Amsterdam - City of Art, History, and Contrasts

We take the train from Bruges to Amsterdam, with a change in Antwerp. I expected a boring trip, given the flatness of the landscape, but it's a beautiful day, and the farms and houses are interesting, making the trip a most relaxing experience.

We arrive at an incredibly crowded Centraal Station and grab a taxi to our hotel, the Tulip Inn, Amsterdam Center. As usual, we struggle with room size and the Internet. A couple beers in the lobby bar and dinner at a fine Swiss restaurant end the day on a high note.

We get a late start and, because of long lines, postpone our visits to the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. Instead, we go to Vondel Park in the rain, which reminds us of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Next, we walk through the Ledesplein, a touristy restaurant-and-small hotel area, to Kalverstraat, a pedestrian-only shopping zone, which is even kitschier. Along the way, we visit the very crowded floating Flower Market with lots of tulip bulbs for sale, as you might imagine. We stop at a soup and baguette place, which we agree serves edible and inexpensive food. Not too bad we think, perhaps because we are faint with hunger.

After lunch, we walk to Dam Square, which houses the National Monument and is surrounded by many architectural wonders, including the Royal Palace/Town Hall. The square is full of young people smoking and toking, walking and talking, sleeping and eating, and just hanging out. We wander around, soaking it all in. I repress the urge to visit one of Amsterdam's famous "coffeeshops," where marijuana and hashish are sold over the counter. Next, we explore the underrated Amsterdam Historical Museum. Last, we visit the emotionally draining, at least for me, Anne Frank House.

We have a superb, though expensive, dinner at the Divinder restaurant near our hotel.

Monday, we celebrate my 67th birthday by visiting the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum in the morning. I go into cultural overload, so, after lunch on the Museumplein, we take a canal boat to Centraal Station and visit St. Nicholaas Church. We re-board and go to the Dutch Resistance Museum, which is not very well known, but extremely interesting. We also take the canal boat back to our hotel, where we meet a good friend of mine for dinner.

Quick Tips:

Trying to reserve seats or buy tickets is difficult in the tourist-inundated Centraal Train Station. The two times I went, the wait was over 2 hours. We decided to just board our trains since we had Eurail passes. I suggest getting tickets elsewhere.

To save yourself from long lines at the Anne Frank House, either go early or after 6pm.

If you shop, visit Kalverstraat. The street contains record stores, souvenir shops, and clothes shops selling every kind of avant-garde outfit you can imagine.

Ledesplein has the best inexpensive restaurants.

Do not walk in the bike lanes. Pam got yelled at and almost run over.

I skipped visiting one of Amsterdam's famous "coffeeshops," where marijuana and hashish are sold over the counter, but I believe they are safe to spend time in. We skipped the Red Light District, figuring it would be boring and ugly for two non-clients.

We discovered that many hotels, for a small service charge, sell tickets to the major museums so you can avoid long lines. If you are visiting the Rijksmuseum or the Van Gogh on a weekend, take advantage of this service.

Best Way To Get Around:

As in most European cities, the best way to get around and see things is to walk.

Amsterdam has rings of canals, so the next best choice is the canal boats. You can buy a day ticket and get off and on. You can also rent pedal-propelled boats, but I'm not convinced they are efficient for transportation.

Amsterdam is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities I’ve ever been in, and renting a bike is easy. The terrain is flat.

Public transportation, particularly the trams, is quite good and reasonably priced.

Taxis are expensive and mostly driven by immigrants, many from the Middle East. Not surprisingly, they speak little English and aren't much help if you aren't sure where you are going.

The description of the Tulip Inn Amsterdam Centre, as located in the city centre of Amsterdam, is somewhat misleading since it's about an hour's walk or a 10-minute taxi ride from the train station. On the other hand, it is very near the Leidseplein, the Vondelpark, the Rijksmuseum, and the Van Gogh Museum. Public transport and a Canal Boat Company stop are within meters.

