BERLIN--AN EMOTIONAL ENCOUNTER WITH HISTORY

Our first view of the Berlin Wall

Berlin has so much history, some of which happened in my lifetime, and some that recalls incredible horror.  Traveling there was very emotional.  I remember President Kennedy’s ich bin ein Berliner speech, given  in 1963 just a few months before his assassination, and I remember President Reagan telling Gorbachev to tear down this wall.  That speech was at the beautiful Brandenburg Gate, and that is one of the destinations on this trip. 

When the Berlin wall came down, a friend  from England sent me a piece of it, and I've seen blocks of it displayed in Washington DC’s Newseum where there is a Berlin Gallery in which one sees eight 12 foot high sections of the original wall and a German guard tower near Checkpoint Charlie.  Both the remainder of the Berlin Wall and the site of Checkpoint Charlie are important sites included in our tour of Berlin.  All I can say is that nothing compares to the real thing—up close and personal.  It's horrible.

The events occurring in Berlin, whether in my lifetime or not, are part of my psyche—education gained in and out of school.  And it is impossible for me to divorce Berlin as Hitler’s headquarters and all the unspeakable damage he inflicted to millions of people from the Berlin of today--at least not in the few hours afforded us on this tour.  That may be an impossible shortcoming.

Nevertheless, I wanted to see Berlin as a modern city far removed from its sad history.  But that was only partly possible.  Berlin purposefully keeps some of this history alive so we should learn from it.  But as we drove through and had some stops at the end of our tour, we caught brief glimpses of a different Berlin.

The Berlin Concert Hall.
What a grand building befitting grand music of the German masters.
It is located on the Gendarmenmarket square

This is the French Cathedral, built by French religious refugees,
the Hugenots, between 1701 and 1705. Bombed in 1944,
it was reconstructed and dedicated in 1987.
It sits on a beautiful square, Gendarmenmarket.

We took a train from the port to Berlin, so our time in the city was limited.  However, the tour aimed at showing us the history and some of the drama of the city.

I think everyone on our tour bus was most anxious to see the remains of the Berlin Wall.  Even being there, it was difficult to imagine the insatiable urge to escape government oppression and to live in freedom that motivated hundreds to risk their lives and many to lose theirs.  Even the graffiti on the walls tells a story.  On one side, there is order and art.  On the other side is bedlam and ugliness.  They want to keep it that way. Our guide tells us of all the building still occurring in what was East Berlin because in East Germany, workmanship was shoddy and ugly. Building replacements is going on everywhere. 

Parts of the wall are painted neatly and cleanly

The eastern side of the wall is left ugly and unrecovered.
It is a constant reminder of what was.

He said that apartment buildings, for instance, were basically concrete blocks manufactured elsewhere and stacked.  Those that remain are ugly and being replaced, but that seems like an almost never-ending process.  Berliners want a beautiful city, and they’re working on it.

Our stop at the Brandenburg Gate was another eye opener.  It is the only gate remaining of the 14 original gates in the wall around the entire city.  The wall was not for defense, and the gates simply made it easier to levy taxes on people entering the city.  The Brandenburg Gate is one of the most attractive because it was erected in an area where wealthier people lived.  It is merely a beautiful reminder of an earlier time. It became an important, decision-making setting when President Reagan delivered his address there telling Gorbachev to tear down the wall.

The spectacular setting of the Brandenburg Gate.
It's truly magnificent and stately.
The entire Pariser Platz is impressive but cold.

The Pariser Platz on which it stands is a big open space, filled, during our visit, with many people, probably tourists like us, standing on the site of history.  Along one side of the square is the U.S. Embassy with benches in front of grass and flower beds.  A little further away and around a corner is the British Embassy.  There are stanchions cordoning off that street from vehicular traffic, erected, according to our guide, because of threats.  Disturbing.  

The American Embassy in early spring.

The British Embassy, just off Pariser Platz

But all in all, it’s a beautiful area, very neat. But the atmosphere, with the grey buildings and blocks, is very cold.  That’s not the feeling we’ve gotten at all in different areas of Germany we've visited on other trips, so for us, this severity is almost uncomfortable.

