This is Amsterdam!
The charming city of Amsterdam was the starting point for our river cruise down the Rhine River this summer. It was also an introduction to Europe for me, a destination that has long been on my travel list! It is a fascinating mix of the old world and a modern city.
The lovely older part of Amsterdam captured my heart right away with its picturesque canals and patchwork of neighborhoods. The area is criss-crossed by a network of 165 canals. These waterways are arranged in a web of concentric rings, and cover a total length of over 60 miles. The streets are threaded together by over 1,700 bridges spanning the canals and the Amstel River which flows through the middle of Amsterdam.
The canals are very old - most were dredged in the 1600's. They are part of the amazing efforts of the Dutch people to manage a boggy landscape, and defend against flooding from the ocean. While Amsterdam is a major port, it is inland from the North Sea. To get to the port, ships had to navigate through a narrow strait 50 miles north of the city, and then travel down a large bay - the Zuiderzee. The waters leading into the port were very shallow and full of shifting sandbars from the ocean tides. Large ships could not navigate this area so smaller boats and barges used the canals to deliver cargo from the ocean-going ships to the merchants in the heart of the city. The journey was difficult and could take up to two weeks due to changing sandbars and windy weather conditions.
Starting in 1820, a new route was built to bypass the Zuiderzee so that larger ships could reach the port. The Great North Holland Canal was dug entirely by manual labor! It connected small rivers, lakes and ditches for a distance of 47 miles. It took thousands of workers four years, until 1824, to build the new canal, This new route reduced travel time to a few days, but larger ships still had to be towed through the channel, harnessed to horses walking alongside the canal. Finally, in 1865 a new shorter channel was built across a narrow area of land to the west of Amsterdam. The 17-mile North Sea Canal was opened in 1876 giving direct access to the North Sea. Over time it has been enhanced to add several series of locks and today is the largest lock system in the world. The Zuiderzee was closed off from the ocean in 1932 by the construction of the Afsluitdijk dike. The dike is 20 miles long and was built to prevent flooding of the low land by the ocean.
Woven into the life and structure of the city, the canals give an enchanting quality to the streets that connect residents and visitors alike for business, play and socializing. They are an inviting spot for people to gather and enjoy the summer sunshine.
The bridges over the canals were decorated with flower boxes brimming with blossoms and were humming with activity, alive with bicycles rushing past!
The canals also lend the city a sense of peaceful serenity and mirror the reflection of the historic architecture framing the streets.
We spent a few days before our cruise exploring the different neighborhoods. The streets are a tapestry of intriguing boutiques, coffee shops, bustling cafes and pubs all sandwiched among the beautiful old homes and historic buildings.
We strolled along the cobblestone streets and alleys in early evening with the light of sunset streaming down and the shadows of the buildings creating a unique silhouette.
The dusky streets bustled with people enjoying the warm night, and the sounds of a pub crowd cheering on the World Cup game spilled out into the open air - every inch of the bar filled with their jostling, jubilant energy!
In addition to the canals and vibrant street life, Amsterdam offers other treasures to explore. The city is rich in art and history with many wonderful museums. We visited the Van Gogh Museum which has the largest collection of Van Gogh's work and also includes work by some of his contemporaries. It is a smaller, more intimate setting that chronicles Vincent's life, and showcases many of his paintings and drawings. Amazingly, over a period of about 10 years, Vincent created 2,100 pieces of artwork!
We also visited the Rijks Museum, the largest museum in the city. It houses the works of the Old Dutch Masters - Rembrandt and Vermeer - and many other artists, and historical artifacts. The stained glass windows inside the museum are interesting as they depict artists and philosophers, sculptors and architects, rather than religious figures. The architecture on the exterior of the building is beautiful with a large covered corridor, called The Passage. It has stunning windows and high Gothic arches. In the garden, a group of art students were perfecting their own masterpieces and street musicians entertained passers-by.
We enjoyed wandering through Amsterdam's street markets. The Bloemenmarkt began in the 1860's as a "floating flower market". Local growers would bring fresh flowers to the market via the canals and sell from their boats. Today the area is comprised of shops on the edge of the canal selling flowers, bulbs and seeds - a gardener's delight!
Want to go shopping? Find your heart's desire in Amsterdam's Farmers Market - So many choices! You can find all kinds of produce, cheese, fresh fish, bread and pastries, ice cream, clothing, jewelry, artwork, incense, and a huge variety of other goodies, a local cartoonist, and yes - more flowers! We also encountered an enormous market kitty, and a sweet pup hoping for a snack!
Throughout our time in Amsterdam, I loved the feeling of community and the friendly people. We saw both a vibrant, active environment and the quieter side of parks and neighborhoods, with the people enjoying their city and sharing relaxing time with friends and family.
We also took a side trip, to the outskirts of the city, to see the traditional windmills and a bit of the countryside. (Click the link to to see separate post on Windmills).
As our time in Amsterdam came to a close, we boarded our cruise ship to travel on, hoping to return here some day and looking forward to new adventures ahead as we sailed down the Rhine towards Basel.
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