Some individuals claim that they get their inspiration from natural wonders--maybe a sunset, a meteor shower, or even the glorious vistas seen from the largest window in Vermont (wherever THAT is). Others feel inspired when they hear music, see a painting, or read imagery infused poetry that etches a glorious picture onto the mind's eye. Others attribute their inspiration to muses, which, as described by Merriam Webster's Online dictionary, is not only limited to a source of inspiration, but can also be a "guiding genius."
Some people get their inspiration from beer commercials.
Am I right, or am I right?
It was the aforementioned commercial for Amstel Light beer that inspired me to travel to Amsterdam at some point while I was abroad this year, and it was the aforementioned commercial that convinced me to take off by myself this past weekend to see that "Dam Good" city.
I arrived Saturday afternoon in Amsterdam, found my way to the Amigo hostel and then proceeded to wander through the city known as the "Venice of the North" for its numerous canals all throughout the center part of the city. There came a point or two in my travels where I had to look at a map (even though I have an impeccable sense of direction), and, at one point, I was approached by another American from Arizona that asked me where I thought we were in the maze of bridges and side streets that comprise Amsterdam.
Instead of looking for road signs, which one would find useful in virtually any other city, we immediately started searching for the name of the canal flowing underneath the bridge on which we were standing. Soon enough we discovered not only where we were on the map, but that we both had the same destination in mind, namely the Anne Frank house.
Jen (the other American, who, no, is not a figment of my imagination) and I struck out to find the Anne Frank house together, making small talk about where we were from and what we were doing in Europe. When she heard that I was studying in Mainz, she told me that she had just visited there, because the company for which she works has an office in the good ol' capital of Rheindland-Pfalz. The world is (almost) too small.
We found the Anne Frank house, which was the actual building where Anne Frank's family and close friends hid during the persecution of the Jews in World War II. I had read Anne Frank's diary when I was in sixth grade (11 years old), and don't remember too much about it except for the tragic ending, but going to the museum was definitely an experience I won't forget. Throughout the building, where, in the front, Otto Frank's spice-grinding warehouse (the workers here didn't know about the Jews in hiding upstairs in the annex off of the back of the building) and office (these workers knew and helped the Franks in hiding) was located, quotes from Anne's diary were printed in Dutch and English on the walls. Even though she was only twelve years old when her family went into hiding, she was incredibly intelligent and very much more aware of the circumstances she was in than I remember crediting to her when I read the diary.
One day this terrible war will be over. The time will come when we'll be people again and not just Jews! We can never be just Dutch, or just English, or whatever, we will always be Jews as well. But then, we'll want to be.
Anne Frank, April 9, 1944
The annex itself remains unfurnished--after the Franks were deported to various concentration camps, the annex was emptied. As a result, Otto Frank (the only survivor of the eight in hiding who were anonymously betrayed) wanted the annex to always remain unfurnished. Instead there are models set up in one of the rooms showing how the annex used to look like when it was furnished.
After walking through the house, Jen and I met her colleague Brian for dinner not too far from the red light district. Although I didn't get to see the red light district in full swing while I was in Amsterdam (I didn't want to walk through there alone...call me chicken), I do have to say that I am now very self-conscious about the red curtains hanging in my room back here in Mainz. As long as my silhouette isn't visible, I think I'm okay.
The next morning I met up with Jen again for breakfast and to walk around the city a little bit more and do some touristy sight-seeing. We eventually parted ways (which was unfortunate for more than one reason, since she had a Blackberry with a GPS system on board), and I struck out to cross many a canal to find the Van Gogh museum and the famous "I amsterdam" sculpture.
Although not all of Van Gogh's works are in this museum ("Starry Night," for example, is in the Musee d'Orsee in Paris), I got to see over 200 Van Gogh pieces, in addition to other works by artists like Monet and Gauguin in another exhibition upstairs. I'm not much of an artsy-fartsy type, but I do love Van Gogh--and now I know a little bit more about him (you know, besides the whole ear-cutting thing). His use of color and pointillism also make me really excited about art. Maybe I do get inspiration from something other than beer commercials.
Some Van Gogh for you--the top is "The White Orchard" and the bottom is "Almond Blossom"
I saw these at a street market in Amsterdam--I thought about buying them to match my watch.
You'll be seeing a lot of this--there are over 90 canals in Amsterdam and 1000 bridges!
Muntplein
There were bicycles everywhere...a lot of rusty ones, too (your bike is less likely to be stolen if it's in need of some repair).
Amsterdam is known for its daily flower market--unfortunately tulips aren't out yet, but it was still neat to go and walk through. There were also a lot of Christmas trees for sale.
Westermarkt
Amsterdam Centraal--the train station! This same architect designed the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (Cuypers). One clock, the left, shows the wind direction, and the one on the right shows the time in Amsterdam.
Royal Palace. It was built as the town hall in 1655, and called the Royal Palace because King Louis Bonaparte lived here in 1808.
National Monument commemorating victims of WWII at "The Dam," or the center of Amsterdam (same locale as the palace).
New Church
The closest I got to the red light district. This was also at 10 in the morning on Sunday.
I told you there were a lot of canals...
The only picture of me in Amsterdam!
Jen and I weren't sure what this was. There are also a few pictures of this above. I can't find any information on it. Blast!
The Magna Plaza--a place to do some really ritzy shopping :)
Royal Palace, yet again...
Harbor right outside the train station
Schreierstoren--this used to be part of the city wall in Amsterdam back in the Middle Ages. It's also called the "tower of tears"--sailors' wives would bid their husbands farewell here, as it is right by the harbor.
The Waag--1488! It used to be one of the city's gates back in the day.
The back of the Rijksmuseum
I amsterdam!
The backside of the Rijksmuseum
Museumplein--where all the major museums in Amsterdam are located
The Van Gogh museum!
Still on the Museumplein
At the Vondelpark...I didn't do any sunbathing that day.
Vondelpark--Amsterdam's biggest park! This was also a big center for the flower power movement back in the '60s...hippies would fall asleep on the grass. There were lots of people hanging out here, and a lot of musicians, as well. Cool atmosphere. I give it an 8.
Die Großschachanlage!--"the giant chess board"--it was a German vocab word I learned way back in high school. And look! It exists!
Look what else I found :-P
The houses along the canal are pretty pricey--also, in the 17th century the city only sold lots 5.5 meters wide. That's why they're so narrow.
Below: Rembrandt
Post WWII there was a housing shortage, so people starting living on houseboats like these ones--the toilets flush right into the canals. Lovely.
Unfortunately I didn't see any windmills, or buy any wooden shoes, or go into any "coffee shops" (actually, that was fortunate...the streets themselves smelled strong enough). Now I'm inspired to go to the Musee D'Orsee if I get over to Paris again...which I think we all know is bound to happen. But for now, the next stop on the list is Prague...aka Praha. Why we insist on changing the names of citys and countries with every language, I'll never know.
Peace, love, and a new sort of second hand smoke,
Amanda
*Title inspired by Alberto's Restaurant
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