Checkpoint Charlie. This iconic site draws crowds, but anyone with historical knowledge knows that this is the best known crossing point of three between East and West Berlin.  A sturdy building was never constructed on this site because our president felt it was a symbol that the Berlin Wall, constructed in 1961, was temporary.  

Checkpoint Charlie is that little shed-like building in the middle of the street.
The picture is of a United States soldier, Jeff Harper.
On the other side is a photo of a Russian soldier, but to be honest, I never looked
up at it.  I went straight to the Checkpoint Charlie.

Checkpoint Charlie, maintained by the U.S. military, was the only way military personnel, diplomats, and foreign tourists were allowed to enter East Berlin.  The original guardhouse is now in the Allied Museum.  Would you believe that this spot is one of Berlin’s most popular tourist attractions with over 900,000 visitors a year.  (https://www.history.com/news/8-things-you-should-know-about-checkpoint-charlie)

Our last major stop was another eye opener—the Allied Museum.  In this rush visit to Berlin, we really didn’t have much time at this museum, and that’s a shame because it chronicled the Allied involvement in Berlin between 1945 and 1994.  There is information on how America created a “little America” so servicepeople and their families would have a taste of home.  

It also houses the original East Germany guard tower that loomed over Check Point Charlie. 

A plane on exhibit is one used for the German Airlift—from June 26, 1948 until May 12, 1949—when the Soviets blocked all land and rail traffic into West Berlin, an island sitting in the Soviet Bloc of Germany and inhabited by two million people who needed food, water, medical supplies, clothing and other necessities of life.  This was President Harry Truman’s brilliant and peaceful answer to the Soviet demand to have more say in the future of Germany.

There is so much to see at the museum and so much to learn.  But time was short.

I’m probably not being fair to Berlin in this post.  So let me leave you with a few pictures of another side of the city that we did not really have enough time to see and enjoy.

Restaurants and sidewalk cafes abound

Plenty of people out enjoying early spring weather

OSLO--WISH WE HAD MORE TIME PT. II

Just loved this!

Our next stop is the Viking Ship Museum.  No, there’s nothing like Kirk Douglas here, but it is an incredibly interesting and intriguing place that triggers your imagination and makes you picture how these people lived.  These brave sea-faring warriors roamed the world in wooden boats that look small and fragile in today’s mind, but many diverse places felt their influence.  I remember when visiting Ireland that the Vikings were there too.

Just follow those lines.  They certainly got around!

This grand museum houses more than just tales and maps.  The Vikings, brave beyond my comprehension, also were religious, and because the afterlife was a voyage to Valhalla, they wanted to be prepared.  Buried with them was the ship to carry them to Valhalla, filled with the afterlife’s necessities, decoratively intricate wood carvings, and practical items like wagons.  Archeologists discovered this as they researched sites in Norway.

Just beautiful.  So intricate.  

Beautiful designs. 
Wouldn't it be wonderful to learn if some of those patterns had
special meaning?

Two of those original Viking ships are on display at the museum.  They are long and graceful, but the thought of crossing oceans in them seems almost beyond belief.  Once again, it is one thing to read about these voyages throughout the ages, but quite another actually to see a ship. 

Overall an incredible experience.

As if the Viking Museum weren’t enough, we moved on to the FRAM museum.  The Norwegians were very active in polar exploration, and Roald Amendsen was chief among them.  He was the first explorer to reach the South Pole, a feat he achieved in 1911.  His ship, the Fram, is on display in the museum.  It is the strongest wooden ship ever built and still holds the record from sailing farthest north and farthest south. (https://www.visitoslo.com/en/product/?TLp=181473)

The ORIGINAL ship!  Imagine!

Once again, the fact that it was THIS SHIP that made THAT TRIP puts your mind in a different place and time.  I walk the deck with a fevered imagination trying to conjure up what it must have been like to sail.  Not that I can imagine myself ever really going.  Haha

Amendsen was determined to reach the North Pole as well, and in 1918 while sailing parts of the Arctic Ocean, his ship spent two years frozen in the ice.  Eventually, in 1926, he did fly over the North Pole.

In 1928, while flying a rescue mission over the Arctic, his plane disappeared.  He and the crew were lost. Nothing was ever found.

