The North Sea Canal

Final port of call: Amsterdam. I looked at my maps, and noticed that Amsterdam was way inland, on the river Amstel, not out on the coast. I was wondering how we would get there. Was there really some ocean port that served Amsterdam, the way Dover served London? I couldn't find one. Would we pass through locks into the Zuiderzee, the inland sea? We didn't seem to be heading that way. I went to bed leaving my GPS receiver running so that in the morning I could see our course.

When I woke up, I looked out the window, and it looked like our 37,000 ton ship was calmly driving through the Dutch countryside. I looked at my GPS log (see picture), and it confirmed that when we reached the coast that night, we simply kept on going. And that's how I learned about the North Sea Canal.

The Venice of the North

The old city of Amsterdam is built around a series of semicircular concentric canals centering on the royal palace and Dam Square. It has a reputation for being a very tolerant and free-wheeling city, a haven for hippies. Pot smoking is allowed, and there is a thriving red light district. When we kept seeing the flag and coat of arms with "XXX" on it we wondered if it was related to movie ratings. It isn't. But they don't seem to know what it is related to, but it's a symbol of Amsterdam that you see everywhere.

We had a wonderful time just walking around the streets and canals of the city.


The clock tower on the Zuiderkerk
Narrow houses were common
Holland is famous for cheeses such as Edam and Gouda.

The Fo Guang Shan He Hua Temple in Chinatown
Inside the Chinese temple
Maneki Neko is Japanese, but he seemed at home in Chinatown.

Just one of the many old decorations on the houses.
Holland is compact and flat, making the bicycle the favorite form of transportation.
Bicycle parking space is at a premium.

This house at Kromme Waal 20 has inscriptions reading "The Lord has given all that you have. Praise the Lord. If it pleases God it is better to be enviable than pitiable "
Detail of the Kromme Waal house.
Montelbaanstoren

As in Venice, some houses have boat docks.

Strange things happen in Dam Square!
We ended our stay with a walk in Vondelpark, where we met this heron.
He was unperturbed by camera wielding tourists eight feet away.

Canals and Canal Boats

When we got to Amsterdam it was raining intermittently, so we took a covered canal boat tour to get acquainted with the city.

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Some of the delightful canal boat residences.
The swans have learned to beg at the tour boats.  Their heads are just about window height.
Many, many bridges.

Netherlands Maritime Museum
Amsterdam Cruise Terminal
Looking up the Dudeschans towards the Zuiderkerk.

Couldn't resist taking a picture of the interior of this canal boat.
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Waalseilandsgracht
The Blauwburg over the Amstel River.
More canal houses and canal boats with a tour boat similar to ours.

Amsterdam by Night

Amsterdam is a very lively and very beautiful city. As night falls the city takes on a beauty of its own.


Herengracht bridges.
Rembrandtplein
Zuiderkerk spire

The Munttoren looking down Reguliersbree Straat at the northwest corner of Rembrandtplein.
Trams and Metro run late into the night providing efficient transportation all over the city.
And I thought the Automat was dead!

Nieuwe Kerk

Right next to the royal palace on Dam Square is the Nieuwe Kerk (new church) which was founded in 1408. The current building dates to 1645.  It is no longer a church and is used for exhibitions.

Our Lord in the Attic

In 1578 Holland became a protestant country. In other countries this would have meant beheadings, massacres and howling mobs with torches and pitchforks. Amsterdam has always been a very tolerant city (it's good for business) so they just banned the Roman Mass as a public celebration, but private services were ignored. In 1661 a devout Catholic merchant bought up three neighboring houses, joined the attics, and created the Amstelkring Church, better known as "Our Lord in the Attic."  The lower floors show a prosperous 17th century home.

Museum Van Loon

The Museum Van Loon presents a beautifully preserved 18th century mansion. William van Loon co-founded the Dutch East India Company in 1602.  The house was built in 1672 and the Van Loon family bought it in 1884.  The van Loon family still owns the house, but now it is just operated as a museum.


The garden in the back of the house was restored in the 1970s according to a plan of he property in 1700.
This lovely mansion is actually the carriage house at the back of the garden. Notice the small curtained windows on the second floor.  They are really painted because the family wanted it's privacy and didn't want the servants looking at them in the garden.

Small 18th century sled.

This statue of a man with a child on his shoulders has two backs and no front.
The kitchen has been restored to appear as it did in 1900.

The Begijnhof and the English Church

Behind a row of houses on a busy shopping street in downtown Amsterdam is an island of beauty, peace, and calm: the Begijnhof located behind an unassuming door. The chapel was not in use when a bunch of English protestants asked for a place to worship in 1407, so this is now the "English Reformed Church."  Rumor has it that van Gogh said, " I want to visit the English Church because it is so quite."