This refurbished apartment building has a nice lobby bar with free Internet access, helpful clerks, a breakfast terrace for our complimentary continental breakfast, and, most importantly for bag-schleppers, an elevator that worked almost all the time. We didn't drive, but I understand that it has limited parking.

It has cleaning and laundry services, but they are very expensive. We spent 85€ for a couple days’ laundry and cleaning.

The staff is very knowledgeable about the city and its attractions and dining sites near the hotel. They not only answered our questions, but offered additional information, a skill we rarely found on this trip.

On the negative side of the ledger, when we get to our room on the fifth floor, we find it is even smaller than our Bruges accommodations, disappointing considering we are paying about twice the price. The "Internet disconnect" also kicks in, and we find that, although they have free Internet access in the lobby, if you want to connect from your room, it costs… and costs…and costs.

I had read that rooms in Amsterdam were more expensive than almost anywhere else in Europe, but I am shocked at price/size ratio. We have a delightful view of the canal across the street, that is, if we stand on our tiptoes to look out the window, which is set in the roof - so much for website truthfulness.

I may never get used to the size of European hotel rooms. Our hotel is rated at three stars, but the room is barely large enough for both of us to be in it unless one of us is in bed. It's almost as bad as our first hotel in Japan. We stayed in the Ueno prefecture at a so-called "business man's hotel" because it was very reasonable and carried three stars. Hah!!!! The bed was situated so that the only way on or off was via the foot of the bed. The bathroom was organized so that the only way to sit on the toilet was to situate your knees under the sink and leave the door open. We learned our lesson in Japan. It takes us a while to learn our lesson in Europe.

I'd like to rate the place higher since the people were so wonderful, but unfortunately, it's a good hotel, but not a great value.

We decide to visit the Anne Frank House in the late afternoon. When we arrive, the line to get in stretches around the block, but we decide to tough it out in the rain. Later, we find that the place is open in the evening and much less crowded. Nevertheless, the wait is worth the experience, even though the foundation does not allow picture-taking.

I find it very difficult to manage my emotions while exploring the house. I keep asking myself, "How could such horrible things happen? Why are they still happening? Why do I feel so powerless to do anything about it?" I've seen the movie and I've read excerpts from the diary, but this tour of the house is far more moving.

The actual hiding place written about in her diary was located in her father's office building at 263 Prinsengracht. Like so many houses on the Amsterdam canals, the building consists of a canal-side house and an annex.

The rooms in the annex are maintained in their authentic state. The rooms are empty, because the furniture was carted away after the raid. Salvaged documents and objects belonging to the eight people who were hiding are on display in the annex.

The front part of the house, where people worked every day, is set up as if it were 1942. As we explore the house, we realize that we are being guided through the building and told the story with quotes from Anne's diary. All the displays are authentically from the 1940s, if not actually from the house. At different spots on the tour, we see three short videos that help put the events and the diary's entries in context.

I lose it when I see the videotapes of her father talking about the diary and his daughter. She was just a young girl, yet she was forced to hole up for 2 years and eventually died in a concentration camp. I just don't get it! I also realize how brave the Dutch people who covered for them were. I wonder if I would be as brave. I don't know.

The last exhibit takes the edge off. It's an interactive presentation about Neo-Nazism and the freedom of speech. The problem is that it is too abstract and too long. It becomes boring after about 10 minutes, so I move on to the bookstore and café. Pam and I have cappuccinos, and I watch the other patrons enjoying themselves. As I decompress, I wonder if they, especially the young ones, are touched by what they have seen or are just part of a tour, following a guidebook, or tagging along with their folks and thinking that it is just another museum. I hope not, but I think so.

You can learn much more about the house and the museum at http://www.annefrank.org/content.asp?pid=1&lid=2.

It's hard to summarize a museum that holds close to one million objects. It is perhaps best known for its collection of 17th-century Golden Age Dutch masters, like Rembrandt, Vermeer, Frans Hals, and Jan Steen.

Obviously, it is largest art museum in the Netherlands and reputed to be one of the 10 principal museums in the world, putting it in the company of the Louvre, the Prado, and the New York Metropolitan.

