When you think of Amsterdam, nothing comes to mind faster than the word Canals, which is why why we chose the photo above to lead today’s post.
Our excursion begins at 8am and is to last 4 ½ hours, so we are up very early to make sure we have time for breakfast in the Terrace Café. The weather is cloudy, but the forecast says it will reach 68 degrees F. today, a welcome change from the previous four weeks. We board bus 2 (oddly, we seem to either get bus 2 or bus 11 for most of our tours).
Our guide’s name is Burt, and he looks to be in his 60s. The bus ride to Amsterdam will take around 40 minutes if the traffic is not too thick. Burt begins filling us with information as we travel the 16 miles between our port and the city:
- A large percentage of the Netherlands fishing fleet is staying in port due to high oil prices. That surprises us as no other nation we have been in on this trip has done that, perhaps because there are no alternative income sources.
- We pass by a steel plant in Ijmuiden, and our guide tells us everybody is worried about the pollution it puts out. Many want to shut it down, but the problem is that it employs 9,000 people. Right now, it’s operating at 50% capacity – again, due to energy prices.
- As we approach the outskirts of Amsterdam, we are told we are 6-7 feet below sea level.
- Amsterdam is connected to the North Sea by the North Sea Canal, which was built between 1865 and 1876 and was dug by hand. It runs between Ijmuiden and Amsterdam, making Amsterdam a huge port.
- The Sea Lock in Ijmuiden has been made larger in order to accommodate larger vessels. It was finished last year at a price of 858 million Euros. It measures 500 meters long (1,640 Feet) by 70 meters (230 feet) wide by 18 meters (59 feet) deep.
- We pass near Schiphol Airport, the third-biggest airport in Europe and ranks as the fifth busiest in the world as of 2014. Our guide says it is a mess right now because of staff shortages, with passport control sometimes taking up to five hours to get through. A new airport has been built 30 kilometers away, but it hasn’t opened because of carbon dioxide rules.
- The population of Amsterdam is 950,000, and the metro area population is 1.5 million. There are also 1.2 million bicycles in the city. He warns us to watch out for them as we are walking. They travel much too fast, especially the electric ones. They also have the right of way over pedestrians.
- Someone asks why the bicycle riders don’t wear helmets. Our guide answers “No one wears helmets here. Well, only Germans wear helmets!”
- We pass by the financial center, a fairly new area. Unfortunately, there was no housing built nearby, so its growth has been slow. And the housing that is available is financially out of reach to most residents. There are some striking buildings, though.
- Affordable housing is a huge problem in the city. Burt’s sons have a 215-square foot apartment that costs them 730 Euros a month (approximately $715). The guide himself lives a 50-minute train ride from the city.
We begin our 90-minute walking tour in the heart of the Jewish quarter by visiting the National Holocaust Namenmonument (Memorial of Names) that was opened in September of 2021. It absolutely stunned us into silence walking through it, as we were confronted with the barbarity of the Nazi regime in WWII. The following paragraph is a heavily plagiarized description from theHolocaustnamenmonument.nl website:
The Dutch Holocaust Memorial of Names was designed by the American architect of Polish-Jewish descent Daniel Libeskind. It consists of four Hebrew letters that make up a word that translates as ‘In memory of’.
When visitors enter the memorial, they find themselves in a labyrinth of passageways flanked by two-meter-tall brick walls that convey the message ‘In memory of’.
Inscribed on each of the bricks is a name, date of birth and age of death, in such a way that the name of each victim can be touched.
The names of all 102,000 Dutch victims of the Holocaust … appear on the memorial, including those who died in or on their way to concentration and extermination camps. The walls of names support the four letters in reflective stainless steel.
It was a humbling experience, and we spent about twenty-five minutes looking at the names and, especially, the ages of some of the victims. We were stunned and bewildered. Murder on an unimaginable, industrial scale. And this just a sampling of the totality of the atrocity committed throughout Europe by the Third Reich.
After we left, we continued walking past several synagogues as our guide described how old and how large they were and the people that worship there. The Amsterdam Jewish quarter is one of the oldest of any in Europe, and it’s important that all of us are reminded of what happened just eighty years ago. As we were walking, we began to see small brass plaques in the sidewalks. Guide Burt told us that they were “Stolpersteine,“ German for Stumbling Blocks. Here is some Wikipedia information on what we are seeing: “Stolperstein, plural Stolpersteine; literally ‘stumbling stone’, metaphorically a ‘stumbling block’) is a sett-size, ten-centimetre (3.9 in) concrete cube bearing a brass plate inscribed with the name and life dates of victims of Nazi extermination or persecution.
