The Netherlands by Trains, Trams, Buses, Bicycles & Boats

 

By: Bob Boyer

 

August 31 through September 10, 2015. My wife and I visited and fell in love with the Netherlands, almost as much as with the Philippines. Here are some highlights, with a few observations along the way, including some surprising comparisons.

Our first adventure was a canal cruise in Amsterdam. The impression you get from the hour and a half tour is of tall buildings somehow rising out of water (the North Sea). The city is a labyrinth of five major semi-circular canals (think of radio airwaves) and innumerable smaller canals that intersect with the five majors. The importance of canals is underlined by the fact that visitors come away knowing that “gracht” means canal in Dutch. Our hotel was, happily, on Bloemgracht, one of the smaller, picturesque canals. The street alongside the canal was Bloemgracht Straat (Street). Try saying that after one or two beers (I recommend Amstel).

Later the same day, still our first day and jet lagging from the eight-hour flight, we visited the Anne Frank House, an emotionally gripping experience. The Jewish Frank family was hidden, successfully for two years, from the Nazis by friendly Christians, before they were informed on, by other Dutch. We experienced the longest waiting lines here, in the rain (it rains a lot in the Netherlands), of any site we visited during our stay.

Seasoned travelers tell us to take in the major sites right away to avoid disappointment later. We heeded this advice, jet lagging a bit less, on our second day in Amsterdam and visited two of the major museums, the Van Gogh and the Rijksmuseum. We caught a tram (one of about a dozen in the city) a few blocks from our hotel right to the museums, which are conveniently located on the same Museum Square (Museumplein). We were astonished and delighted by more Van Goghs and more Rembrandts in these two museums than we knew existed. With their sensible eye to business and customer convenience, the Dutch have located a couple of restaurants and a whole Museum Store on the square in between the two museums.

Two days later, we went to the Amsterdam Museum, which has still another treasure trove of Rembrandts, including one of my favorite discoveries. Rembrandt enjoyed (and profited from) painting the leading business and civic leaders, the Dutch Burghers. In one example, five men and two women are meeting. The men seem to be looking at the painter, but the women are looking at the men, perhaps waiting for a favorable decision. It seems, according to our audio aid, that votes were not by majority. A motion could not be carried without the concurrence of the women. The audio concludes with a note about the independence of Dutch women. There indeed, I thought, was a marked similarity with the Philippines.

In between the two Rembrandt days, we did a walking tour of downtown. This was our historical buildings day, but it also had its surprise discoveries. We were impressed by City Hall, formerly the royal palace. The Dutch have traditionally downplayed their royalty. Also impressive was the 400-year-old New Church (not far from the 500-year-old Old Church). The Dutch fought and won their independence from Spain (as more or less did the Filipinos) and also from the Catholic Church. They expressed their displeasure with the Catholic Church by outlawing it, confiscating its huge possessions, and removing its statuary and other outward ornamentation. Think black and white versus purple and red. Catholics, who were still numerous, were, however, tolerated (better for business) as long as they maintained a low profile. Venturing further into the city center, we discovered two chapels, one in a back alley, the other in a hidden garden courtyard, where Catholics continued to gather.

Before leaving Amsterdam to take a train south to Delft, we had planned a bicycling trip to “Waterland,” an area north of the city that still has numerous windmills, along with villages and scenic byways. We were ready to take our MacBike bike rentals onto the ferry when the rains struck. “It’s a monsoon,” I declared to my wife. The only other place I had experienced such rain was indeed the Philippines.

We dried out and had a rest day.The next day we took the tram to the train and headed for Delft, where, among other adventures we did experience amazing biking and visited the Haig. Of that, next month.

Contact Bob Boyer at Robert.boyer@snc.edu and <anamericaninmanila. com>.