Our next stop was another WOW moment in a day of Oslo WOWS.  We drove to the ski jump built for the 1952 Olympics and which is still used today.  If you’ve ever been to the top of Lake Placid’s or Germany’s Garmisch-Partenkirchen, built in 1923 and used in the 1936 Olympics, you know breathtaking amazement at the real-time sight of what ski jumpers actually face.  You gasp, and if you are like me, you make sure you’re on terra firma.  My imagination is ablaze, but I would no sooner get into that sport than….

Our guide was very proud of Norway’s Olympians, particularly of  a famous figure skater, Sonja Henie, a three-time Olympic Gold Medal winner in women’s singles, a ten-time World Champion, and a six-time European Champion.  She became a movie star, and as an old-movie-fan, I have seen her in the movies.  She lived in the United States, but when she was dying, our guide told us, she longed to return to Norway.  Sadly, she passed away on the plane home.

I wish we had more time in Norway.  It would be wonderful to return. No time for sorrow. As we are on a cruise, the WOW moments of Oslo get me well prepared for an evening in Bellinis bar on the Regal Princess and some comforting cocktails.  Next stop—Berlin.

Oslo--Wish We Had More Time Part I

The Regal Princess passing huddled homes along the coast
as we sail into Oslo, Norway

Our next stop is Oslo, and it is a wonderful drive through the city as our guide explains that much of Norway’s history involves learning how to deal with the extremely harsh climate. 

When Norway began to modernize, it looked to German design for insight, and we can see that influence along our route.  

However, as time passed and the Norwegians developed their own style, we can see the changes as Norway came into its own.

 

Colorful and attractive.  It was a pretty ride through the city.

The trouble with cruising as opposed to a land journey is there is limited time in each port, and we would have loved to spend more time in Norway.  Nevertheless, Princess’ “The Best of Oslo” tour was jam packed with goodies.

On this lovely Spring day, the highlight for me was the Vigeland Sculpture Park, an amazing collection of 212 bronze and granite sculptures created by Gustav Vigeland over a period of 30 years, depicting the life of man and set in the gorgeous natural setting of a park. 

The theme of the sculptures is the circle of life, and all stages are represented by single groups of sculptures, a wheel of life, fountains, and a monolith.  It is Norway’s most visited tourist attraction, and it does not disappoint.  Most of the sculptures are set along a long axis, and you just have to look at the WOW expressions on visitors’ faces to see how impressive the park is. I really enjoyed the family sculptures the most.  The joy in them was almost palpable.

We could have spent the day at Vigland, but our next stop was also amazing--the Cultural Museum of Norway.  I love this type of museum, particularly when they have some of the original buildings.  I recently posted on the cultural museum we visited and then joined here in North Carolina, Old Salem, and Rob and I have visited others that are memorable, particularly one in Ireland.  At any rate, this was quite an eye-opening experience. https://thirdagetraveler.blogspot.com/search?q=old+salem

Once again, Norway’s harsh climate made the number one challenge that of survival. Buildings were clustered, and animals were carefully sheltered in the severe winter months, often right with the family, Our guide explained that some misinterpret the living arrangements as primitive, but it was necessary. Animals must be kept alive. The sauna was important too, and in this museum, there is one built as it was in those early times. 

Houses were sturdy, close together, and the barns and animals were kept close by.

 The Norwegians also used grass on their rooves as an insulator as well as a sustainable fixture.  Once the roof was completed, the grass grew but was of a type that did not need cutting.  It also offered food for birds and climbing animals.  Our guide explains that a roof as we see demonstrated might last 50 years.  In fact, as we drive through Norway’s countryside, we see that these rooves are still in existence.  They’re quite beautiful.

This is actually a schoolhouse for the village.
Notice the grass roof.

There was a schoolhouse in the village as well. 

The most stunning building was the church.  No seats inside.  No windows.  Quite dark.  The building is beautiful.

A beautiful and impressive building.
It sits on the top of a hill and can be seen almost anywhere in the village.

Once again, I am going to post an Oslo Part II because the rest of the day was excitingly compelling and fascinating.  So much to share with you.

A RIDE THROUGH TIVOLI GARDENS

Nighttime in Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens, the second oldest amusement park in the world,entertaining folks of all ages since 1843, was an absolute delight.  Located smack dab in the middle of the city, there are always bicycles lining the busy boulevard, locked haphazardly or not at all.  The city's tourist center is diagonally across the street, and there are restaurants everywhere.  

