September 3. Had a fine flight from Tampa to Amsterdam, great weather, and good service from Martinair Holland. When we got into Schiphol, Thijs was there, to welcome us to the Netherlands. We had a cup of coffee, good strong Dutch coffee, before Thijs had to go on to work. Then Ted and I took the train from the airport to Amsterdam Centraal Station.
We checked into the Amsterdam "Botel" after getting lost, and Ted forced me
to ask for directions from a passerby. I was nervous about using Dutch, since
I had only practiced speaking it to myself. It worked! I was amazed that
the gentleman could understand me, and I him. Maybe my lesson book wasn't a
waste of money after all...
Spent a good part of the first day just wandering around Amsterdam. Everything here
is so historic compared to home. I loved the old buildings with their interesting details.
Since Amsterdam is actually situated in the water, many of the old buildings have taken
to sinking, and usually one side sinks in faster than the other.
Property taxes in the Dutch Golden Age were based on frontage, so houses were built up rather
than out. Steep and narrow staircases were, and still are, the order of the day. If you want to
move something big, like a bed or piano, in or out of a house in Amsterdam, you use a pulley on the
gable of the house. The pulley is permanent standard equipment.
We visited the Scheepvaartmuseum, which is a museum of maritime history. The Golden Age of the Dutch was
golden because of the vast shipping empire built up by the likes of the Dutch East India Company.
This museum was not just a bunch of no touching glass cases-- they have built an actual sailing
ship according to the designs used in the 17th century. All original materials were used, and
the result is one beautiful ship!
On Sunday, September 7, Stephanie and Thijs took us to the Open Air Museum of Enkhuizen, which is a collection of actual buildings from several different Dutch fishing towns of the 17th century.