That Dam Square

     Dam Square or Dam Centrum or just Dam, is a town square located in the historical center of Amsterdam.  It contains a palace, a church, a monument, and is very large with lots of shops and people.  My kids loved saying, "Let's go to that Dam Square, or where is that Dam Square?, or you get the picture. (I enjoyed it myself too, now you know my level of maturity :-)

     Royal Palace was built as a lavish city hall (1648-1655), when Amsterdam was the richest city on the planet.  The building became a royal palace when Napoleon installed his brother Louis as king in 1806.  After Napoleon’s fall, it continued as a royal residence for the Dutch royal family, the House of Orange.  Today, it is one of three palaces used by King Willem-Alexander and his wife Queen Maxima.  We did not go inside, only walked around.  As far as palaces go, a bit underwhelming, but nice nonetheless.

     New Church, on the right, is where many Dutch royal weddings and coronations take place.  This 15^th century sanctuary has an intentionally dull interior after the 16^th century protestants sought to unclutter their communion with God.  

    The Anne Frank House was a must see!  Anne, a Jew in Holland, and 7 others, including her sister, mother and father, hid from Nazi’s for over 2 years in a "secret annex" of her father's warehouse before eventually being caught and sent to concentration camps in August of 1944.  She had meticulously kept a diary while in hiding, recording many events along with her deepest, most intimate thoughts.

     Sadly, Anne and her sister both died of typhus, weeks before the camp was liberated.  Her father Otto, the only survivor, returned to Amsterdam, and fought to preserve this house, wanting it to become, in his words, “more than a museum.”  It was his dream that visitors come away with a better ability to apply the lessons of the Holocaust to our contemporary challenges. 

     We certainly were humbled by the sights and information presented to us.  “The Diary of Anne Frank” will be a must read for our entire family.

 What do you do when you find giant wooden clogs?  Jump in them and pose for a picture of course!

     The Rijksmuseum (rhymes with bikes) contains the best collection anywhere of the Dutch master artists.  The building itself is quite beautiful too!  Sadly, there was a huge line to get in, and we did not have the time at that point.  (And Leah & Will did not have the stamina to view another museum after the Van Gogh.  Apparently they are quite “tiring.”)  Instead we enjoyed the sun in the nearby park which contained a playground for the kids, a reflecting pool with interesting sculptures, stroopwafels, lots of beautiful green grass and trees, and a large sculpture of the letters Iamsterdam.  My kids chose to pose on the “s” and “t” and enjoyed climbing on the letters as well.

 Will:        Amsterdam was a busy city, with fewer parks and green areas, but it was still beautiful.  Did you know that they built their canals and used them to protect their city and transport goods?  However, sometimes things happened and the canals caused flooding.  It is named after the Amstel River that runs through the city, which they dammed to divert the water where they wanted it to go. 

There was a very nice playground with big logs nailed together that you had to climb along with several ropes and nets.  They had a tightrope and a beam that you could use to do pull ups.  There was a swing set with a swing similar to a tire swing.  It was made with an outer ring that had chains inside in a web like pattern that was attached to the top of the logs, similar to a tire swing. 

In the Anne Frank House I found out that she and 7 others hid behind a bookshelf during WWII.  I think it would be very hard to hide like that for 2 years.  She was very brave!

There were tons of bicycles that almost hit us.  Vincent Van Gogh was a very beautiful artist.  While living in Paris he made duplicates of his artwork.  We saw lots of his original artwork in the Van Gogh Museum. 

The Van Gogh Museum contains 200 paintings representing a stroll through the prolific artist’s work and life.  The paintings were owned by Vincent’s younger, art-dealer brother Theo.  We were amazed at the enormous amount of art he created in his 37 years.  He was busy!  It was arranged chronologically, which made it especially interesting to see his technique develop and change over time depending on his internal and external influences.  “Sunflowers” was my personal favorite, and I learned that he liked to paint copies of his work, so there were 2 copies in this museum alone.  I really enjoyed this museum and would return spending even more time reading the vast information.

 Leah:        I really liked our hotel, and the breakfast especially.  I ate 2 croissants every day!  The canal boat cruise was fun, and my favorite sight was the Anne Frank House.  It was sunny so we played in a big park in front of the Rijks Museum.  My favorite new food I tried was a Stroopwafel.  It is 2 VERY thin waffles pressed together with a caramel filling.  Yum!

              I was very sad to not see any old windmills in Amsterdam, but on our train ride to Belgium I saw many.  I also thought it would have been fun to see the tulips but I knew they would not be blooming.  There were many tulip bulbs for sale everywhere, in various colors and shapes and sizes, even black ones. 

I liked the Van Gogh Museum, but I was expecting to see “Starry, Starry Night,” but learned it is in New York at the MOMA (Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art).  I guess we will need to go to NYC too!

Enjoying Stroopwafels in the park.

2013 celebrates 400 years of canals in Amsterdam - wow!

John:        Amsterdam was a very interesting and unique city. It was strange that I was more worried about getting hit by a bicycle than a car, totally opposite of the states! Also, the many canals were beautiful but quite confusing. Amsterdam, instead of being more of a grid like Berlin, radiates out in a half circle, like an onion, from the Central Station, giving it a unique layout.

I enjoyed seeing the Anne Frank House and the indescribable aura I felt there. Words can’t really explain it; it was more of a feeling. I realized further Van Gogh’s artistic genius after visiting the Van Gogh Museum. He was truly a great artist, but also a crazy guy.

Also, we dined with a half Dutch, half American family while in Amsterdam. The father was an American teaching at a university in Amsterdam, the mother was a Dutch baker, and the two kids were dual citizens. We had a delicious Mediterranean dinner with them and enjoyed some pleasant chatting. It was quite enjoyable.

Finally, I enjoyed both the Stroopwafels and the Dutch Pancakes. Super yummy!

Gives new meaning to the term "Park and Ride."  There really are this many bicycles.

Amsterdam was a great city to visit.  I was a bit uncertain at first, as it as confusing with all the bridges and canals, but it really makes sense once you get your bearings.  My favorite part about this city was definitely the people!  They are so friendly, happy, and willing to help in any way. They all speak English and are delighted to talk and visit.  The tram and cab drivers were so helpful and pointed out sights along the way.  These are some seriously happy, beautiful people!  It must be all that bicycling?  I would definitely like to return - with Ryan!