Inside Tivoli Gardens, which you can go as a season or day or partial day passholder including or excluding the rides themselves, are rides, restaurants, serpentine pathways that make the most of this relatively small area, and all kinds of seating to just enjoy the lake, the happy people or the atmosphere that somehow makes the entire setting a little magic.

To us, Tivoli Gardens was more like a comfortable, old-time amusement park with bumper cars and games alongside a loopy roller-coaster and some pretty awesome and fast whips.

We were a few days too early in the season to catch the regular fireworks show, but we were treated to a super, colorful, music accompanied laser light show that was delightful and original.  

We left after the light show, but the place was still filled with people.  It must be the place to spend weekend evenings if you want a good time.

Make sure you click on the video to get full-screen.  Don't miss the charm of this iconic park.

FRIDAY'S FOTO

These are the three sisters of Glencoe Valley
Does it remind you, somewhat, of Brigadoon?

EATING AND DRINKING IN COPENHAGEN

Copenhagen is a cosmopolitan city.  Everyone speaks English.  Most visitors do too although they are not all from English-speaking countries.  Signage is in English more than it is in Danish.  On the one hand, any English speaker can feel comfortable, but on the other hand, if you are trying to get a feel for all things Danish, you might have a tough time--especially when it comes to food, once a sure way to get a taste of another culture.

For advice, we head to the hotel concierge.  We are lucky that our concierge is honest with us even though his honesty brings sadness.  Most heartbreaking to me is the fact that Hans Christian Anderson is not the beloved figure in his native land that he is in the United States.  We do take a photo with him right outside the Town Hall, there is a ride for him in Tivoli Gardens, and the Little Mermaid watches over the harbor, but, alas, that is all except for a skipped something or other in the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum.

Anyway,  the concierge tells us that trying to find traditional Danish food is tough.  He knows of only one restaurant, Axelborg Bodega.  This restaurant becomes our destination.  Danish food here we come, and Axelborg Bodega is just a short walk from our hotel, Raddison Blu.

It is still too chilly to sit outside, but the restaurant's interior is perfect.  Wood-paneled walls, heavy tables and chairs, and a wonderfully warm staff, who,despite the descriptive Danish/English menu, wants to help us make the right choices.

Axelborg Bodega is not very crowded, but judging that Danish is the language of choice and people are meeting each other in small groups, the other patrons did not appear to be tourists.  We are on the right track.

What is Danish cuisine?  It's heavy on pork, fish, and vegetables.  Rob, always more adventurous than I, orders two home-breaded filets of plaice served with a remoulade.  Little did he know until the platter arrived that there was a lot more--two kinds of shrimp, vegetables, and other pieces of fish.  It is essentially a fish sampler to which he gives two thumbs up.

I order roast pork with home pickled red cabbage (delish) and cucumber salad (delish) and rye bread.  When that arrives, there are scrumptious potatoes too.  There is enough pork to split three ways.  Incredibly ample serving.  Absolutely perfectly done, and the vegetables are exceptional.  The edges of the pork are crackling, but the interior is soft enough to forego using a knife.

And Danish beer, of course.

We leave Axelborg Bodega with renewed hopes for more exploration of Danish cuisine. 

The next day we are up and early to explore Copenhagen.  Breakfast in the hotel is delicious with a buffet offering all kinds of cheeses and fish, fruits, different yogurt combinations, eggs, etc.  There are quite a few Asian guests, and there are many offerings to satisfy that palate.  That is an unexpected treat.

We have a walking map and feel sure that when lunchtime comes, we will be able to find a second restaurant specializing in Danish cuisine.

We are so wrong!  The plazas are full of people picnicking on take-out acquired from one of the many shops along the plaza or sitting at outdoor tables eating hamburgers.  Hero sandwiches, salads, hamburgers and other fast foods familiar at home. As far as restaurants--if you are interested in Italian, Chinese, or Indian, your wish would be granted.  We pass an English pub, a Scottish pub, and several French restaurants.  Among the restaurants listed in our guide book, none in our area seems to specialize in native Danish cuisine.  We find it quite sad, and while we sit in one of the large plazas enjoying the spring weather with the other people, literally surrounded by eateries of all kinds, there isn't one that satisfies our quest.

