Letter From Amsterdam

[Furstentum Liechtenstein]

Day 1

My wife and I arrived in the Netherlands at 7:30 local time after an uneventful flight on KLM, Montreal to Amsterdam direct.

We are here for a three-week vacation, having exchanged our home and car with the owner of the home and car we will be using here. We enjoy this method of travel as it is (relatively) inexpensive and we get to meet ordinary people (friends & family of the home-owners), not tourism professionnals. We have found over the years that we get a better feel for the country this way...and we make lasting friends to boot!

This is my first time in the Netherlands and what surprised me were all the modern buildings on the way over from the airport. If I hadn`t seen a windmill and a few polders on the way to this house, I would have said we were on the outskirts of Boston...no, Boston is too old and ratty looking...this place is just super-modern. Note that I am staying on the outskirts of Amsterdam in what we would call a townhouse. I expect Amsterdam itself to have more...uh...charm. The charm that comes from History.

One thing that is definitely European are gas prices: €1.40 per liter. This works out to about US$2.20 per liter...for my American friends, this works out to $8.35 per US gallon. I am expecting $100-$120 fillups of the economy car I will be using here, a Renault Twingo.

I will let you know how things are around here over the next three weeks. Right now, I have to sleep off the jet lag.

FL

[Lufia]

Ouch! 2.20 liter for gas? Wow Do you have bikes? Have fun and enjoy Amsterdam

[B. W.]

Enjoy your trip! Keep us posted on the sights!

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[Furstentum Liechtenstein]

Day 2

Culture Shock: we went to the supermarket to buy food. Everything is in Dutch. I put a carton of milk into the shopping cart and my wife quickly intercepted it:

-"What´s this?" she asks, with her big school-teacher-accusing-eyes staring at me.
-"Milk!" i say.

-"What animal is this?" she asks, pointing to the picture on the milk carton.
-"uh...a goat!"
-"Find a milk carton with a picture of a cow on it!"

She walks off in a huff...lack of sleep affects her that way. So, I put the goat milk back on the shelf and go looking for the photo of a cow.

Then I realize that I am illiterate here. I can´t understand any sign by just by reading it. I have to deduce its meaning by what the sign looks like.


We spent a good part of the day walking around this town - Almere - a suburb of Amsterdam. Almere has 3 train stations and a real downtown with a lot of shops...a lot of people live here! Sunday afternoon in downtown Almere is just crawling with people. This really impressed me: the people. A lot of people, a lot of mixed-race couples, a lot of blonde people, of dark Africans, of Asians...and us two Canadians. We just sat at the cafe and drank it all in.

I didn´t see a single church of any denomination. I did see a mosque, complete with minarets, though. I did not see very many veiled women...maybe 5 or 6. I see more of them at home, so I´m guessing that the Dutch do a better job of integrating their muslims than we do in Canada.

Ouch! 2.20 liter for gas? Wow Do you have bikes?

Yes, we have bikes...and what bikes they are! These are real working bikes, travelling bikes. Built solid, strong and hefty. They have absolutely nothing in common with the bike you can buy at Wal-Mart for $129.99. The bikes impressed me so much that I wanted to buy one. The local brand is Batavus and is made in the Netherlands. Price: 1200 euros...about US$1900...shipping to Canada is extra. I´m still debating if this is a good idea...

Tomorrow, we go to Amsterdam itself.

FL

[Daniel]

Thanks for the updates - they're fascinating. In what ways are the bicycles built there to make them sturdier? I've been reacting to high fuel prices by riding my bicycle more, but I find its design to be less efficient than ideal.

[Furstentum Liechtenstein]

Days 3 & 4

I Amsterdam -Amsterdam city slogan

We decided to do as the locals and take our bikes to the train station, park them in the multi-level bike park, then take the train into the Big I Am.
There is so much to say about this city...I have written this report under a series of topics, which are:

-Layout & Architecture
-People
-Bikes and More Bikes
-Red Light District

...so that if you get bored with any topic, skip to the next one.

Layout & Architecture

The old city itself is shaped like a series of concentric U´s, with the port and the train station at the top of the Ü. Each U is separated from its parallel U by a canal filled with water, so that you have the buildings, the street, the canal; then the next U envelops that with another building, street and canal...and so on. Think of an onion with its crown cut off and you´ll understand the layout of old Amsterdam.

