Photos of Amsterdam, The Netherlands (2003)
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Barbizon Hotel
The hotel (next to the Sinter Klaus Kirk, or Santa Claus Church), the view of the Central Station from the front of the hotel, the view from my room, and the car elevator in front of the hotel.
Buildings
Many beautiful buildings in Amsterdam I now understand to be uniquely Dutch.
Canals
Amsterdam is famous for its canals, of course.
Two views of the pink marble Homomonument, called "The Pink Point," memorializing homosexuals who were killed in WW II.
Odd Dutch Things
The "Angel in the Attic" Catholic Church was hidden in the attic of a number of houses during a period when Catholicism was illegal in Holland. The second picture is of "crucifixes in a bottle," patiently built by the Dutch like "ships in a bottle" to show their devotion.
A three-story parking structure for bicycles near Central Station.
Barricades keep cars from driving up Warmoestraat, but if you know the code, you can punch it in and the posts drop into the street and you can drive through.
Dutch thrashers were having a show, sponsored by Red Bull, in the Museum Park behind the Van Gogh Museum.
A McDonald's fast food restaurant right next to a porn store. That's something we don't have in the US. As well as "The Prostitute Information Center," next to a 400-year-old church. And a very modern set of windows in which prostitutes stand. (You can't take pictures of the rooms themselves or the prostitutes.)
Very public toilets all over the city.
Raw herring bought and eaten on the street. I tried to take a picture of the woman in an electric wheelchair eating her herring. They hold it up and swallow it whole, as shown on the poster.
Four sets of directional lights: one for cars, one for trams, one for bicycles, and one for pedestrians. It's only confusing for a moment, and everybody follows them.
The Amsterdam Historical Museum
Blue Delft tiles, for which Holland is famous, showing children's games and activities are about 300 years old.
Grocery Store and Food
Albert Hajin Grocery Plaza and some of the very carefully arranged and interestingly packaged food that they sell.
A popular fast food automat where they also sell fresh handmade and fried potatoes, which they call "belgian fries."
The small but excellent restaurant, "Breitner," where I had a great French dinner in a very comfortable setting.
Retail Stores
Many Dutch department stores are in great old buildings. The original Peek and Cloppenberg Department Store now shares space with Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in Dam Square.
The original H&M Department Store, a very modern chain that we now have in NYC.
DeBijenkorf (The Beehive) Department Store in Dam Square has a huge sale, "Three Crazy Days," where they cover all the merchandise in the store so they can sell it below the manufacturers' suggested retail price.
The Stedelijk Modern Art Museum and the Van Gogh Museum
Modern Construction on Old Buildings
Sights on Warmoestraat Street
Warmoestraat Street next to the red light district by day, The Eagle, The Argosy, and the street by night.
Grids in Everyday Life