“The Stolpersteine project, initiated by the German artist Gunter Demnig in 1992, aims to commemorate individuals at exactly the last place of residency—or, sometimes, work—which was freely chosen by the person before they fell victim to Nazi terror, euthanasia, eugenics, deportation to a concentration or extermination camp, or escaped persecution by emigration or suicide.”
We continue walking, just following our guide Burt wherever he goes. We have no idea where we are, and, truthfully, giving a walking tour is not this guy’s forte. He only can be heard by the people standing on either side of him, and he is not stopping and turning around to the group to tell us what we are seeing often enough. The second half of our excursion is a canal boat ride, and we can tell that his priority is to get us to that boat at a very specific time.
One observation all of us are noting with surprise and trepidation is the behavior of the bicycle riders. They could care less about pedestrians as they race down the bike lanes. Thankfully, these bike lanes are marked and a different color than the sidewalks. We all take turns warning each other when we are about to cross them. [A quick Google search we did for this post yielded this: “Between 2014 and 2017, Amsterdam counted 5,476 accidents involving cyclists. Between 2018 and 2021, that number dropped to 3,464.”] 5 million tourists visit Amsterdam each year, so we are surprised that the number isn’t way, way higher.
In attempting to write this post with accurate descriptions, we are finding ourselves with scant and possibly inaccurate information given by our guide – or very possibly just inaccurate notes of what he said taken by Steve. In the interests of time, we will insert photos after we give a brief description of what we remember. They will be in the order in which they were taken to give a sense of the tour:
We cross over the Blauwbrug, or Blue Bridge. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about it: “The Blauwbrug (English: Blue bridge) is a historic bridge … over the river Amstel [from which the city derives its name – Amstel Dam]. It connects the Rembrandtplein area with the Waterlooplein area, and lies south to the Stopera.
Imperial Crown of Austria
“The bridge owes its name to a wooden “blue bridge” that was there from around 1600 but no longer exists and which was painted the characteristic blue of the Dutch flag. It kept the name after 1883 when it was replaced by the spans of a new bridge which is inspired by the architecture of several of the bridges over the Seine in Paris such as Pont Alexandre III.
“The stone bridge has three openings for ships and is richly decorated. The bases are formed like ships’ bows and on top columns with leaf-motifs, masks and finally the Imperial Crown of Austria as also present in the city’s coat of arms. Also the lantern poles have shipping decorations and the lanterns themselves are again in the shape of crowns. The bridge carries a road which is also used by the tramway.”
Amsterdam is a tightly packed, historic, busy place, but there are many parks and squares. This is just one small neighborhood one.
As do most large European cities, Amsterdam has an excellent and extensive tramway system.
Steve took the photo of this building as an example of the architecture. When he googled the name at the top, Het Gooden Hoofd, all the responses were in Dutch. It appears to house a very popular café, of which there are several others by the same name in other cities in the Netherlands. This one is in or near the Rembrandtplein, a major square and the center of the busy nightlife that Amsterdam is known for.
Obviously, the square is named after one of the city’s most famous artists, Rembrandt van Rijn. This statue has been there since 1852. Rembrandt is best known for his painting The Night Watch, which our guide makes mention of. Apparently, it was commissioned around 1639 by Captain Banninck Cocq and seventeen members of his Kloveniers (civic militia guards). Our guide tells us that people paid to be in the painting, although Steve’s notes may be wrong on that [he found it difficult to take notes on his cell phone while listening to the guide and walking]. The painting was so large that when it was transferred to the Amsterdam Town Hall in 1715, it had to be trimmed on all four sides to fit between two columns. It originally hung in the Groote Zaal (Great Hall) or Amsterdam’s Kloveniersdoelen. The building is now the Doelen Hotel.
We pass through Rembrandtplein, or Rembrandt Square where there is an enormous statue of the artist placed there in 1852 (The seagull perched on Rembrandt’s head is not part of it). We are told that the neighborhood area is the center for Amsterdam’s busy night life.
We walked by this building and just had to get a shot of it. Have you ever seen so many cheeses in your life? If we weren’t with a tour group, Cathy would have definitely wanted to go into this store.
We are right in the heart of the tourist Amsterdam, and we have a few minutes to do things on our own. Our guide points out that 60% of the stores in this particular area can only sell flowers, seeds, bulbs, etcetera – something the Netherlands is famous for. The municipal government of Amsterdam passed an ordinance requiring that because, over the years, many of the shops were gradually becoming souvenir stores.
Cathy is in heaven. The selectin is huge, the prices are really low, and the quality and size of the bulbs is amazing. She goes and picks up a bunch of bulbs and goes to pay for them. One of the clerks points to a sign we missed, explaining the U.S. Customs will not allow these particular bulbs into the country. We are really impressed at his thoughtfulness, because we would have purchased them and then possibly had them confiscated upon our arrival back in the U.S.A. Another clerk shows us some bulbs that, for whatever reason, can be brought in. All in all, a very pleasant experience, and something to remember when the flowers grow from the tulip bulbs we did buy.
