to H&M Department store, this beautiful building sits on the corner of Dam Square.

Example of beautiful architecture along the canals.

Example of beautiful architecture along the canals.

Interior of Oude Kerk.

Basilica of Saint Nicholas and the Oudezijds Voorburgwal canal (De Wallen).

Basilica of St. Nicholas.

Anne & Max near Willemspark.

Recreating my 1999 Amsterdam Marathon run in front of the 1924 Olympic Stadium.

Rowing competition near Olympic Stadium on the canal.

The Breakfast Club.

Canal near Olympic Stadium.

Rijksmuseum.

Back courtyard of Rijksmuseum.

Moco Museum of Amsterdam, exhibiting modern and contemporary art.

Botel along NDSM Wharf.

Refuge Exhibit at NDSM.

NDSM exhibit.

NDSM Exhibit.

NDSM "Barbie" Peepshow Exhibit.

NDSM Graffiti Art.

DeGooyer Windmill behind Brouwerij't IJ.

DeGooyer Windmill.

Albert Cuypmarkt.

Amsterdam House Hotel.

Cancal boat cruise.

Canal Houses.

Montelbaanstoren Tower (historical landmark) built in early 1500s to defend Amsterdam.

In 2009, Amsterdam hosted Elephant Parade. An open air exhibition dedicated to saving the Asian Elephant from extinction by increasing public awareness and support.

Ronde Lutherse Kerk (Round Lutheran Church), domed church built between 1668 and 1671, only round Protestant church in Holland. Today functions as a hotel.

Two "vaults" exist under the wide Torensluis bridge (over the Singel Canal), where prisoners once languished as the water rose in this, the oldest arched bridge in Amsterdam.

De Krijtberg Kerk, a Roman Catholic Church along the Singel.

De Hallen Foodhall - Kanarie Club.

De Hallen Foodhall.

De Hallen exterior.

De Hallen Denim Shop, where they sell denim fabric, provide education on sourcing and sewing denim and sell finished products.

View from canal tour of a church on the Singel with the iconic Munttoren (Mint Tower) in the background.

Houseboats lining Amsterdam's canals.

Amsterdam's Coat of Arms, consisting of a red shield and three silver Saint Andrew's Crosses, the Imperial Crown of Austria, two golden lions, and the motto of Amsterdam.

Tuplip Museum souvenirs.