TL/DR: Walking tour of the city, visit to cafe and candy store.
First: enjoy yesterday's sunset.
I had a pretty busy day today, which was nice because I've been doing a lot of reading and it was nice to get out and about for a bit. A girl I met at the meet-and-greet, Julia from Austria, invited me and Kamila to go on a free walking tour today. We started in Waterlooplein, an area that hosts one of the many large flea markets in the city. Our guide wanted to being here because of Amsterdam's French occupation by Napoleon, who was defeated at Waterloo (get it?). This area was historically the heart of the Jewish area in Amsterdam, but there is such religious tolerance and diversity in Amsterdam that a Catholic church was constructed there without any issue.
These gentlemen were entertaining outside the City Hall and Opera House.
This area marked with white bricks outside the opera house represents the original location of an orphanage during WWII.
Better shot of the opera house. The full building is called the Stopera, which is a combination of the Dutch words for "city hall" and "opera house." It's also a pun, as many people tried to stop the construction of the building because they didn't think the two buildings should be connected.
The view in front of the Stopera.
This is an anonymous statue inside the lobby of the city hall. On the wall behind, you can see a street sign that represents the name of the street that used to run through where the building now stands. Each wall in this room has a name based on the old streets. This particular one translates to "White Bread Street."
This is the statue of a man who worked to achieve and promote religious tolerance in the Netherlands, represented by the birds and flowers on his cloak from around the world.
More canal shots, I LOVE these houses! Amsterdam was originally quite a swampy area, so the houses tend to sink and tilt on one side. If a house tilts too much, the homeowner just redoes the floors on the inside to make them straight rather than altering the entire structure.
This is the tower of the South Church from afar. This is actually where the 100 Years of English celebration was held.
This is a building originally owned by the East India Company which the UvA bought and uses as a library and Social Sciences faculty (now called Bushuis).
This is one of the largest house in Amsterdam. It was built by two brothers who wanted to prove their wealth and prestige. In reality, it is two houses on the inside but made to look like one. The chimneys are shaped like cannons because they worked with military supplying companies. It is made out of stone, which was extremely expensive to build with.
The white building is directly across the canal and was built by the brothers as well. After a comment from their coachman about how he wished his house could be even as big as the front door of the brothers' house, they had this house built for him in his retirement. It is, in fact, as wide as their front doors.
Amsterdam repurposes historical buildings, like this old castle-like building that is now a restaurant.
Amsterdam's Chinatown has street signs translated into Chinese.
This woman had a mirror on front of her face. ...question mark?
"That bike looks like an ice cream!" - Kamila
FEBO: Fast food from a wall.
You put your money in, and you can get burgers/ hotdogs/ fries/ etc. from a vending machine, essentially.
I couldn't take pictures in the Red Light District, but we did walk through an area which is like a looping hallway with rooms and the prostitutes stand in the doors in scanty outfits trying to seduce you. I thought it was interesting that one street has the Old Church of Amsterdam, and across from that is a kindergarten, and next to the kindergarten are windows with prostitutes in them. The guide said this represents the tolerance and relaxed attitude of the Dutch. On the left is a bit of the church, where sailors used to go to pay to have their sins forgiven. They would go see the hookers after docking and then visit the church. If the men had to leave early on their ships, they could go to the church the day before and fill out the paperwork/ pay the fees in advance for the sins they were going to commit with the hookers the night before their departure. Sweet deal!
:)
Found this outside of the church.
Safe sex is great sex, better wear a latex. Yes, those are condoms hanging in the window.
In an earlier post, I claimed that this building was a church. It's not, it's the royal palace.
Ever wonder what it looks like underneath the city? I present to you: the metro system.
The carpet has squares representing a different country. Can you spot Amurica's?
The building used to be another orphanage, and these boxes were used for patrons/ nice folks to deposit gifts for the orphans. Now they're used to display museum-y things.
Behind the museum is the quiet courtyard for apartments that are inhabited primarily by women. They used to be exclusively available to female social workers.
The black house is one of the two remaining wooden houses from the 1500s, I believe. There was a huge fire that burned the rest down, but this little guy survived!
The ending point: a tribute to multiple languages and diversity.
Smoothie, pies, cappuccino, and tea.
Fresh mint tea with honey. SO. GOOD.
On the way home, Kamila and I casually wandered into Candy Freaks, a shop I pass every day on my way to school. They're a smart business. Right as we walked in, a man came up to us and started offering samples. He gave me specifically vegan sweets, and then offered us the opportunity to mix and match sweets even though each candy is worth different amounts per gram. Smart, smart, man.
Let's not talk about how much this cost or how much is left. All I'm saying is that America, you better get this healthcare thing under control because, despite my being related to Grammy, I'm not sure I have inherited her sugar-tolerance levels that will prevent me developing diabetes. Also, god bless my mother for becoming a dental hygienist, because there's a good chance I've got twelve new cavities in the making. BUT IT WAS WORTH IT. This bag contains cat-shaped licorice, chocolate-covered almonds and ginger, candied ginger, vegan gummy bears, vegan sour gummy worms, and lots of random hard candies. I'm justifying the purchase by claiming that it is my equivalent of the candy you buy to give out at Halloween but end up eating yourself before you can give it to the trick-or-treaters.
Phew! Congrats if you made it all the way through this post!
Love to you all!
xx
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