[Amsterdam, Netherlands, May 25, 2024]
Back in 2000, I was travelling back to the US after spending the Christmas of my freshman year in college in Bulgaria. International connections to Sofia were dismal back then, and the cheapest way for me to fly back to the US was to spend 19 hours in Amsterdam. Did I have a crappy day in Amsterdam? No, I did not, because I spent the whole 19 hours in the airport. I had no money and I would have needed a visa, anyway. I passed the time eating the bologna sandwiches my mom had made me and reading Teri Pratchett books.
When I decided to fly to Sofia from Portland instead of from LA like I usually do, I figured I’d use one of the few nonstop flights to Europe – Delta’s flight to Amsterdam. But the flight schedule still got me. The only way for me to continue on to Sofia non-stop was a flight with Bulgaria Air, which departed from Amsterdam only an hour after I would arrive. Even a slight delay would mean I’d miss the flight, and the tickets would be separate, which meant I’d probably have to rebook with my own money. It was too much of a risk, and I decided to utilize the 3-day weekend for Memorial day to do a proper stop-over in Amsterdam. Twist my arm!
That non-stop flight from PDX arrived a little early, as it happened. I landed just before 9 am and was in the city center around 10 am. I emerged from the central train station to a very busy, crowded street that almost took my breath away. I knew Amsterdam was a tourist hot spot, but the sheer number of people when summer wasn’t even in full swing yet was bewildering. Luckily, my hotel was quite nearby so I didn’t have to fight the crowds for too long with my luggage. I resisted the urge to immediately take photos, especially of the extremely ornate train station building.
After dropping off my bags at the hotel, I emerged again, ready to get my bearings with the Amsterdam city walk on the Rick Steves Audio Europe app. I had already downloaded it to my phone before my trip, so I popped in my headphones and off I went.
The tour conveniently began back at the train station building, so now I could take proper photos of it.
Amsterdam Centraal was designed by Dutch architect Pierre Cuypers (who also designed the Rijksmuseum) and opened in 1889. It features a Gothic, Renaissance Revival station building and a cast iron platform roof (not seen here, it’s in the back) spanning approximately 40 meters. Like the Rijksmuseum, it looks like a medieval cathedral. It is right on the waterfront, separating Amsterdam from the IJ Lake. Amsterdam’s famous canals expand in concentric circle from it. Its two turrets sport a clock dial and a wind vane.
As I made my way south along Damrak, the main street, I passed shops and restaurants of all kinds, clearly catering to tourists. At No 41, I took note at the most famous stand for vlaamse friet, or Flemish fries, so called because they were invented here in the low country. I had just eaten breakfast on the plane, but I made note to come back here later.
The long brick building on my left was the stock exchange, or Borse. It was built in 1903 and it was made of 9 million bricks. It has a minimalist style characteristic of this era.
The building is now a cultural center. The actual stock exchange has moved next door to Beursplein 5, where stock tickers are displayed on an electronic board. There is even a bull here, too, just like at Wall Street in New York City.
At Damrak No 68, I ducked into an inviting brick passage with a mosaic floor and ornate ceilings. It was a tiny shopping mall! A giant fish on the wall was actually a water fountain!
Back on Damrak, I continued on to Dam Square. The city got its start right here in 1250. That’s when fishermen built a small dam along the Amstel River and called it Amstel Dam.
The biggest building on the square is the Royal Palace. Despite its name, it was actually the town hall. It was built in the 1600s to replace the old town hall that stood there. It became known as the royal palace in 1806 when Napoleon invaded and installed his brother Louis as king. Even when he fell, the European powers dictated that Netherlands remain a monarchy under a royal family called the House of Orange. This is why orange is the country’s national color.
To the right of the royal palace is The New Church. It is the coronation spot for kings and queens. I didn’t pop inside as it is currently hosting the 2024 World Press Photo Exhibit.
The Bijenkorf luxury department store was on the other side of the square.
Completing the sights at the square was the white obelisk – the National Monument. It was built in 1956 as a WWII Memorial.
From Dam square, I headed down the busy pedestrian mall along Kalverstraat. I passed a vast array of international stores, which tracks with Amsterdam’s history as a trading port.
On the right hand side, at No 58, I ducked into De Papegaai hidden catholic church. The low profile church façade was indeed easy to miss among the big box stores. Catholics were forced to worship in private in the 1500- and 1600s as Protestant extremists outlawed the religion. Therefore, Catholic churches had to remain under the radar. The nickname of the church, De Papegaai, comes from the carving of a parrot in the stone of the house that formerly stood here.
The former building of the Amsterdam Museum was just down the street at No 98. Its historic archway featured the Amsterdam Coat of Arms – a red shield with 3 Xs and a crown. The three Xs represent the three virtues of heroism, determination, and mercy, although that interpretation only dates from WWII. Before that, they represented the three great medieval threats – fire, flood and plague. The relief above the door from 1591 reminds people that this was originally an orphanage.
Nearby is the Begeijnhof, a remarkable quiet corner of this otherwise busy area. It is a walled-off complex of churches and homes that has sheltered women since 1346. For centuries, it was the home of the begeijns, a lay order of Christian women that removed themselves from public life to serve. They were not nuns but they led unpretentious lives. The last begeijn died in 1971 but today, this begeijnhof still provides subsidized housing to low-income women, mainly Catholic seniors.