In addition to paintings, it has other collections: sculpture and decorative arts, drawings, prints and photographs, Asiatic art, and Dutch history. The current building has housed the museum since 1885. It is now undergoing a huge renovation, which it is trying to modernize while maintaining the Victorian structure of the present buildings.

Since it's Monday when we arrive, there are no lines. They must have heard we bought tickets in advance and shortened the lines accordingly. The museum itself is considerably more interesting than I thought it would be. Since it is under renovation, I had curbed my expectations. The museum allows photos without a flash, so I got pictures of many Rembrandts, unfortunately not including the world-famous "Night Watch." The angles were just too daunting and the area too crowded, so I gave up. You can find the ones I did take at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ed_hk/.

We spent almost twice as long as we had planned. I imagine that it will be an even more exciting place when the renovation is finished.

In spite of a lukewarm recommendation from our guidebook, we decide to visit the Amsterdam Historical Museum. We are glad we do.

The cost is reasonable at €6, with concessions for children and seniors.

The museum is housed in buildings, which once comprised the City Orphanage. Through the main-entry archway and to our left is a computer-generated exhibit called "Growth of the City." It's fascinating. Don't miss it.

We just follow the signs in Dutch and English to see everything we want to see. The explanations are in both languages. The galleries are user-friendly and contain artifacts, exhibits, and paintings, including a Rembrandt, "The Anatomy Lesson."

I learn a lot, not only about Amsterdam and how it grew, but also about the history of Holland and its relation to the rest of Europe. I'm especially impressed with the 17th-century and WWII sections.

I may overrate this place because I love the study of history. However, my wife, Pam, who is not all that interested in history, enjoyed our visit very much, so I'm going for a top recommendation.

You can learn much more and take a virtual tour of the museum at http://www.ahm.nl/emuseum.php. The website is in both Dutch and English.

On the west side of the Museumplein, the Van Gogh Museum is a relatively recent addition, 1973 actually. Admission isn't cheap for adults at 13.50€, but they have child, student, and senior concessions. The museum does not allow picture-taking, which disappoints me.

The main collection originally belonged to Vincent's younger brother Theo van Gogh, and after passing through, Theo's widow and son became the nucleus of the Vincent van Gogh Foundation. The museum also holds works by other 19th-century artists who were contemporaries of the Van Gogh brothers. Some of these paintings are exhibited also. The Van Gogh collection is divided into five periods that correspond with different phases in Vincent's development.

After a couple hours of looking at hundreds of his paintings and reading the corresponding adulatory descriptions, I ask myself, "Is it possible to get too much of Vincent van Gogh?" I come close here.

Fortunately, I also visit the "Edouard Manet and the Sea" traveling exhibit, which includes other impressionists, like Pissaro, Monet, and Renoir, and this tempers the "van Goghness" considerably.

The whole time I am in the museum, I keep hearing Don McLean's "Vincent" (Starry, Starry Night) in my head. I can't stop it. The song has taken over my mind. I get some weird looks until I realize I'm humming it. I gotta get outta here. I do as soon as I collect my wife, Pam, and we realize that we both need a break. We are in what I call "cultural overload."

You can learn more about the museum and Vincent himself at http://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/bisrd/top-1-2.html.

We had not planned to visit this museum. It is out of the way, in the Plancius Building on Plantage Kerklaan, and not featured in any of the guidebooks we had. We decided to visit it because it was in an area where we wanted to do some walking, and because I'm a history "nut," especially about WW II. The adult entry is very reasonable at 5€, with the usual concession fees for others.

At first, the exhibits seem tacky, but the farther in I go, the more I lose myself in the exhibits' content. I am depressed and uplifted simultaneously. We budget an hour and spend two. In the main exhibit hall, the quality improves considerably. Descriptions are in English. The exhibits cover everything from early cooperation to eventual widespread resistance. I wish that those who don't understand what's going on in Iraq could see this. Maybe they would understand the nature of resistance to an invader better.

