A city of museums and of free spirit
This is the city that is big enough to feel a domestic atmosphere and multiculturalism at the same time and small enough that you can visit most sights and attractions on foot. Or by bicycle, which is actually the most common means of transport throughout the city and the country.
Amsterdam! It's a synonym for a special style of architecture and a little different style of entertainment.
Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands and at the beginning it was a village at the dam of the Amstel River and after that it also got its name. The city once had several forms of the name, one was Amstelredam. When we got to Amsterdam, we were immediately fascinated by a special type of architecture. Dark facades of tall and narrow buildings that stick to one another, elongated white fringed windows and roof edges and streets, mostly paved with brick or cube paving stones. Due to the specific type of houses they had to figure out a way to transfer things to upper floors, as the stairs in such houses are pretty steep. For that purpose most houses are equipped with a hook below the top of the roof, through which things are pulled up with a rope and through the window inside. Specific features of these houses are often inclined facades, because Amsterdam is constructed on wooden pillars due to wet ground.
Amsterdam is famous as a city of museums and we can really find here numerous museums of various themes: from art, cultural and historical or ethnological ones to those a little unusual. There’s also a museum dedicated to cats. It’s not as big as some other museums, but it‘s pleasant and stationed in a couple of rooms in a house built in the 17th century, which is located along the Herengracht water canal. The museum features various depictions of cats: paintings, drawings and statuettes of both famous and lesser known artists. The owner of the museum and his family live above the museum in the same house and upon my first visit of the museum in 2013 they had three cats. The oldest one was a female cat, already about 17 years old at that time, but it’s not known whether they still have it or not. Another female cat (it was pregnant) was accompanying me during my first visit, making my tour even more pleasant. Meanwhile, the oldest cat was resting downstairs on a chair at the desk, where the tour of the museum starts. Unfortunately, I had never seen the third cat. At that time there were also no other visitors yet and so it was possible to enjoy in a peaceful and pleasant ambience. Upon my second visit it was livelier; perhaps also that's why there were none of the cats in the museum rooms. This museum is almost an obligatory choice for cat lovers. Cats in Amsterdam live also in an unusual dwelling place for them – in a house on the water on the Singel water canal. This is a shelter where cats are being taken care of by around 20 volunteers and the cats are obviously feeling well there, since the space inside and outside is adjusted for them. The cat shelter is open for visiting every day between 1 and 3 p.m., except on Wednesdays and Sundays. We can observe and pet cats, but with some of them we need to be more careful, because not all of them like human company or cuddling in the same way.
Cats are a kind of a symbol of the city; often they can be seen in a restaurant, a shop or a bar, as well as on the street. At the first visit of Amsterdam the owners had a cat in the hotel we were staying in. At the second visit the owner of "our" apartment also had a domestic kitten, but unfortunately this time he left it at his friend’s for the time of his absence. Otherwise we would gladly take care for the little four-footed creature during our stay and it would be cuddled as well.
In the museum of Vincent van Gogh we can see what this genius of painting has created in a fairly short period of time, because he seriously started dealing with painting only at the age of 27. Due to the illness, which was probably also the result of a fairly unhealthy lifestyle, he only lived until the age of 37. He had been perfecting his knowledge also abroad and we can find numerous portraits, self-portraits and landscape paintings among his works. He had created more than 2.100 works of art in a period of post-impressionism. A little more than a year before his death he went to the asylum, on his own choice. About two months before his death he moved closer to his brother Theo and closer to the doctor, who last treated him and was also an amateur painter. Despite the signs of mental illness Vincent van Gogh had painted quite a lot of important works in this last period. The cause of his death was a gunshot wound, a result of which he died 29 hours later. In the meantime, he was still conscious for some time and was in a quite good condition despite the situation. He spoke with his brother Theo, who visited him. It's not quite clear, whether he shot himself or was shot by someone else. The weapon was reportedly never found.
In the National Maritime Museum we get to know the Netherlands as a strong maritime superpower. With the help of its fleet it had gained numerous colonies throughout the world. The museum building itself is fascinating; it has an inner courtyard, where the light is coming through the translucent dome roof. Exhibition spaces are divided according to levels (floors) and topics. Among other things we can see models of ships, navigational aids and what‘s happening in the port of Amsterdam.
The most famous museums in Amsterdam are probably the Royal National Museum (Rijksmuseum) and the Anne Frank House. Traditionally, they have a very large number of visitors and to see the museum of Anne Frank it’s almost imperative to order tickets online for quite some time in advance. Otherwise, you would just waste time with waiting in line for several hours, while you could see something else.
Besides numerous museums Amsterdam offers many other attractions: entertaining learning of physics, topics for teens and adults, psychological topics and much more can be found in the Science Centre, learning about the human body through six levels (floors) in a significantly different way than we’re used to (the exhibits are in fact real), houses on the water as a special residential ambience... To get away from the city bustle we can visit the ZOO or the botanical garden, or any of the parks in the city. We can also see many churches in Amsterdam, mostly protestant, as the Dutch replaced the catholic religion for protestant after the year 1578.
We can’t overlook water canals in Amsterdam that form the city center and are also on UNESCO World Heritage List. The Amstel River merges with water canals in the city. Streets are connected to each other with numerous bridges over water canals and we can see Amsterdam from a different perspective if we step on one of tourist boats, which are riding on water canals on various routes. When winters are cold enough to freeze the water, people can skate on the canals. Water canals are the result of precise planning; four main canals are shaped like a semicircle with the ends towards the lake IJ, side canals are connecting the main ones in transverse direction.
Evening walks through the city are something special also because in summer due to Amsterdam’s position higher in northern latitudes there’s light even up to 11 p.m. Even more than during the day come to light famous coffee shops and the Red Light District, as the city comes to life differently in the later hours. We could say that this is the case in every city, but in Amsterdam it’s different because there certain activities are legal, while elsewhere they aren’t. In addition, in the late evening or early morning hours a subjective sense of danger is much smaller there than elsewhere, a kind of free spirit relaxes the atmosphere. But it’s better to be in a company of friends than to wander around alone. Naturally we have to be aware because this is still not like being safe at home, but Amsterdam is generally considered to be safe. This is especially confirmed in comparison with some US cities, which are generally known for quite a high crime rate. In addition, access to firearms in the US is quite easy and legal to carry. Luckily, this isn’t the case in Amsterdam.
Amsterdam is a city with special attractiveness and it‘s worth to get to know its relaxed atmosphere and romantic side. Many people would probably agree that the city makes a deep impression on the visitor.
