Amsterdam Rocks

I’m finally getting around to writing about our recent Amsterdam excursion, which happened over the first weekend in May.

With our Bank Holiday weekend, we laid out a plan to see the infamous tulips there…

Friday, April 30, we made our way to the train station via the Heathrow Express. Train to the airport is so much better than the cab, in my mind. After the airport process we had plenty of time for wings and potato skins at Garfinkel’s.

Upon arrival in Amsterdam we picked up the right bags, navigated the airport and popped over to the train and a packed platform. Once on board it was a short 10 minute ride to chaos – Central Station was packed with drunk 20 somethings.

Travelers like us were clearly in the minority as we fought our way out of the station. Not easy in a drunken crowd w/ kids and suitcases!

Once outside it was just as crowded and rowdy (but in a happy way) on the streets. Thankfully our friend at the fine Crowne Plaza downtown Amsterdam hadn’t lied; the hotel was just across the bridge.

Inside it was quiet, no beer smells and litter-free. (We later learned that in addition to Friday being Amsterdam’s biggest celebration of the year for the Queen’s birthday, the street cleaners had recently been on strike). So as Ava put it, the streets did look a bit India-ish. Minus the cows.

Saturday

I took an early morning walk to check out Amsterdam (over the years this has become one of my most treasured aspects of travel and/or vacations – so nice to explore a place before or as it wakes up). This morning Amsterdam was decidedly quieter than when we arrived and naturally smelled of stale beer. I did walk judiciously to avoid the vomit.

It was great to wander the canals and narrow streets, marvel at the masses of bikes here, there and everywhere and enjoy the architecture. Narrow brick houses, many w/ flowerboxes.

We breakfasted at our hotel – a buffet that was fine but didn’t measure up to the CP Gurgaon (but then will there ever be one that does…).

Our first outing in Amsterdam was to the Keukenhof, which...
• Is one of the most popular attractions in the Netherlands and has clocked up more than 44 million visitors in the last 60 years
• Is the largest bulb flower park in the world
• covers an area of 32 hectares 4.5 million tulips in 100 varieties
• is the most photographed place in the world
• has15 kilometers of footpaths
• is the largest sculpture park in the Netherlands
• has bulbs supplied by 93 Royal Warrant Holders
• boasts 7 million flower bulbs planted by hand
• has more than 2,500 trees in 87 varieties
• has a Walk of Fame with tulips named after famous people

History:

Where Keukenhof is situated now was a hunting area in the 15th century. Herbs for the kitchen of the castle of Jacoba van Beieren were also collected here; hence the name Keukenhof.

The current park was a section of the sizeable estate of Slot Teylingen, with beautiful untamed bushes and dunes. After the decease of Jacoba van Beieren, Keukenhof fell into the hands of rich merchant families. Baron and baroness Van Pallandt invited landscape architects J.D. and L.P. Zocher, designers of the Amsterdam Vondelpark, to make a design for the garden around the castle. This design, in the English landscape style, has always been the basis of Keukenhof.

On the initiative of the Lisse mayor and a number of leading flower bulb growers and exporters, an open air flower exhibition was organised at the Keukenhof in 1949. This expanded to an annually recurring event that has always drawn great numbers of visitors from all over the world.

En route to the Keukenhof we passed through Amsterdam and into the countryside, with its lovely green meadows and canals, then past acres of flowers in perfect rows. A menagerie of colors, my favorite were the red ones; they create a lovely carpet.

The park itself is beyond amazing -- incredibly displays and arrangements everywhere, with fountains, statues, bridges, waterways, paths, stones, trees…huge place with five or six greenhouses interspersed throughout. Cafes and shops, too. The greenhouse displays were very different from the outdoor flowers. In one greenhouse we could climb up to a landing to look out over the all the flowers within.

In our wanderings we ended up along some flower fields around the park – lovely view. And we were able to climb up a windmill, an incredibly scenic experience. So Dutch, right? The smells, too, were fabulous.

At one greenhouse we walked into entertainment. A band was playing with a choral group – lively tunes that captured the crowd’s attention. Their finale was a song for a bride ang groom. Pretty place, though very busy, for a wedding.

To end our morning we had a snack at a water fountain, with organ music playing off to one side and flowers surrounding us.