Know what we do?

We walk back to Axelborg Bodega, stopping along the way to investigate other restaurants but coming up empty.  We enter Axelborg Bodega for a second, but different, delicious Danish food experience.  And it is just as good as the first.

This time I order smoked salmon served with home-baked bread, asparagus and a creamy, scrumptious herb sauce. It is a platter big enough for three, and every delicious bite is a reward for our return.

Rob, knowing it is now or never, tries a sampler--traditional open face sandwiches (smorrebord), chef's choice, each one presented beautifully and touching every tastebud in his mouth.

In no way do we feel we've missed anything by not going to another restaurant.  Each visit is unique and special on its merit.  My advice is that if you're looking for Danish cuisine in central Copenhagen, visit asap.

SKAL

FRIDAY'S FOTO

This is a memorial in Budapest entitled
Shoes on the Danube Promenade
It is a monument in honor of the Hungarian Jews
who were shot on the banks of the Danube in the winter of 1944-45.
As you quietly walk along the promenade, you notice how other
visitors are silent.  It is striking and heart-wrenching
but a site one must visit.

AMSTERDAM TIDBITS--I LOVED THIS CITY!

Amsterdam is a city inviting you to walk and marvel.  But it is also a big city, and getting to know public transport is important.  The trams and busses are easy to use.

Check this website: http://www.iamsterdam.com/en-GB/experience/plan-your-trip/getting-around/public-transport

At this site, you will receive a good education about public transportation in Amsterdam.  One important thing to remember is that you swipe your fare card getting off as well as getting on the tram.  If you do not swipe the card getting off, you nullify the card. 

The relevant prices for 2013 for unlimited travel beginning with the first swipe of your card:

 

24 hours (1 day) € 7.50

48 hours (2 days) € 12.00

In Amsterdam as in other European cities, there is a big, central station—a transportation hub.  In Amsterdam it is actually named the Central Station. We picked up, for free, an excellent map of Amsterdam and the public transportation system at the Central Station that we used for walking as well as for transportation between sites.

It’s also a good place to exchange money.  The rates are good and the fees probably less than in your hotel.

One thing about Amsterdam is that you have to be alert. So many people travel by bicycles in Amsterdam.  Watch out when you cross a street because the cyclists don’t seem to have any intention of stopping for you.  With a population somewhere around 800,000, there are an estimated 880,000 bicycles in Amsterdam!  It's pretty fantastic.

On our 2.5 hour walking tour, our guide pointed out that many are older model bicyles and many are rusted.

“Is there much bicycle theft?” asked a tourist on our tour.

“Yes, it happens,” answered Marieke, “but then the idea is to steal another bike.  That’s why we don’t keep getting new ones!” 

We laughed at the exchange but could only guess if she were kidding.  Suffice it to say that outside of flat, flat, flat Amsterdam where basically a gearless bike would be power enough, we saw newer, more sophisticated bikes in other cities as soon as the terrain included inclines.  It would not be a laughing matter if one of those bicycles were stolen.

By the way, should there be a car/bicycle accident in Amsterdam, the bicycle is always right.  The car is bigger.  Watch out for those cyclists.  They ride fast, and they are very adept at maneuvering through people and traffic.  Don’t get in their way!

Ingenuously I thought that renting a bicycle in Amsterdam would be a great experience.  A friend from home warned me that I would be killed.  I think she would have been correct.

The carpeted walk of Art.
Each patch represents a different country.
On the wall is a legend so you can find
your own country's contribution.

I have a feeling that Marieke pulled our naïve tourist legs on more than one occasion, but when the tour ended, we had a good grasp of the Netherlands’ history, the history of the dikes, and the history of  the city of Amsterdam.  We had seen ancient buildings, learned why buildings are tall and narrow and built as they are.  We learned about the bicycle culture, the way Amsterdam embraces diversity with its population representing 178 different nationalities.  We heard about the different museums we might wish to visit and walked through the lobby of the Amsterdam Museum where the floor where we walk is also a work of art.

