AMSTERDAM: Canal Cruise; Van Gogh Museum; The Pancake Bakery; Dutch Apple Pie

Good morning everyone! (post for April 4th)

We started our day by deciding to go on a canal cruise. We knew this would help give some good orientation to the city. We went online and read about different cruise companies, looked at trip advisor, and ended up following our landlord's recommendation to try the 'Lovers Canal Cruise". After taking the train to the downtown area, we purchased tickets from a pleasant young man. When I asked him why the company was called "Lovers Canal Cruise," he replied, "the name 'Lovers' happened to be that of the previous owner". He waved happily as we walked down the ramp and climbed aboard the Lovers boat. We seated ourselves in the brilliant orange leather chairs. Their were only 5 passengers on this very large boat. On a warm sunny day we would have gone on a smaller open boat.

We were introduced to the captain of the boat, whose named happened to be 'Ron'. Captain Ron brought a driver-in-training to the cruise today. The student driver whose name was 'Frank' practiced his navigational skills on our cruise today.

Skillfully and carefully, Frank navigated the boat out of its massive parking place and off we chugged down the canal. It was really exciting to be drifting along taking pictures and listening to the history of the canals and of the city. Amsterdam is called, "The Venice of the North." The many canals and waterways are what make bridges a necessity and Amsterdam has more than 1200 bridges.

Many of the canals were dug in the 17th century during the Dutch Golden Age to transport goods. Some of the important ones were Herengracht (Gentleman's Canal), Keizersgracht (Emperor's Canal), named after Maximillian 1, Holy Roman Emperor, and thirdly - the Prinsengracht canal. The Prinsengracht is the canal on which most of the stunning canal houses were built during the Dutch Golden Age.

These gable stones (stone tablets) would often depict the profession or family sign of the inhabitants of the canal side homes. In the 16th century, the citizens of Amsterdam were ordered to use these tablets instead of big wooden gables that obstructed traffic in these narrow streets! This is picture of what a gable stone looks like:

We learned that the street Prinsengracht just off of the canal, has some of the most expensive homes in Amsterdam, and is a very expensive area in which to live. The appearance of these homes is strictly regulated and the owners must obtain special permission to alter anything inside and out, including colour. As we carried on down the canal, we saw what looked like houseboats on either side of the canal. They are actually permanent homes on the water. They have heating, electricity, sewage, etc. The houseboats were once a sign of poverty, but now they are quite popular and only for people who are wealthy! The captain explained it may not be so pleasant to live in a houseboat, as they tend to be cold, and as well they must put up with a lot of canal traffic and loud music, especially in tourist seson.

Our boat went by #263 Princengracht, which is the home of Anne Frank. This home is actually unrecognizable as a home from the outside. It looks like a large box (due to preservation of the site).

We learned that the city of Amsterdam was actually Europe's most important city of commerce in the 17th century - the Golden Age. The citizens of Amsterdam benefited from this wealth and it became common for these wealthy people to build elegant canal side homes. As well, it was common for these people to employ a painter (such as Rembrandt) to paint their portraits! At this time, out student captain Frank, steered us by a floating bike parkade. So interesting! We could see hundreds of bikes jammed together (actually, you see this everywhere)!

The captain mentioned that the number of bikes in the city far outnumber the residents. He said that people often lose bikes, because they forget where they have parked them. Apparently Amsterdam has a bicycle graveyard called Fietsdeot! We also passed through Brewers Canal. We learned (and witnessed) that Amsterdam is a city of beer lovers. In the 14th century, beer was imported from Germany. Soon, however, Amsterdam started making its own beer, thanks to companies like Heineken that has been here for 150 years! So, those are some of the highlights from our canal cruise. It was very enjoyable. I agree with the captain - "Amsterdam is a city which is full of surprises!" When we disembarked, it was starting to rain and since we were not properly prepared for this, we returned to our apartment to get the rain gear. After this, we went to the Vincent Van Gogh museum. This was a truly wonderful experience, since we are both very big fans of Vincent, and have been since we first learned about him many years ago in art history class. The museum is dedicated to telling the story of his life, from childhood, through his years in Paris, Arles (south of France), and finally the end at Auvers sur Oise, France.

I'm not sure I can describe how amazing it is to be looking at the brush strokes on these masterpieces. There were many works which neither of us had ever seen. We learned that his most favorite subject to paint, was the simple, hard working peasant, and the fields in which they toiled from dawn to dusk. The Potato Eaters, for example, was one of his early but most famous paintings. The pictures follow his life in Paris and tells how he was influenced by other great masters. It is thrilling because we have been able to stand on the doorstep of the home where he lived in Montmartre for a few years with his brother Theo. The story then takes us to Arles in the south of France. We see his work transformed as he discovers the brilliant light and colors of the Mediterranean. I can visualize Arles clearly, as well as the corner where he lived in the bright, yellow house. The same house where his friend and fellow painter, Paul Gaughin came to live for a short period. We have had the privilege of standing in the spot in which his easel would have been positioned to paint 'Starry Night Over the Rhone". The yellow house doesn't exist anymore.

I can visualize St. Remy, where he was hospitalized for over one year. We were able to wander through this hospital and the garden area, where he did so much of his work. What a privilege it was to see more of his paintings today in this beautiful gallery in Amsterdam. We both loved the tour!

I saw one of his works that I had not heard of before called 'Seascape Near Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer'. He said, "I love the sea! The Mediterranean! Its color is like a mackerel! You never know what color it will be - sometimes it even appears pink!" Also, it is known that Vincent painted in the wind at times. We learned that he painted in the wind while doing this work, as there are grains of sand in the paint, which cannot be seen with the naked eye.

So we left the gallery, and were thankful that we had the opportunity to come to this museum, as we had always hoped to. After this, we went to "The Pancake Bakery" for the traditional pancake which in Dutch is called 'pannenkoeken'. They call themselves the best pancake house in Amsterdam!

We had to wait one hour to get a table. Finally we were seated in a rather dark, old and quite narrow room. I chose a cheese and bacon pancake. It was delicious with "De Originele Schenkstroop" syrup over all. Apparently this dark syrup is derived from the granulated sugar of sugar beets. Delicious. Ron tried a very rich, green pea soup served with bacon on small pieces of, dark rye bread.

After this, we went to Winkle 43, because they claim to have the best Dutch Apple Pie in all of Amsterdam. Amazing pie. It had a cookie type crust and some raisins in the apple filling, plus a dollop of whipped cream on the side. Along with the pie, we had the delicious mint tea - which I'm already addicted to. They don't use a teabag, unless that's what you want. Instead, they put a large handful of fresh mint leaves in a tall, glass cup with boiling water. So refreshing...

...and off we waddled to the tram to start our journey home... Good Night all, Karen