Many small streets intersect the legs of the concentric U´s, going from one U to the next. There are many, many bridges over the canals; these allow you to move across the city quickly. Most of the bridges are of very old stone construction.

The streets themselves were not made for cars, and it shows. Paved with bricks (most common), paving stones or flat rocks, all but the major streets are narrow...very narrow. The traffic is often 2-way but if you meet an oncoming car, you or he must go up on the shoulder and give way. Thankfully, this is not a problem as Amsterdamers use public transport a lot...and bikes. There are not many private cars running around the streets but there are plenty of bikes.

The architecture is...amusing to me. Very narrow buildings which are also very tall. How narrow? I would estimate that the average downtown building is no more than 25 feet wide (8m) ...and about 6 stories high. Each building is stuck onto the next so that there is no space in between. The windows are all quite large, considering that most of these buildings were built in the 1600s...a testimony to the desire to see light! (As an aside, much of Dutch residential architecture follows this pattern. The home I am living in here is about 20 feet wide and 3 stories high. It is sandwiched between two other homes like it. The windows are ENORMOUS. On the bottom floor is the kitchen, dining and living rooms. Only the kitchen is small. Bedrooms are on floors 2 & 3. While narrow, Dutch homes are very long.) In the centre of the city, the bottom floor is usually a store or a cafe or some other business, with residences above. Homes are not decorated with window flower boxes, or anything else. Many homes have their huge windows wide open as heat in the city is stifling. Looking inside many homes, I could see that the Dutch favor a rather spartan look. "Functionnal" might be a less judgemental way of putting it.

There are also many houseboats on the canals. The canal water is pea-soup green; there is no smell to it. Many swan, geese and ducks use the water to get around and they are interesting to watch. Especially the youngsters who frolic while paying no mind to the tourists watching them!

People

The minute we got off the train, we noticed the people. Lots of them. If you have ever been to New York City at Times Square, Amsterdam is like that. Very wide sidewalks on the main street, throngs of people and lots of shops selling souvenirs of all kinds. Buses, tramways and trucks make up most of the motorized traffic. Private cars come next, then scooters. The Bicycle is King and Amsterdamers use it to go where they may: elegant ladies in long flowing dresses, handsome young men in suit & tie, teenaged girls cellphone-on-ear, angry-looking counterculture boys...everybody on bikes!

Tourists...lots of them. I saw Americans (or English-speaking Canadians - hard to tell the difference,) Russians, English, Poles, Italians, Spanish and even people from Latin America. I also saw Australians...easy to spot because they are loud and have that characteristic accent.

A lot of the tourists rent bikes to get aound the city. It sure is a lot easier than walking (what we did) or driving (not recommended for non-residents.) The city has many museums and everyone we walked passed looked fairly empty, save two: The Ann Frank House is one. I would have visited it but the 3-block-long line-up made me say "we´ll be back." The other busy museum was the Sex Museum. This one I did not want to visit and the only reason I noticed it was because we had to make a wide detour around the crowd waiting to get in.

There are a lot of outdoor cafes (coffee shops) where you can sit and watch the pedestrian and bicycle traffic go by. Marijuana is illegal (officially) but is tolerated so an odor of pot hangs around many cafes. You can sit down and have your beer or gin and smoke your joint and it is OK. We wanted to do some people watching as well so we looked for a cafe where more "conventional" people were. They are easy to find: you just look to see if the clients are wearing nose rings or not! Seriously!

Bikes

Bikes are everywhere and I doubt I can even give you a feel of how important they are in Amsterdam. There are bike parking lots with row upon row upon row of parked bikes (at the train station, at the supermarket, at large stores.) Each apartment building has a bike rack that is packed with bikes (if you have a family of 4, each with a bike...) There are underground and above-ground multi-level parking garages for bikes. You have to see this!

Protected bike paths are along all major roads. Bikes have priority over motorized traffic at intersections. Bikes have their own traffic light system, push a button and the light turns green for you. You can go anywhere by bike very quickly and if I were an Amsterdamer, I don´t think a car would be necessary.
Scooters are also allowed on bike paths as well as a microcar called the Canta. (If you are interested, google "Canta car" and read up on the world´s smallest car.)