The invitation at the entrance to
The Amsterdam Museum

 










We walked along the canals and over bridges discussing their unique qualities, and we saw ultra-modern buildings that offer a totally different view of ancient Amsterdam.   We saw one of the three remaining wood buildings in Amsterdam, this one built in 1528.  That is before Shakespeare was born!

Yes, this house was built in 1528

 


We learned about customs surrounding Christmas and the history of St. Nicholas—far different from what many of us experience.

It was a wonderful tour, and as it ended in one of the big shopping areas, we headed to some very important spots she talked about—particularly the lavatories in the upscale department store!  For us, it also meant some time to pleasantly pause before heading out again to do some more exploring.  I am only highlighting some of the sites we visited in this most intriguing city.

This ordinary office building held
Anne Frank's Secret Annexe.

Our premier stop was the Anne Frank Haus.  We had tickets for a 3:00 tour on the day we arrived.  Tickets are available on line, and you should buy them there or through your own tour company.  Of all the sights in Amsterdam, this one seemed the most important to all of us.  It is highly unlikely with The Diary of Anne Frank published in more than 60 languages, made into a film, a play, and an orchestral piece that too many people are unaware of this famous young girl who may be thought of as the face of the Holocaust. 

Indeed, the Anne Frank Haus apparently heads the lists of many visitors.  When we arrived, the line for tickets extended beyond the end of the block. People with tickets, however, enter through a separate door and simply follow the self-guided tour.  There was no line at that separate entrance on the day we went.  We actually had to look for that door which is to the left of the ticket line.

The building is non-descript.  It is an ordinary Amsterdam building indistinguishable from those around it as, of course, it is just another building—except to those hiding there.

Being inside that building, though, is a stunning and humbling experience because for the first time I was physically conscious of the cramped, close, small size of the quarters where these people had to be totally silent during the day and where they could not even touch a curtain to look out the window.  It seems impossible that they remained as long as they did.

There is no furniture in the building as the Nazis removed it all soon after the arrest, but on the walls are excerpts from the diary as well as family photos and other photographs of the time.  There is information about who lived in each room.  In the display cases are diary pages and other artifacts. 

Visitors must see the building as hallowed ground for it is very quiet inside as we silently walk through the door leading up the stairs to the Secret Annex and then from room to room.  As we climb up the narrow staircase, we try to accept where we are. 

People from all over the world are in that building with us.  We hear other languages spoken in hushed tones.  The flow of visitors through the building is constant, and when we exit, there is still a long line waiting to enter.

For the address, hours, and other relevant information concerning the Anne Frank Haus, visit www.annefrank.org.  There you will also be able to download a phone app and to see if there is a special exhibit during your stay.  You can order your tickets directly online from the museum.

The Anne Frank House is at Prinsengracht 263-267.  If you wish, it takes about 20 minutes to walk from the Central Station.  Trams 13, 14, and 17 and buses 170, 172, and 174 stop nearby at the “Westermarkt” stop.

The Anne Frank Haus is located in a busy and central part of Amsterdam.  On that street and in the nearby areas are enough places to occupy a good part of your day. 

Before we went to the Anne Frank Haus, we wanted lunch.  We wanted to sample “Dutch” food.  Because of Amsterdam’s history of trade and because of how the land was reclaimed, the “Dutch” people came from all over the world; we quickly learned that one does not find Dutch cuisine in the way one finds Italian cuisine.

Looks like Sue and Marty are enjoying that thick syrup!

But the Dutch pancake has a certain flair we’d read about, and we headed to The Pancake Bakery located at Prinsengracht 191, just around the corner from the Anne Frank House.  Visit their website at http://www.pancake.nl/indexeng.php to see the extent of their menu. 

This was filled with bacon and tomatoes and cheese.
Absolutely delicious

This is not your Ihop!  The pancakes are dinner-plate sized.  There are sweet pancakes and savory pancakes.  The pancakes are filled with all kinds of goodies.  On the table is a big bowl of syrup and a wooden spoon—more like a ladle!  The menu offers more than 75 different kinds of pancakes and includes other items, of course.  Marty ordered a beautiful and delicious omelet.  The coffee was great, and the atmosphere just perfect.  The cost was reasonable.

The restaurant is narrow and long.  We didn’t realize until our walking tour that all the insides of buildings would be narrow.  That is the way things are in Amsterdam.  With land understandably precious, buildings were taxed on their width.  So buildings are tall and narrow.  Instead of a wide storefront, the building is deep. 