Upon return to Amsterdam our efforts to hit the Pancake House were thwarted so we settled on sandwiches at a nearby café, then hit the Tulip Museum, where we got a few bulbs. (Not tulip bulbs, mind you, because while they are sold around town, the good ones are only available in the fall.)

We’ll see if we can get these bulbs to do their thing; they’re supposed to be planted now for blooming in summer. We asked to be directed to 3 bulbs of the low maintenance, planted pot variety…

We then visited the Anne Frank House.

As most know, the House was used as a hiding place for a Jewish family trying to escape Nazi persecution. It’s a somber experience, naturally, but one well worth doing. We’d read several books about Anne and her family so I think the kids got something out of the visit.

Anne Frank was one of the Jewish victims of Nazi persecution during the second world war. After Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands in 1940, increasingly severe anti-Jewish measures began here as well. The Frank family tried to escape by going into hiding. On July 1942, Otto Frank, Edith Frank-Hollander and their daughters Margot and Anne hid in this building on the Prinsengracht. They where later joined by Mr. and Mrs Daan, their sun Peter and Mr. Dussel. The building consists of two parts : a front house and a back annex. Otto Frank's business was located in the front house. The uppermost floors of the back anexe became the hiding place. After more than two years the group was betrayed and deported. Anne and Margot died of typhus in Bergen-Belsen in March 1945, only a few weeks before this concentration camp was liberated. Otto Frank, the only member of the group to survive, returned after the war.
During the hiding period Anne Frank kept a diary. In it she described daily life in the back anexe, the isolation and the fear of discovery. Anne's diary survived the war: after the betrayal it was found by Miep Gies, one of the helpers. When it was confirmed that Anne would not be returning, Miep gave the manuscripts to Otto Frank. In 1947 the first Dutch edition appeared. Since then the diary has been published in more then 55 languages.

From Anne Frank we stopped for photos at her statue nearby, then decided to relax outside for a drink as it was sunny and warm. It’s a great city to people watch – we saw more multi-tasking on bikes than imaginable. One man smoking a cigarette while riding w/ his daughter on the front of the bike. Another woman pedaling up hill in front of a car with umbrella in one hand, phone in the other.

All kinds of things here are transported by bike – rivals India in the level of use and creativity of transport mechanisms. I loved the wheelbarrow shaped basket in front for child (and object/shopping) transport.

After a short respite at the hotel we set off to find Café de Waag in Neumarkt. We had to pass through the Red Light district en route. At that time of day it was pretty tame, a few scantily dressed “ladies” hovering in windows, which of course invited questioning.

The café’s food was very good, and it’s quite the interesting building:

Originally built in 1488, this this magnificent historic building is lit by 300 candles. It was first constructed as a gate for the city's fortified walls, then transformed into a 'weigh house' where goods brought back by ships from overseas were weighed. In later years it served as a guild house for local professions and has also been a museum, fire station and more. In its most recent incarnation, the Waag houses a well-received café-restaurant as well as space (the former anatomy theater) for various types of exhibits.

Over our heads was a lovely chandelier featuring a good number of the 300 candles lighting the place up. Lovely brick interior. For food, I had the open seafood ravioli, which was excellent, kids had croquettes (fancy name for fried food) and Joe had a steak kebab that looked wonderful. The kids got chocolate fondue for dessert, Joe and I shared trio of chocolate (the mousse was decadent).

Sunday dawned rainy and a bit cooler. I walked down toward the Van Gogh museum and determined it better for us to cab it so Claire and I had a quick breakfast and headed off to Coster Diamonds, which offered a free 30 minute tour. Couldn’t say no to that. We got to see some gems being polished, the tools of the trade, examples of different cuts and grades, etc. Then of course we were shown wares upstairs but no hard sell. Next we went next door to the Diamond Museum, which is really interesting, interactive, etc. (Info on how diamonds are mined, geography, modern uses of diamonds, etc.) Copies of crowns, swords and other high profile garments featuring diamonds were on display.

Info on diamonds and Amsterdam…

Amsterdam's illustrious city of diamonds dates back from the 16th century. Fleeing persecution, many Sephardic Jews left Portugal, Spain and the Southern Netherlands during this period. Many of them ended up in Amsterdam, where they came up against the strict trade protection imposed by the guilds. Trading and cutting diamonds, however, was a free profession, and many Jews found work in this trade.