At first, the Germans treated the Dutch as possible collaborators, to the extent even that a volunteer Dutch regiment was formed to fight on the Eastern Front. The Germans thought that the Dutch would be sympathetic. A political party urging loyalty to the German occupiers, Nederlandse Unie-NU (the Netherlands Union), was established and millions of Dutch paid their dues and joined. Things started to break down when the Germans started arresting Jews. Dutch labor leaders called for a successful 1-day work stoppage. Events went downhill from there. I am especially fascinated with the exhibits showing what daily life was like during the occupation and how people hid their resistance activities.

The temporary exhibit entitled "World War II in the West: Suriname, The Netherlands Antilles and Aruba" is particularly interesting. These Dutch possessions were never occupied and contributed to the Allied war effort. This is all new information to me.

While I don't expect everyone to share my interests, if you are at all interested in WW II, the treatment of Jews in the Netherlands during the war, or how average people coped with the occupation, you will enjoy this museum.

I can't imagine that there is a more relaxing or reasonably priced transport along Amsterdam's canals. The boats operate regularly on three routes: the Green, Red, and Blue Lines. You can access all the details, including schedules and maps, at http://www.canal.nl/uk/index.html.

All the stops are located near the major museums, attractions, and shopping areas. The day pass is actually good for a day and a half if you time it right, since it expires at noon the next day. We hop on and off as often as we like. There is a Dutch/English pre-recorded commentary that provides interesting information when we can hear it over our fellow passengers' conversations.

We use it to take us places where we want to walk, and then pick it up again after we've explored an area on foot. At one point, the captain graciously allows us to disembark at a non-scheduled, unused dock near the Dutch Resistance Museum, saving us a long hike.

Seeing the hundreds of different types of houseboats on the canals and appreciating the architecture of the large and small houses along the same canals is worth the price of the fare alone.

I'm sure it would enhance your appreciation of Amsterdam, as it did ours.

In my opinion, to qualify as great, a city must be both fascinating and fun to stroll in. Amsterdam qualifies, at least, on this criterion. Throughout our stay here my wife, Pam, and I chose to walk from one point to another just to soak up the ambience of the street. Whether it was an architecturally fascinating private house, a smoky-windowed coffeeshop, a beautiful park or garden, a busy shopping street, or interesting people, walking was the best way to access these small wonders.

I’m not in the habit of recommending guidebooks. They all have their good features and their drawbacks, but the ones I actually use are the ones that have information about walks I can take. Among these, the best are Rick Steves, Lonely Planet, and National Geographic. I don’t necessarily follow the walks step for step, but I do pick and choose from the suggestions so that no matter how little time I have, I can grab a stroll through interesting territory.

Even though we had only 2 full days, Pam and I explored a number of attractions on foot in addition to all the museums and other sites we visited. Following is an annotated list of places we walked to or around.

Our first day, a rainy Sunday, frustrated by the long lines at the major museums, we head for Vondel Park, the largest park in Amsterdam, figuring the park won't be crowded because of the weather. Vondel Park reminds us of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. In fact, a lot of Amsterdam reminds me of San Francisco - the street people hanging out everywhere, the public squares full of slightly stoned young people, the trams, the restaurants, the neighborhoods, the harbor, etc., etc. We walk around the park, enjoying the uncrowded atmosphere. The only sour note is offered by a street person who keeps following us and trying to give us information we don't want, like the free concert schedule for the rest of the summer. Hell, every city has people like him, so we don’t let the situation bother us. We just ignore him. In spite of the rain, there are people playing football; walking their babies and dogs; which are sometimes hard to separate; or jogging or bicycling. One distressed gentleman is trying to get to his dog on the opposite side of a pond from him. Neither of the parties, canine or human, think to use the nearby bridge. I try to point this out, but am ignored by both.

After we leave the park, we walk through the Leidseplein, a touristy restaurant and small hotel area. This square dates from the 17th century, when it was a place for farmers and peasants to leave their carts before entering the city center. Today, the area is full of trams, cars, motor scooters, and the ubiquitous bicycles. My friend Phil, who lives here, tells me later that Leidseplein is one of Amsterdam's most popular nightlife centers. We see lots of cafés, restaurants, and live-entertainment venues that look kind of drab in the grayness of this Sunday afternoon. There are a few street musicians and other performers doing their thing, and many young people just hanging out after what I imagine was an active Saturday night. Nevertheless, it’s interesting, and we scope out a couple reasonably priced restaurants we may want to try.

