Tokyoahead - Amsterdam Trip, May 2005

Amsterdam is famous for its channels, called "Grachten". They line or split most of the streets and give the whole city a very calm and aromatic touch. Of course, you have to walk until the next bridge always when you want to see the other side, but there are many so its not too bad. The city is one of the most unique I have ever seen, and for once you can say that it differs from most European Larger Cities and capitals so much that there is hardly a comparison possible.


The first picture shows you that there are many areas around the coastline of Netherlands that are split up by channels and rivers. You wonder how people get to from one place to the other. In Amsterdam itself of course its not different. Only the mentioned many bridges are giving you a mean of transport in case you don't travel by boat. Most houses appear to be tiny since normally the house fronts are not more than 6 meters wide. However, there is still place for huge buildings in some places, like the city hall on the third picture.

The architectural diversity makes you thin that you are stuck somewhere between the middle ages and 1920. The Central Station is not at all in the center, since there would be no place for it there. (pic 1) Some of the bridges still have an opening mechanism, but mos of them are not used anymore. The third picture shows one of the few larger open spaces in the center, the house "An der Waag" is a restaurant now.

Despite all the old architecture, the modern is not missing. This gives a kind of strange mix sometime. First, you have modern interior design in shops next to a huge amount of antique shops. Second, you have the famous Tuchinsky Cinema, which more looks like the Adam's Family home, and last but not least really trendy interior shops and cafes such as on Picture 3.

One of the famous places is the "Hotel American" (pic 1), which is one of the not-that-expensive, but still superior hotels. It has a very famous breakfast hall that serves nice brunch and breakfast menu. (pic 2).

Finally there is very little space in this city. Most of the houses have a st.d width of six meters. This makes you think somehow of Japanese cities, but here the houses are very long. Since there is only one front with windows, they are very large to let in the most light possible. Most people do not have curtains. So you are free to look at their office desks and dining tables from the street level. The lack of spaces makes some people live in houseboats, which sometimes feature electricity, phone lines and running water. Of course they have a fixed place to stay and a letterbox. Finally its still more expensive than to live in a normal flat.

There are so many different, modern & ancient house boats, some with huge gardens on the top and some that appear to have sunken at least once already. It is basically impossible to get a new one placed somewhere since the city government has put a limit on new places.

There are some parts left of the ancient city wall, namely some towers (pic 1 & 2). Since the houses are so narrow, there is usually not a lot of space for an elevator, not even the staircase. They are so narrow that you cannot carry up any furniture. To furnish you apartment, you have to lift up everything by using a hook that is fixed on the top floor of every building. To prevent you from damaging the outside of the house when you lift up you Steinway grand piano, the constructors slanted the outside wall of the houses forward, so that you gain some space for lifting (pic 3)

Multi-Cultural is one of the biggest features of the city. First it seems to be the smallest European city that has a china-town, and second over 30 % of the inhabitants are not Duch. Chinatown is riddled with many shops (pic 1) that sell an incredible amount if china and some professional restaurant-size kitchenware (50 liter rice cookers and such). Then again you have a quite big temple in the middle (pic 2). Further, there is a quarter called "Jordan", with its own mosque and many Arabic food, interior shops and restaurants.

Dutch people seem to be very good at decorating and improvements on the small level by always indicating links to their national culture. The bicycle, somehow the only meaningful mean of transport, is found everywhere and in many different formats, but they are always old since new ones get stolen anyhow (pic 1). The Dutch artists are present everywhere, even in graffiti (pic 2), and last but not least you can see Uki-o-E with a French-fries eating Geisha... (pic 3)

Art plays a big role in Amsterdam. Next to the quite huge national museum (pic 1) you can find the Van Gogh museum, which is much more modern (pic 2 & 3)

If you like modern and classic music, you might encounter a concert in the street staged by late hippies (Pic 1) or on the channel, where the orchestra and singers stand on boats and the audience sits on bridges and boats in the middle of the channel.
	The place is so small, that people come with tables and chairs down to the ground level, sit on their porch, eat, drink, chat or simply read. At night you wonder if some of the tables belong to a bar or some private group that is having a drink between their living room and a channel.

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Amsterdam Trip, May 2005

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