We pass by the Hotel l’Europe, where we see Freddy’s Bar. This bar was named after Freddy Heineken, one of the more charismatic members of the Heineken family of beer fame. Apparently, he would frequent this bar. When he died, the name was changed to Freddy’s Bar. It is written in the deed to this building that the bar at that location must always have the name Freddy’s. Apparently, it’s one of the places to be, and it gets high marks for service and ambiance – despite the high prices.
This is the Doelen Hotel. This is the building where Rembrandt’s The Night Watch was first hung after completion [read more in the paragraph six places above this] when it was the Groote Zaal (Great Hall) in the 17th century. Our guide tells us an interesting story about this building. Before WWII, a very poor young man used to hang around the building trying to pick up any kind of odd job or errand he could to earn money. The merchant in this building was extremely condescending and treated him shabbily. After the war ended, this poor young boy had grown up and started a business selling surplus military goods. He became very wealthy. He ended up returning to this spot and bought the building and it became one of the hotels in his chain of hotels.
The bridge in this picture is right next to the Doelen Hotel. Amsterdam has more than 1,200 bridges, 65 of which are draw bridges. The designs are all different, and Steve found it intriguing.
Steve took this picture only because the neighborhood looked so attractive. In researching for this post weeks after he took this photo, he found out that this view is famous! The bridge from which it is was taken is one of the “Love Lock” bridges in Amsterdam. So this description of this photo comes from, of all places, brides.com (https://www.brides.com/love-locks-bridges-around-the-world-5116934): “Amsterdam’s Staalmeestersbrug in the historic center boasts a spectacular view of the Zuiderkerk (the South Church of Amsterdam). This view has been painted by several famous artists including French impressionist Claude Monet of Water Lilies fame. It’s on the bridge’s guy wires that couples lay their symbolic padlocks.”
Below is a photo Steve took of a few of the Love Locks on the Staalmeestersbrug. Now here is the background story on this custom (way more info than necessary, but interesting just the same) from https://www.thetravel.com/history-of-love-lock-bridges-where-to-find-them/: “While many people didn’t know about the idea of a ‘love lock’ until Pont des Arts [in Paris, France] garnered attention for taking theirs down back in 2015, it’s actually believed to be an ancient custom. The origins of the idea behind a love lock may have begun in China, where it was customary for a couple to put a lock on a gate or chain before throwing away the key. This was meant to symbolize an eternal love of sorts because without the key, there would be no ‘unlocking’ it. Once this key was thrown away, it was believed that – similarly to how the lock would remain locked forever – a couple’s love would last the test of time.
“As time went on, this custom was slowly adopted until it saw a resurgence in the Serbian town of Vrnjačka Banja. It began with two young lovers by the names of Relja, who was a soldier, and Nada, the love of his life. At the time, the region was involved in a terrible war, and it was one that Relja himself was forced to be part of. Although he and Nada were engaged to be married, and Nada believed their love would traverse eons, this was not the case. According to Culture Trip, Relja survived the war – but would go on to celebrate his survival with another woman. Sadly, it’s said that Nada’s young life ended with a broken heart, and many were inclined to believe it.
“This heartbreak turned out to be the heartbreak heard through the entire town, and many young women did the only thing they could think to do: literally ‘lock’ in their love. They took to the bridge where Relja and Nada once met to lock their own keyless locks onto the bridge, in order to ensure everlasting love. Whether or not this resulted in many love stories is unknown, but it has become a tradition that has circled around the entire world.
** Apparently, so many locks were affixed to the Pont des Arts in Paris that the bridge suffered severe structural damage. All the locks were removed, accompanied by a public uproar. A Wikipedia article on Love Locks lists dozens of places where this custom still takes place.
The photo below was taken because it has three elements of Amsterdam that dominate the city: the canals, the three- and four-story buildings attached to one another, and, of course, the bicycles.
Our guide Burt has been obsessed with getting us to the boat on time, and he succeeds. But not before a real challenge. We pass by a chocolate shop on our way, and he tells us how extraordinary the Amsterdam chocolate is at this place. So, several guests want to stop in for a treat. He reluctantly agrees, and half a dozen file in. It takes way more time to fill their orders than anticipated, and we can tell that he regrets acceding to their request. Finally, the last person exits the store and we are on our way. Thoughtfully, one of the shoppers has purchased a treat for him. We arrive at the boat at 10:50am. All is well. (The “pathologically prompt” Steve and Cathy understand his angst).
