"WELCOME TO MY AMSTERDAM PAGE......:-) " a Amsterdam Travel Page by eden_teuling

LINK to ANNE FRANK travelogue from my THE NETHERLANDS page!

OVER TO ANOTHER AMSTERDAM!

JOOST van den VONDEL a famous Dutch Poet was so happy with AMSTERDAM, where he lived.....and he praised the city with sweet words and poems....

Much of what he so admired is still visible in the well-preserved historical city centre , such as the - then brand-new - ring of canals with their patrician homes, the ROYAL PALACE on the Dam , originally the city hall, the Zuiderkerk, the Waag (weigh house) the Munt (mint), and so on.

Present-day Amsterdam also contains a lot the old Poet wouldn't have recognised: Central Railway Station, which cut off the city's view of the Harbour, the Bijenkorf (bee hive, a department store), former canals, now filled in, the new neighbourhoods extending beyong the SINGEL GRACHT, the large MUSEUMS on the Museumplein, the CONCERT GEBOUW, the Vondelpark, which carries the Poet's name.....the list is almost endless.......

LINK to AMSTERDAM travelogue from my The Netherlands page!

NOW A BIT OF HISTORY.....you know I LOVE history!!

It appears that towards the end of the 12th Century a dam was built in river Amstel, not far from the spot where it empties into the IJ.
It is this dam which gave Amsterdam its name.

Around the dam, then called PLAETSE (square) , a quickly expanding settlement emerged.

The first record of Amsterdam dates from 1275, when Floris V, Count of Holland, exempted "those who reside near the Amstel dam" from paying duty.
Hence 1275 is taken as the official founding year of the city!.

Walking through Amsterdam along the canals and through the narrow alleyways you will find lots of memorial stones : all wonderfully restored (most of them!) and impressive.....

The first photo here is Amsterdam in winter : the canals covered with ice, the boats and ships prisoners of King Winter and we??? we enjoy the ice...and skating...young and old...

I had to put this photo here: it is one of my favourites !!!

VVV TOURIST OFFICE ADDRESSES:

** Stationsplein (opposite
CENTRAAL STATION
** inside Centraal Station Spoor 2
** Leidseplein (corner of Leidse-
straat
** Schiphol Airport Arrivals 2
(Holland Tourist Information)
** Koestraat 11 PURMEREND
** Gedempte gracht 76 ZAANDAM

www.visitamsterdam.nl

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Trade with the Far East and the Americas made the city one of the richest of the world. Products like pepper, nutmeg and mace were sold against enormous profits.

The Dutch East India Company has by some been called "the first Multinational in the world" , and he was right, I think!

Next to the Scheepvaart Museum (Maritime Museum) a splendid East India man is moored , while the Prins Hendrikkade is lined with the warehouses in which the valuable goods were stored.
Another important factor in the development of Amsterdam was the arrival of large numbers of often highly skilled refugees from abroad, like JEWS from Portugal and Central Europe and Protestant French and not to be forgotten: Flemish refugees who came after Antwerp had been invaded by the Spanish (1585).

Apart from the days of the French occupation, the city enjoyed a period of quiet prosperity untill the mid 19th Century.

Around 1840 Amsterdam began to spread beyond its 17th Century boundaries.
New neighbourhoods like DE PIJP and the KINKERBUURT emerged, the Rijksmuseum and the Concertgebouw enriched Cultural life and the new Central Station catere for fast railway connections with the rest of the country.
At the start of the 20th Century the city was extended even further especially towards the west and the south (Berlage's famous "Plan Zuid": EXTENSION PLAN SOUTH".

Amsterdam developed thanks to its tolerant social climate into the magical heart of Europe in the sixties..
Young people flocked towards the city from far and wide and boosted the tourist trade.
Likewise, Museums like the Van Gogh Museum and Anne Frank's House, the canals, and the red-light district drew increasing numbers of people who were setting out to discover the world.

Fascinating and vibrant , Amsterdam has always been and.....will continue being ....

This page is called MY AMSTERDAM PAGE but there is so much more to enjoy than only Amsterdam .....

AMSTERDAM is also in my THE NETHERLANDS PAGE, CLICK here ...... e.g. ANNE FRANK AND VINCENT VAN GOGH, BOTH DUTCH AS I MYSELF AM AND WHOM I ADMIRE AND RESPECT GREATLY....

This page will be dedicated to the most lovely cities, towns, villages and special Museums that are SO very easily reached by PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION from AMSTERDAM, our Public Transportation is reliable and frequent!!

OUR COUNTRY IS ONLY 200 x 300 KM SO NOTHING IS FAR OFF

PLEASE SEE MY MANY TRAVELOGUES FOR PICTURES AND STORIES ABOUT THE VILLAGES, TOWNS and MUSEUMS THAT DESERVE YOUR SPECIAL ATTENTION JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE SO SPECIAL.
The names of these towns and villages and hamlets are not given in the VT list so I have to take AMSTERDAM as STARTINGPOINT because of the RELIABLE AND FREQUENT PUBLIC TRANSPORT and you won't have to travel far, we are just a small country, remember?!

ENJOY EXPLORING THE HIDDEN BEAUTY OF THE NETHERLANDS! ALL PLACES ARE TO BE FOUND ON MAPS AND.....EVERY DUTCHMEN WILL BE HAPPY TO HELP YOU! and........

EXPLORE MY MANY TRAVEL PAGES VIA THE TIPS & TRAVELOGUES, JUST ONE CLICK AWAY

WHAT MORE TO SAY??

THE PHOTOGRAPH ABOVE IS THE "CENTRAAL STATION" (RAILWAY STATION) IN THE CENTRE OF AMSTERDAM

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In AMSTERDAM on the ship DE AMSTERDAM when RUSS and his wife were visiting Zeeland and stayed with us!

After the 3rd visit he suddenly died at home on 14th OCTOBER 2001.

May he rest in peace and travel for ever and ever.....

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