In what ways are the bicycles built there to make them sturdier?

Quality. The Dutch can´t compete against the Chinese and Vietnamese on price, so they have gone the quality route. The frame itself is bigger than a chinacyle, making the bikes longer and taller. Size matters if you have a young family: I have seen countless bikes with a child seat and windscreen behind the handlebars; every once in a while I see a bike with such a child seat plus another childseat behind the rider. These bikes are big. The seat is big. The handlebars are big. The wheels are big, too. The wheels of the Batavus I´m using are mounted on 32 inch rims, 5 inches greater than a chinacycle´s rims. Size also matters for comfort in day-to-day driving. This is why a Cadillac is more comfortable than an economy car.

All mechanical components are enclosed: the chain is completely shrouded, the gears and brakes are in the hub and not visible. No cables are visible, they are all within the frame. The components themselves breathe quality. The bikes are visibly rugged. They are also heavier than a chinacycle, but lightness isn´t a goal. Even being heavier, they are easy to pedal because ( I guess) the mechanical components are of better quality. There are only 8 speeds, not 27 like the chinacycles.

Red Light District

We happened upon this place by accident during the day. It is near the port...Amsterdam tourist brochures proudly proclaim: ...most of the prostitutes are not Dutch... Big Deal! The first hint we were in the Red light was the Sex Museum, then The Porno Supermarket. Look around: the people look odd, at least those hugging the walls and coming out of the businesses. Lots of tourists are here too, lured by the reputation of the place. During the day, The buildings look like any other Amsterdam building, with big windows...

At sundown, those windows are occupied. A prostitute (male or female, but usually a woman) poses scantily-clad in a red-lit room on the second floor. Look closely, you see a man (always a man) enter through a door downstairs on the street. The prostitute draws a curtain. A little while later, she opens the curtain. The light turns green for a few seconds and you see the man open the door to the street and stepping out.

Pitiful.

By the way, Amsterdam´s coat of arms is a red sheild with a black stripe down the center. On that black stripe are 3 white X´s...XXX.



FL

[Cross.eyed]

Hey FL, happy vacation!

I've been off line for a few days and went to this thread first-very interesting.
Have a good time and please keep us updated when you can.

[Furstentum Liechtenstein]

Thanks to Lufia, B.W., Daniel and Cross.eyed for your comments...they are appreciated!

I made a mistake in my report on Bikes in Amsterdam: the Batavus I´m using does not have 3 speeds, but 8. (I have edited my previous post to reflect this) My wife (a woman!) "found" the "missing" speeds I should also add that this bike has handlebars that are adjustable without using tools (just flip a lever) and they come with a dasboard that indicates time, speed and distance.

Chinese bikes are here as well but they imitate the bikes of the Dutch manufacturers, which are Batavus, Gazelle, Sparta. Of these, only Batavus manufactures the whole bike in the Netherlands. The others have the frame and components manufactured in Asia and assembled here.

In all European countries which I´ve visited, the law does not require that a product identify its country of origen. For instance, in Canada and the USA, a bicycle made in China or a shirt made in China must be identified as such, "Made in China". I went to a department store here and the clothes do not have their origen marked, nor do appliances. (Now you can see what a weirdo I am. On my vacation, I look behind refrigerators... )


Eén Naam is onze Hope -seen in a church

(His Name is our Hope) There are many churches in Amsterdam itself, most of them Protestant but of Catholic architecture, that is big and cathedral-like. Sometime after the Reformation, this country became officially Protestant and many Catholic churches were taken over, most forcefully. The Catholic Mass was outlawed by royal proclamation but tolerated in certain areas, with parishoners meeting mostly in private homes. A very interesting Catholic enclave which persists in the Amsterdam of today is called the Begijnhof. You enter the Begijnhof through a nondescript tunnel on a nondescript street. Once through the tunnel, you are in another world! The Begijnhof is truly an enclave with ony one exit/entrance, that tunnel I spoke of. The enclave itself is egg-shaped with those narrow & tall houses forming the outer wall; in the center of the enclave is a lovely park planted with flowers and flowering trees. Beautiful! The whole enclave is no larger than an American Football field.

Even today, it is a Catholic enclave and to reside there you must be a pious older lady, the guidebook says. (It is a difficult place to find. We found it by following tour groups from Catholic countries, Poland, Italy and Spain.)

