Weekend in Amsterdam

Amsterdam Museum, #9 on the map below

Never have I been to a city that reminded me so much of every other city I've ever been to.  Amsterdam is a kind of magical, time-stops-when-you're-there, grown-up Disneyland town - it's crooked and whimsical, grand and quaint, relaxed and vibrant all at once.  Amsterdam has a beautiful canal system (like a less confusing to navigate Venice), there are trees and green everywhere (like in Munich), the stretches of park next to the museums are laid out with gravel pathways (like Tuilleries in Paris), and the weather was wet and rainy when we were there (which reminded me of San Francisco and London).  Pockets of the city also reminded me of Athens, Cambridge, and Boston for their various quirks and demographics.

The Oldest Map of Amsterdam

Amsterdam is also the type of city where you can walk and walk and see everything in a matter of hours without realizing how much ground you've covered.  What was strangest to me (and most liberating as well) was that for the first time, I visited a city and didn't even look at a map - I let my friend Chip figure out where we were and direct us to our destinations, which made the experience all the more stress-free and fun.  I arrived on Friday evening at around 8 pm ... however, because Amsterdam is so far north, it was still very bright out and didn't feel later than 5.

Approximately where the #2 is on the drawn map

The area we walked around the most was the Old Town of Amsterdam, by Dam Plein, or Dam Square.  There is an incredible Royal Palace there, built during the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century, which was considered to be the 8th Wonder of the World in its time.  There are also the Old and New Churches (Oude and Nieuwe Kerks) in that vicinity, built around 1300 and 1400 respectively.  The New Church was partially destroyed early on and rebuilt in a Gothic style - now, it is used for exhibitions because of its extraordinary space, no longer for services.

Dam Square

Royal Palace

Old Church

Inside the New Church

Along the central canal

On Saturday, we left our hotel in the morning and wandered around the nearby Museumplein for a while, a district with a high concentration of museums and more residential neighborhoods (see #9 on the map).  The ambiance was much less crowded and more peaceful than in the center of the city.  Throughout the day we walked probably 10 kilometers, people-watched, and ate delicious food and Dutch treats ... it was exhausting but so fun.  There was wind and rain nonstop and I was wearing a sundress because I had failed to pack weather-appropriately, but we remained tough and battled out the elements for most of the afternoon.

Yummy!

People enjoying the fresh air .... despite the lack of sunshine

A pee wee soccer match in Dam Plein

Last night, as it was still raining, we decided to go see Harry Potter - it had Dutch subtitles, so the experience was cultural, of course.  This morning, I had to leave for the airport early so we left the hotel and walked around, got breakfast, and I caught a tram to the train to the airport back to Munich.  It was one of those weekends that goes by far too quickly - there was not nearly enough time to do everything I would have liked to while there.  But, Amsterdam has touched a special place in my heart and I am so grateful to have visited.  Hopefully I will be able to return soon, and explore more!  It is such an eclectic and diverse city, and everyone there seems so alive ... I loved it.

More pictures are in the Amsterdam Album linked to the right!  And more on Munich soon.