Several centuries later, mass finds in the Dutch colony of South Africa caused Amsterdam to develop into the world’s diamond epicentre. The persecution of the Jews during the Second World War was a big blow for the industry, although Amsterdam still enjoys an excellent reputation in the diamond community.

About Coster:

The Amsterdam diamond cutter Moses Elias Coster moved into factory premises at Waterlooplein in 1840, and Coster Diamonds was born. During that time, diamonds were still cut by machines literally powered by horses. Thanks to Moses' pioneering spirit, Coster Diamonds was the first diamond cutting factory in the Netherlands to introduce steam as the source of power.

In addition to being ahead of his time, Coster was also an incredible perfectionist. Only the very best was good enough, and it soon rained orders from Dutch and foreign customers. One of these represented an invitation by Queen Victoria to re-cut the Koh-i-Noor. This immense challenge established Coster as a master diamond cutter.

In 1970 the old diamond factory had to make way for the construction of the underground. Coster Diamonds moved to its current location at the Paulus Potterstraat. In three grand mansions, beautifully situated between the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum, the heritage of Moses Coster is being done proud.

After perusing the museum we met Joe and Ava across the street at Van Gogh and did the audio tour. Great collection.

For lunch we stayed close to VG as it was rainy and we were scheduled to re-convene at the Diamond Mine for an afternoon tour. Lunch was at a cute little Mediterranean place that smelled great and was humming w/ locals. The French oinion soup was to die for or the combination of hunger and cold glamorized it…not sure which.

Our afternoon tour was to Voldendam and Marken:

We were driven through typical Dutch scenery and the picturesque town of Monnickendam to Volendam, a traditional Dutch fisherman's village situated on the shores of the former Zuiderzee. En route we stopped at a cheese farm to watch a Dutchman wearing brightly colored wooden shows take us through the steps of how Edam cheese is made.

In a nutshell: milk heated to a certain temperature, rennin added, churned, curds formed, liquid removed for re-use in animal feed, curds pressed and voila – cheese (after some time of course). Some cheese aged longer than others, some smoked, etc.
After the demo we were shepherded into the gift shop, where we tried 6 or 8 different types of cheese make from cow and sheep milk. Naturally no one left without a hunk of cheese or some other Dutch touristy item.

BTW our guide was the first person into the cheese place and apparently he hadn’t had lunch, as he made a beeline to the huge wheel of cheese on display and proceeded to consume several chunks…

Back on the bus, we ended up at Volendam for some time to wander around the picturesque former fishing village (fishing industry now defunct in the area since the sea was turned into a lake and the “interesting” fish no longer inhabit the lake). The weather sucked, particularly at the edge of the water – think high winds and cold rain – so we spent our 40 minute break racing from tourist shop to tourist shop and drinking hot chocolate. We then boarded our boat for a nice, though choppy, ride to Marken, an island linked to the mainland by a dike.

Upon arrival we spent a few minutes in this tiny town, which just boasts a handful of businesses, windy little streets, picturesque houses. Our bus warmly delivered us back to Amsterdam, through gorgeous, green countryside with fluffy white sheep and neatly formed ditches and dykes.

After re-grouping (aka warming up) we headed off to Café De Prins. It’s a very comfortable “brown café”, a canal house with relaxed relaxed ambience. Felt very Amsterdam with big candles, wooden tables, upbeat music, mixed crowd. We went for the fondue and pork chop, both good, kids scored on pasta.

For dessert we stopped at a bakery en route to the hotel – Claire and Ava polished off chocolate waffle and donut, Joe and I shared a big piece of mocha chocolate cake.

Monday

On our last day here it was again cold and rainy so we made off to Sarah’s Pancake House for the biggest crepes we’d ever seen. The menu options went on forever; Claire went for standard syrup, Ava nutella (hers WAS dessert), Joe and I split one w/ Calvados and apples, another with ham and cheese. All served by Sarah. No doubt these places are popular post night-out food stops.

From there we cabbed it to NEMO, a great science museum the kids thoroughly enjoyed. After two hours of huge bubble-making, getting stuck in a wind-down lift, all kinds of water experiments, genealogy displays, electricity exhibits and more, we gathered our things, make off to the train, plane and home!