This very modern community where we are staying has no churches - at least I havent seen any. I looked in the yellow pages under "Kerk" (church) but there was no listing, not even in the index.

For Men Only

Most cars here are European makes, Renault, Citroen, Peugeot, Seat, Opel etc. Asian brands are more commonplace than in other European coutries I´ve been to, but they make up a sizeable minority. USA-made American cars are here, mostly Chrysler products, the Chrysler 300, the Chrysler Caravan (Dodge back home) and various Jeep models. There is a Chrysler dealership near where we are staying; actually, it is a Mercedes Benz/Chrysler dealership. Ford is also present, as is Chevrolet, but these are local European cars, not USA-made products.

Boats are big in this country. Sailboats, motorboats, old & new. Most of the personal motorboats I´ve seen are from Bayliner, an American company. Ditto with airplanes: The Netherlands surprised me because they seem to have so many private aircraft flying overhead, unusual for Europe. Cessna - an American company - seems most common.

For Women Only

Hey ladies! why not tingle your senses with this summertime salad from the Netherlands!

Strawberry Salad

In a salad bowl place one-half head iceberg lettuce cut into strips. Quarter 250g (half-pound) strawberries and divide over the lettuce. Beat a dressing of 4tbsp. oil, 1 tbsp white wine vinegar, 2 tbsp orange juice, salt and lots of pepper and pour over the salad.

That´s all for now. I hope you are enjoying your summer!

FL

[Lufia]

i've got an xbox live friend who lives in Amsterdam. He told me that the weather was not too great. He prefered a lot more montreal's weather. How is it for you now?

[Cross.eyed]

FL, thanks for describing what you're seeing, my thoughts turn to images. (Is there such a thing as a proxy vacation?)

I pray you and your wife have a safe and enjoying vacation.

Roger

p.s. When I'm away from home, I look under the beds and behind the stove.

[zoegirl]

Thanks FL, this is interesting....

I have never heard of house exchanges....have you found t to be a generally positive thing?

[Furstentum Liechtenstein]

Day 6, 9:40am local time

Today is Gay Pride day in the Big I AM, so we won´t be going...we do no want to face the expected crowds. Instead, we´ll be going to visit a royal palace. I´d like to say that the Royal Family has invited us for a BBQ, but no...this palace is open to the public.

Quick answers to your questions:

i've got an xbox live friend who lives in Amsterdam. He told me that the weather was not too great. He prefered a lot more montreal's weather. How is it for you now?

- It was sunny with the odd cloud, generally nice weather. Today is overcast. Weather is very changeable here as we are near the sea and there are great bodies of inland water in the Netherlands. A sudden downpour from a single cloud is possible...somewhat like in Florida.

(Is there such a thing as a proxy vacation?)

I guess so! I´m glad that the Lord is allowing me this ability. Thanks for your prayers!

I have never heard of house exchanges....have you found t to be a generally positive thing?

Only positive. We are far from being wealthy and we do not have enough money to come to Europe, rent a cheap hotel and a car and go to restauraunts every day. This way, we live in a nice house, drive a car, have all the amenities (computer, stove-oven-fridge, washer-dryer, back yard...etc) plus, we get to live the way the Dutch do (in a residential neighborhood, going to the supermarket, taking out the garbage...)

Another plus is that we make lasting friends. Living in someone else´s home does that. On this trip we are expecting the visit of 2 former home exchangers of ours. A granddaughter-grandmother team from Strasbourg, France; and a couple from Switzerland coming up in their RV. We may also see a couple from Scotland...but they haven´t confirmed yet.

All kinds of homes are available, from studios to mansions. Thanks for your question!

FL

[Furstentum Liechtenstein]

Day 6

Visit to the Palace of Het Loo

Het Loo Palace (pronouced Hut Low) was built in 1684-1685 by William III, (then) Prince of Orange. The palace was donated to the public by Queen Beatrix in 1984. The Royal Family of the Netherlands occupied this palace until 1975. Het Loo was their summer palace and hunting lodge, sort-of a country cottage where they could get away from the hectic atmosphere of the Palace in Amsterdam.