The English Reform church was built to serve the begeijns.
Right across from it is a Catholic church. Since Catholicism was outlawed, this also had to be a low-profile hidden church – its windows on the 2nd and 3rd floors were painted over.
This black wooden house from 1477 is the city’s oldest house. Most homes were rebuilt with bricks after a devastating fire in the middle ages.
Around the corner was a wall with an amazing display of gable stones. They adorned houses across Amsterdam and served as house numbers.
Just past the Begeijnhof was Spui square. I liked this square the most out of all the ones I saw in Amsterdam. It was small and intimate with many cafes lining its triangular shape.
Back on Kalverstraat, I continued south where the street runs into a clock tower. A modern mall on the right, the Kalvertoren, featured a slanted glass elevator which lead to a top-floor cafe with great views. I had to pause the tour and check it out – apparently, not that many places in Amsterdam have a great rooftop view. The Blue Cafe did not disappoint. It was small and beautifully decorated, with almost 360-degree views through the floor to ceiling glass windows. A lot of the tables had a “Reserved” sign on them, but I managed to snag a table and had my second breakfast of the day. I also had my first mini stroopwaffel, which came with the coffee.
After this much needed nourishment and walk break, I continued on to the Mint Tower. In medieval times, the tower served as a gate in the walled-off city. The wall was surrounded by a moat, which is now the Singel canal. The steeple was added in 1620, as written below the clockface. Stoners love to take a picture here at exactly 4:20 pm. Get it?
The Singel canal is lined with the stalls of the flower market. They sell cut flowers, seeds, garden supplies and everything else associated with flowers you can think of. The best known flower is, of course, the tulip. In the 1500s, a few tulips found their way to Holland from Asia. They thrived in the sandy soil, and rich merchants began buying them for their homes. That’s how Holland’s love affair with tulips began.
At the end of the flower market, I found Koningsplei (King’s square). The popular Frens Haringhandel herring stand in the middle of it was already busy. Herring is the commodity that first put Amsterdam on the trading map, and it was also the main source of protein for Dutch sailors on long voyages. Although herring is the main star, there is also often little shrimp, mackerel, salmon and eel, as well as Kibbeling – little fried cod pieces. The herring can be ordered alone or with bread (broodje). Purists eat the whole herring – Rotterdam style – or cut up in pieces – Amsterdam style. Although the fish looks raw, it’s actually cured for 5 days in salt. Since I had just eaten, I did not try it this time but also noted it to come back to.
The tour ended here, and I was free to continue on my own schedule. I was now half-way between my hotel and the Van Gogh Museum, where I had reserved an entry ticket for 2 pm.
My walk to the Van Gogh Museum took me to Museumplein, the museum-laden area of the city. I walked through Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s main art museum. I did not stop, since I had a reserved ticket for the next day. I laughed when I saw that the Frans Hals exhibit is now here – I just saw it in London in January. I also popped into the garden in the back. It was lovely, which benches lining a beautifully manicured garden. A fountain provided a great backdrop for photos.
Van Gogh’s paintings displayed at the museum took a long road to get here. Upon Vincent van Gogh’s death in 1890, his remaining artwork fell into the possession of his brother Theo. Theo died six months after Vincent, leaving the work in the possession of his widow, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger. She sold many of Vincent’s paintings in order to spread knowledge of his artwork but maintained a private collection for herself. The collection was inherited by her son, Vincent Willem van Gogh. In 1925, he loaned it to the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, where it was displayed for many years. Then it was transferred to the state-initiated Vincent van Gogh Foundation in 1962.The foundation commissioned the Van Gogh Museum, which opened in 1973.
The museum also featured a temporary exhibit of Matthew Wong. He was inspired by Van Gogh artistically and just like him, struggled with mental illness and took his own life in 2019.
I popped into the Moco Museum next, which is right next door and was free with my Amsterdam Card. It is an independent museum with locations here, Barcelona and London. It is dedicated to exhibiting modern and contemporary art. The current exhibition featured works by the street artist Banksy, Yayo Kusama (I had just seen some of her work at the Tate Modern in London), and Takashi Murakami, another favorite of mine. However, the museum was extremely small and crowded and I grew frustrated with that.
It was now late afternoon and I was happy I could finally go back to the hotel and check in. On the way there, I stopped to get those famous Vlaamse Fries. I chose the truffle mayo from the many sauce options and I was not disappointed!
After a much-needed shower and a little bit of rest, I decided that now was a great time to do a canal tour. I was done walking, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to sightsee without exerting any energy. My Amsterdam card included a free canal tour with Stromma, and one of their starting locations was conveniently located right behind my hotel.
I loved seeing Amsterdam from the canals. It was so gorgeous! I especially enjoyed seeing all the house boats up close. They used to be a cheap way to live in the city, but now taxes and other fees have made them just as expensive as regular real estate. They are also linked to sewer and all utilities.
The weather cleared up nicely half-way through the tour, and the captain opened the glass roof.
I liked touring the canals by boat so much that immediately after, I did a second one. I chose an open boat this time, which allowed me to take much better photos.
We passed through an “intersection” where you can see seven bridges at once! Alas, we also got caught in a boat jam at this spot. Unlike the first tour, the open boat tour went through the Red Light District, so I saw a new part of the city.
After that, it was time for some much needed sleep! I’d say Amsterdam has definitely redeemed itself.