Amsterdam is a city abuzz with sights, sounds, and scents.
What really struck me was the city's rich historical legacy, seen in the magnificent Renaissance and Baroque architecture; the bustling streets with a high number of tourists and locals of course, and the amazing diverse means of transport.
The characteristic Dutch architecture featuring narrow towering buildings, with steep and hazardous staircases, creates a sensation of stepping into a bygone era. However, once you enter, many buildings have been revamped into sleek and modern decor.
Madame Tussaud in all her glory, showing off the rich and famous, but in wax models of course!
Of course, many Cheese specialties can be found in every city and town in the Netherlands.
I do not think any other nation in the world knows how to make the best use of space as the Dutch people do!
Many of these buildings along the canals were built in the 1600s by merchants who wanted quick access to trade. As demand was high for land, the government based the taxes on the length of the building frontages. The traders quickly outwitted the authorities, so simply built higher buildings to have more floor area.
We saw a couple of those tall buildings leaning quite precariously.
Many grand buildings have the best views of the canals. Cruises can be taken if one has the time, which we ran out of, but we had done the Pannenkoeken Boot the day before.
Many high-end chic department stores are found in De Bijenkorf.
A sculpture, Two Immovable Heads by Mark Manders, stands in Rokin Square, a marble pedestal with two bronze figures atop, makes for a very different water fountain.
I never thought one could find so many people walking city streets alongside bicycles, trams, buses, and cars. That of course is thanks to good urban and transport planning.
Coming from South Africa, the public transport system in the Netherlands still amazes me. The 9292-App is a Dutch public transport navigator, and calculates the best route - so one often hops from train to train using a prepaid chip card. Trains range from intercity, sprinters, subway, and even international; then there are trams in the cities, buses, and ferries. Loads of walking in between as well, strolling, or fast-paced, depending on how rushed you are.
I'd heard of the bicycles, but never realized just how many there are; I soon learned to stay off the cycle lane, as some come whizzing past at quite a speed! Young and old cycle; ingenious designs that only the Dutch people could think of! It's not odd to see someone ride a bicycle using only one hand while checking their phone, some at times even ride without holding the handles at all!
When in Amsterdam, I quickly learned that coffee is not on the menu at any coffeeshop, I would need to find a cafê for that! The distinctive scent of cannabis drifting through the passageways and avenues of Amsterdam soon became a familiar presence, and as night settled in, it becomes even stronger.
The highlight of our second day back in Amsterdam was visiting the Anne Frank House Museum. The museum of course is dedicated Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl who kept a diary during the Second World War when the Nazis were persecuting Jewish people. Anne and her family, as well as other Jewish people, were given shelter by a Dutch couple.
It was surreal walking up the very steep narrow staircases to the tiny rooms where they were hidden, in what they called the secret annex, hidden behind a wall built to represent a bookcase. It must have been stifling hot during the summer months, and awfully oppressing not being able to go outside and see the sun. Anne passed the time by keeping a diary, writing short stories and even keeping a book of favourite quotes; all these are on display.
Tickets had to be booked a couple of weeks in advance, the audio-visual tour lasts about an hour, and no photography is allowed inside. There were queues of people waiting for their time slot.
The building is located on the Prinsengracht canal near the Westerkerk in central Amsterdam.
I walked a total of 12905 steps that day, a record for an old gal like me.
We had a delicious meal to end our day, and walked to our second last stop, the tram, with the unmistakable scent of Amsterdam bidding us farewell into the night.
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