We board the boat for the canal ride. Burt continues his narration, and we sit at tables with a map of the area built into the top. It’s impossible to follow because he doesn’t refer to it as we travel. Whatever. It’s still a fun ride packed with information and things to see. For Steve, the only issue is that this is a glass-covered boat, making photography difficult because of the reflections of the interior on the glass. The alternative is to sit on the stern of the boat, but then he would miss the narration and wouldn’t be able to share the experience with Cathy. He opts to stay inside.
We motor from canal to canal, and eventually find ourselves in the harbor. There are two things that intrigue us. The first are the river cruise ships. Many, many river cruises begin or end in Amsterdam, and we see a half dozen or more of these unique vessels in the harbor. One or more river cruises are definitely on our bucket list, and it’s interesting to see these ships up close.
The other interesting sight that piques our interest is the sight of the Norwegian Dawn cruise ship in the harbor. We first saw her in the Orkney Islands four days ago, and Steve looked up her itinerary. It was almost identical to ours, so it was not surprising to see her there. What was puzzling is why Oceania told us that Sirena had to dock in Ijmuiden because the water levels in the canal were too low, and here we see a ship twice our size that obviously traversed the same canal to Amsterdam harbor. Not a big deal, other than the disappointment that Oceania wouldn’t tell us the real reason we ended up in Ijmuiden rather than Amsterdam. We had been hearing that water levels in the Rhine River had been so low that even some river cruise ships couldn’t navigate parts of it. Perhaps the authorities that operate the canal connecting Amsterdam and the North Sea were restricting the number of vessels they would allow. Who knows, but Cathy and Steve are very curious about such things.
We reenter the canal system at another point, and for the next half hour, we motor through several of the canals. We learn that there are 1,000 houseboats in Amsterdam. They rent space from the city and they pay hefty taxes on the boats as well. They range from pretty old and beat up to pretty new and well-maintained. And every one of them is as different as the next one we see. Some seem as if they would be quite uncomfortable and cramped to live in; others look laid out in such a way that, when inside of them, you would lose the sense that you’re on a boat. Below are a couple of examples:
The architecture of most buildings is similar. In the photo below, the unique feature to note is at the very top of the building. It’s a place to hang a hoist. The buildings are narrow, and thus the stairways are steep and likewise narrow. And, of course, there were no elevators in the period when these buildings were constructed. So, in order to get furniture into them, the occupants had to hoist the furnishings up on the outside of the building and through the space where windows were.
As mentioned before, there are 1,200 bridges. There is a famous spot on one of the canals where you can see seven identical bridges crossing another canal. Here is a photo that Steve took as our boat passed by where you can see at least five of them.
We happened along just as one of the drawbridges was being raised for an enormous canal boat. We couldn’t quite determine what the boat was used for, but it looked as if it hauled cargo and also provided living quarters for the crew or owner (hence the car on the stern?). Obviously, this boat could only navigate certain of the large canals – those with enough width, depth and the necessary drawbridges.
Just before we disembarked, we took one last photo of the buildings that line almost all of the canals. As our guide mentioned numerous times, housing is very expensive in this city. Some of the smaller residential buildings you see in the photo below would cost 3-4 million Euros to purchase. Presently, one US dollar practically equals one Euro. As little as a year ago, each Euro was equivalent to around $1.30.
We transfer from our canal tour boat to our bus around 12:30 and head back to Ijmuiden and Sirena. As we walk along the dock to our ship, Cathy and Steve see pallet after pallet of provisions being delivered to our ship. When we wrote about Suzanna, the Food and Beverage Manager in the September 13 post, this is what we were talking to her about. She was checking in all this stuff as part of her responsibilities. Naturally, we felt right at home surrounded by all this freight!
Because it was 1:20pm or so and we were very hungry, we ate lunch in Waves Grill on Deck 9. We continue to watch the proceedings surrounding Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in London on the BBC in the afternoon.
Sirena sets sail for Zeebrugge, Belgium at 6pm, a 116-nautical mile journey. Just after sailing, we see this adorable sailboat from our balcony. My brother will want to see this, he thinks.
Last photo of the day: another beautiful sunset as we cruise the North Sea.
We’ve gotten a taste of Amsterdam. As is the case in any large city, doing it justice would have taken days. There are many, many famous things to see and do in this very important city. The only real drawback with cruising is that we cannot say that we know any city at all after just one day. We spent four hours here when four days would be the minimum one needs to stay to really get familiar with the sights, sounds, and pulse of the place.
Our first impression is probably unfair. We found Amsterdam fascinating and unique. But it was also crowded and, well, not as clean and graffiti-free as we expected. That may well be due to our having been in small cities and towns for the previous month, so our assessment is unfair. If we end up on a river cruise that begins or ends in Amsterdam in the future, we will get better acquainted. We look forward to that chance … someday.