Headed towards Dam Square, we walk by the floating Flower Market. Our guidebook says it is the only floating flower market in the world. The author has evidently never been to Thailand. It is very busy and smells good. The flower stalls are actually on houseboats. I don’t think they float anywhere, though. They look permanent to me. We see all sorts of tulips, narcissus, and other bulbs and flowers. They seem overpriced, but I’m not a flower expert, so I could be wrong. I most likely am wrong, given the crush of customers.

We are starting to feel hunger pangs, so we walk up Kalver Straat, a pedestrian-only street, at least on Sunday. We don't even have to dodge bicycles in this area. The street contains record stores, gift and souvenir shops, cafés, fast-food restaurants, and shoe and clothing shops selling every kind of avant-garde outfit you can imagine. Pam and I stop at a reasonably priced and exceedingly busy soup-and-baguette place, which we agree isn't too bad, perhaps because we are faint with hunger.

We walk to Dam Square, which houses the National Monument and is surrounded by many architectural wonders, including the Royal Palace/Town Hall. The Square dates from the 13th century, when a dam was built around the Amstel River to prevent the sea from swamping the city. It reminds me of the 1960s and the hippie era in San Francisco. There are lots of pigeons, or as Woody Allen described them, "rats with wings." There are also food stalls, restaurants, and street entertainers out in force since the rain has stopped. We see at least a half-dozen mimes working the crowd.

The Royal Palace is somewhat misnamed, since it was originally built as a city hall in the 17th century to house what was one of Europe’s early representative governments. But Napoleon came to town in 1808 and turned the city hall into a royal palace. The idea of the premier survivor of the French Revolution installing his brother as king and head of the Dutch royal family has to be one of history’s more entertaining ironies. In the summer, the palace is open to the public, but never on Sunday, so we can’t get inside.

I take a picture of the phallic-like National Memorial statue, erected in memory of Dutch soldiers and members of the resistance who died in World War II, to say nothing of the 100,000 Dutch Jews who were shipped to concentration camps and the tens of thousands of other Dutch citizens who starved to death or were shot by the Germans in the last winter of the war. The obelisk was unveiled in 1956 and is now called the Peace Monument. It now serves as a resting and snacking site for hundreds of backpackers.

Since we are going to the Anne Frank House, we walk through some beautiful residential areas between it and Dam Square, and afterward, walk back to our hotel through the same type of wonderful scenery.

On Monday, after visiting two of the three "biggie" museums, we explore the Museum Plein, which is grassy, with nice paved walks. Since it is central to the Rijksmuseum, the Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art, the Van Gogh Museum, and also the majestic Concertgebouw building, it is a wonderful place to take a break and have a snack at one of the food stalls. We try to get into the main auditorium of the Concertgebouw, but are foiled by locked doors and security guards.

We buy tickets on the Canal-Bus Boat, but that’s not the end of our walking. We still haven’t explored south of the train station, where the Oude Kerk (Old Church) and New Church of St. Nicholaas are located. We wander around and decide to visit St Nicholaas Church first. It’s much taller than its predecessor and is a rare example of the neo-baroque style, since most churches of the time, mid-19th century, were built in the Gothic style. It’s a beautiful, airy building on the inside. The outside is grimy, a condition resulting from its location. We don’t enter the 13th-century Oude Kerk because we want to have time for the Dutch Resistance Museum and its nearby parks and gardens.

After the Resistance museum, we stroll through Wertheim Park, which is across from the world-famous Hortus Botanicus. We rest on the grass in the park before walking to the nearest Canal-Bus stop for a quick ride back to our hotel, a perfect combination of walking and transport utilization. The only regret we have is not giving ourselves more time to explore Amsterdam on foot. I sense that we would find the city a more attractive destination if we had the time to do more walking.