We had a bit of trouble finding this place and just when we thought we were lost, a small sign guided us to a rather small parking lot in the middle of a forest. We went to the gate and paid the entrance fee, then walked on a small path flanked by very tall trees that had their lower branches removed; only a high canopy of leaves remained. Around us, a thick deciduous forest with bird calls and echos of birdcalls. Lovely!

We arrived at the clearing and there was the Palace in all its magnificence before us! I have seen many castles on my trips to Europe but this mere hunting lodge was something else! A large squared-U structure I_I with a tower at each end, a tower at the two lower corners and a massive central tower, all in stone and cedar. "Nice cottage," I´m thinking as my wife is snapping pictures from every angle.

I enter a large open door. Wait a minute....something´s wrong...this place is a...barn! We are at the Royal Stables! Het Loo is on the grounds - somewhere - but we´ve entered through the back door, so for now we´ll briefly visit the barn before moving onto the Palace itself.

The stalls for the horses are quite wide, 3m (10´) and are enclosed with dark-green-painted wrought iron gates, each gate with the Royal Coat of Arms, gate handles are in the form of a crown; cedar dividers ensure each horse´s privacy from it´s neighbor. Each stall has a marble basin for water...

There is a room for the Royal Carriages, The Royal uniforms, The Royal clocks, the Royal dishes and so on.

We end our visit of the barn and take the winding path that leads to the Palace itself. See it for yourself:

http://www.paleishetloo.nl

"The King´s orangutan had a steady diet of strawberries in Chantilly cream and drank copious quantities of liquor. Unfortunately, this nourishment led to his untimely demise at a youthful age. He always seemed in good spirits, though."

-the recorded audio-tour guide we rented.

The King in question was William III of Orange who collected exotic animals and kept them here at his favorite place, this hunting lodge.

Opulent furniture, hunting trophies from around the world, beautiful chandeliers, ornate clocks, priceless paintings, huge sculputes and thousands of small details gave us a glimpse into the lives of the fabulously wealthy.

FL

[Cross.eyed]

This is great FL, thanks again for the posts.

It's very nice of you to let us be in Amsterdam for a little bit each day.

My prayers are with you both, have fun.
Roger

[Furstentum Liechtenstein]

Days 7-8

Note: unfortunately, the word d-y-k-e is a pejorative term for a female homosexual, so that if I write it out without the dashes, the system´s censor writes out [lesbian]. The American word for d-y-k-e is levee, from the French levée, "lift." In this post, I have chosen to spell d-y-k-e, "dike."

About one-third of Dutch territory has been reclaimed from the sea, by building dikes on the seabed then draining the trapped water. There are many such dikes in Holland and when you stand on top of a dike, you can clearly see that the water on one side is much higher than the land on the other. The drained land is called a polder. Amsterdam itself is in a polder and the city is around 10meters (30+ feet) below sea level. The whole area where this house I am staying in used to be under 6m (20´) of water...actually, the whole province of Flevoland didn´t exist until 1957 when dikes were built and the polders were drained. Now I understand why this place is so modern!

During the draining of the province of Flevoland, over 400 shipwrecks were literally stranded. Unfortunately, many of these wrecks were cleared away and only 25% were retained in the seabed. -Flevoland Magazine 2008. It is quite a sight to be biking near a cornfield and to see a wrecked ship by the roadside!

The windmill´s primary function in Holland was to drain the polders, and this is why this country has so many windmills. The seabed doesn´t absorb water very well, so a polder is criss-crossed with canals to catch rainwater. Canals empty into catchment basins near the windmills, and the windmills pump the excess water from the catchment basin up onto the higher level on the other side of the dike. It is quite a sight to go to the older parts of Holland and to see a row of 50+ old windmills all turning...for the tourists, alas!

Nowadays, the old windmills have been turned into unusual private homes and tourist attractions. Pumping stations - steam or electric - have taken over the job of draining Holland´s polders. These pumping stations are powered by huge electricity-generating wind turbines that dot the Dutch coast...thousands of them. The wind turbines are impressive in their own right: about 30-50m tall (100-150´), they are a long tapering white tower. at the summit, a two- or three-blade propeller faces the oncomming wind; a generator turns the circular motion into electricity.

Now, you can appreciate this Dutch proverb:

God created Heaven and Earth! ...but He let the Dutch create Holland.

FL