Amsterdam is a compact city. The central district is easily reached on foot from most locations. Each canal and house also has its own character making it easy to spend hours wandering and never notice how many miles have passed. The scenery is truly picture book material. My digital camera barely had time to shut down before being called into action for yet another "Kodak" moment.
The city was founded by herring fishermen in the 13th century. They settled on the shore of the Amstel River, building a dam to protect the town from flooding. The flat location made it easy to carve canals through the city to aid fishing traffic, and sanitation and protect the city from attack. In fact, the city limits were marked by a moat until 1586 when the city council decided to build wharves along the moat, progressively converting it to a canal.
This canal, called Singel (originally known as Cingle, meaning belt) was Amsterdam's first concentric canal surrounding the inner city. In the 17th Century, an expansion program saw more horseshoe-shaped canals added, eventually creating the pattern of canals that characterise the city today. This was the Dutch Golden Age when Amsterdam was the world's most important port.
These new canals were popular with the city's wealthy merchant aristocrats. In a 17th Century version of "keeping up with the Jones", these residents built elaborate houses decorated with gables and facades of increasing grandeur. However, each home was built with a comparatively narrow profile as city taxes were levied according to the width of the canal frontage. The narrowest house in Amsterdam (No.7 on the Singel) is barely wider than its front door.
No.7 Singel
We started our first day wandering from our hotel on the south side of the inner city towards Central Station to the north. At one point we found ourselves in the infamous red-light district of Rosse Buurt. This area certainly appears harmless by day as the locals go about their daily lives.
At least, all seems normal, until you notice bored-looking prostitutes beckoning from velvet-framed "shop" windows along the street. Each window acts as a display booth for a vast array of ladies. Clearly, there's a bustling brunch trade for the world's oldest profession.
This wasn't the only example of Amsterdam's liberal approach to life. We also passed numerous "smoking" coffee shops selling sweet-smelling marijuana and similarly drug-infused cakes. The city even boasts a Hash museum tracing the history of hashish and the cannabis plant.
Other more mundane highlights on our wander included Bloemenmarkt, the floating flower market where tulip bulbs in all manner of shapes and sizes were being sold by the bucket. Eventually, we found ourselves outside a local market where we stopped for a leisurely coffee and a light lunch. Our coffee arrived after 15 minutes, our sandwich after 50 minutes. The Dutch don't like to rush life.
Anne Frank statue
One of Amsterdam's most famous residents was Anne Frank. Her diary captures the drama of herself and her Jewish family hiding the Nazi administration for several years in a secret attic. On this trip, we didn't get to see her house, a popular tourist attraction. However, we discovered that Anne's house isn't the only hidden space in Amsterdam.
In 1578 when the city's Catholic city council was replaced by a Protestant leadership, Catholic churches were effectively banned, being forcibly closed across the city. However, the council came to tolerate banned churches in the city provided they weren't visible from the exterior of the building that housed them. In 1661, a wealthy merchant called Jan Hartman built a residence with a shop on the ground floor, private quarters upstairs, and; most incredibly, a church with seating for 200 people in the top floor and attic of his building and two others adjoining his own.
You can still visit this secret church today if you're game to climb a series of steep and narrow stairs from the street below. It's called "Our Dear Lord in the Attic" and is a most incredible venue. The church has its own compact organ, fold-out pulpit, and old master paintings decorating the altar.
From here we made our way past the National Monument commemorating victims of World War II, the National Palace, and the national church where Dutch royalty are crowned. Everywhere we went there were bicycles! In such a flat, compact city it's the ideal mode of transport. However, it takes a while to remember to look both ways before you cross the pavement as it's often split between pedestrians and cyclists.
After several hours of wandering, we decided to take the weight off our feet and catch a canal boat ride back to our hotel. The boat took a good 40 minutes to reach our hotel, affording some splendid views of riverboats, graceful stone arch bridges, and the narrow houses lining each canal.
Dinner on our first evening was spent in Leidseplein, the vibrant nightlife district. The area contained several plazas filled with outdoor tables, cafes, bars, neon lights, and plenty of street entertainment. We found a brilliant Thai restaurant, possibly the best such restaurant we'd encountered since dining at Lemongrass in Toronto.
More on our time in Amsterdam tomorrow.
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