Notice how narrow the restaurant is.
But it is very deep.

As we leave The Pancake Bakery, there is a sign in Dutch.  In translation: thank you and come back soon. 

At Prinsengracht 112 is The Cheese Museum.  Once again, a narrow building where the main floor is a cheese shop and the lower floor, down winding stairs, is the Cheese Museum.   

Cheese has a 600 year old history in the Netherlands, and it’s hard to imagine that any cheese eater has missed edam, gouda, or leerdammer.  This shop is attractive with different cheeses arrayed for tasting and wrapped in clear plastic to display the colors and variety.  It is very arty and very beautiful.

How could we resist entering such an
inviting establishment?

Downstairs are some of the implements used in making cheese over the years as well as photographs and a history of the process.  It is well worth the stop.  If you’re on Facebook, visit their page.  You’ll see just what I am talking about.  

Prinsengracht hosts several places where we could book canal tours, and we took advantage of that possibility as well.  What would a trip to Amsterdam be without a boat ride on the canals?

The company we used, See Amsterdam at www.seeamsterdam.nl  was located just steps away from the Anne Frank House at Leiliegracht 51, at the intersection of Leiliegracht and Prinsengracht.  We chose it purely for its proximity to the Anne Frank Haus, but we were not disappointed although we would have preferred an open top boat.  They offer hour tours as well as hop-on-hop-off with tours spanning 24 or 48 hours. 

Our tour, lasting about an hour, gave us Amsterdam from a different vantage point.  We traveled along the canals as the captain of our ship gave a running narration of the history of the canals and the backgrounds of some of the neighborhoods along the streets and the houseboats lining the canal.

Go to my previous post (http://www.thirdagetraveler.blogspot.com/2013/11/in-amsterdam-its-water-water-everywhere.html) to see what we saw.

The three crosses of St. Andrew represent the
three dangers to ancient Amsterdam: fire, water, and plague.
They are part of the coat of arms and the flag
of Amsterdam.

At Prinsengracht 116 is the Tulip Museum.  Once again an unpretentious building, but tulip and Holland seem synonymous.  Unfortunately we were out of season, but we did look around to see the bulbs for sale and to enjoy some of the colors. Visit the Tulip Museum to see some lovely examples of Holland's finest.

Of course WALK.  It is the best way to see Amsterdam.  It’s the only way to stop and enjoy the architecture and the shops.

Amsterdam has over 50 museums.  Can’t do them all, so this is a tough choice.  We only were in the city for a three incomplete days.  We chose to visit one but to spend enough time to savor its art.  That was The Van Gogh Museum.  Vincent van Gogh is one of the most famous Dutch artists although he left the Netherlands and spent most of his short ten year productive life in France where he committed suicide and is buried.  The Van Gogh Museum is located at Paulus Potterstraat 7 with a website at www.vangoghmuseum.com.  Don’t neglect the Facebook page.

If you’re thinking of this museum, once again the tickets have a timed entry.  You can order them online.  On the day we went, the line was not long, and we spent a long while admiring the original paintings we’ve only seen as notecards at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

If you’re more into the other important Dutch and Flemish masters, especially Rembrandt, you might try the recently re-opened Rijksmuseum located at Museumstraat 1.  Its website is www.rijksmuseum.nl/en.  Would that we had another day….

My best advice is to google “museums in Amsterdam.”  You’ll have a choice, get an address, and you will not waste time trying to decide.

Yes, we headed to another famous Amsterdam location—The Red Light District.  How could we resist?  I won’t describe anything here.  I’m not a spoiler.

Here’s some sage advice.  If you go past a café with a sign that says coffee “house,” the only stimulant you’ll be able to purchase is coffee.  If the sign says coffee “shop,” you’ll be able to buy marijuana.  You can even sit outside at a table in front of the coffee shop and smoke marijuana. The air was thick with it.

But be forewarned.  If you want to smoke tobacco, you MUST go outside.  Cigarettes and other tobacco-based products are not allowed in restaurants in Amsterdam.  Go figure!

This has gotten to be a long post, but I keep saying Amsterdam is big.  My lesson—find an excuse to go back.