Dear Commons Community,

Elaine and I took a canal cruise in Amsterdam today.  It was a good way to get more of a feel for the city with its 165 canals and 1700 bridges.  The cruise passed several interesting sights but what was most impressive was the guide describing Amsterdam’s history and development as one of the major commercial centers of Europe. Originally a small fishing village in the 12th century, Amsterdam became a major world port during the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century, when the Netherlands was an economic powerhouse. Amsterdam was the leading center for finance and trade, as well as a hub of secular art production. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the city expanded and new neighborhoods were built.  Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands on May 10th, 1940 and took control of the country. Some Amsterdam citizens sheltered Jews, thereby exposing themselves and their families to a high risk of being imprisoned or sent to concentration camps.   Anne Frank was sheltered in an attic in a house that was no more than 100 yards from where our cruise boat disembarked.

Enjoyable afternoon.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Elaine and I cancelled our trip to Bruges due to a railway strike in Belgium.  We actually were about a third of the way there but could not get a train across the border.  Below are details about the strike.

We returned to Amsterdam and had a wonderful dinner at an Italian restaurant (Lucca).

The best laid plans…..

Tony

_________________

Another railway strike on Tuesday: Train traffic in Belgium disrupted

Bruges

Dear Commons Community,

Today is a travel day as Elaine and I leave Amsterdam to travel to Bruges, Belgium.  We will make a brief stop in Brussels.  We will come back to Amsterdam tomorrow night.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Elaine and I spent the morning at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s major art museum.   Since 1885, the museum has been housed in the elegant Rijksmuseum building, which was designed by the Dutch architect Pierre Cuypers. The collection offers an overview of Dutch art and history, including works by  Dutch masters such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, van Gogh, and Hals. I must say that it is the best organized museum in which I have ever been.  A number of its major works such as  Rembrandt’s The Night Watch and Johannes Vermeer’s The Milkmaid are located in a single central Gallery of Honour.  The Rijksmuseum also houses the Cuyper Library, a work of art in and of itself.

Below is a sample of the masterpieces we viewed.

Tony

Rembrandt – The Night Watch

Johannes Vermeer – The Milkmaid

Vincent van Gogh  – Self Portrait

Franz Hals – The Lovers

 Jan Asselijn – The Threatened Swan

Model of a late 17^th Century Warship (William Rex) by Adriaen de Vriend

The Cuyper Library

The Netherlands National Monument Commemorating the Country’s World War II  Dead

Dear Commons Community,

Yesterday we took a walk to The Dam, Amsterdam’s main square. It is the location of the National Monument commemorating the country’s World War II  dead and several interesting buildings including the Royal Palace, the Magna Plaza, and De Nieuwe Kerk (The New Church.)  The National Monument carries an inscription in Latin:

Hic ubi cor patriae monumentum cordibus intus quod gestant cives spectet ad astra dei.

Translated:

“Here, where the heart of the fatherland is, may this monument, which citizens carry in their hearts, gaze at God’s stars.”

During our visit to The Dam, a group of about a dozen demonstrators were showing their support for Ukraine.  My wife engaged one of them in a brief conversation who indicated that they “hated” Trump.

As an aside, the most popular form of transportation in Amsterdam is the bicycle.  There are hundreds of them on almost every street.

Tony

Royal Palace

Showing Support for Ukraine

Magna Plaza (Former Main Post Office Converted in 1992 to a Shopping Mall)

Bicycles Everywhere

Dear Commons Community,

Elaine and I attended Palm Sunday Mass at the Church of Our Lady.  Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk (Church of Our Lady) (Syriac: ܥܕܬܐ ܕܝܠܕܬ ܐܠܗܐ , Ito dyoldath Aloho) is a Syriac Orthodox church in the center of Amsterdam. The church is used both by the Syriac Orthodox community and the Roman Catholic community of Opus Dei. The structure has the Dutch status of a Rijksmonument (National Heritage Site).

The church was founded in 1854 by the Redemptorist Fathers and was designed by architect Theo Molkenboer. In 1985 the Redemptorists left the church due to the lack of redemptorist priests. The church was acquired by the Syriac Orthodox Church of the Netherlands and the parish was renamed Moeder Godskerk (Church of the Mother of God). However, the church never closed its doors for the Roman and Surinam Catholic believers.

Elaine and I decided to attend mass here because it was being said in English.  It was a beautiful service with lots of music and singing.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

On September 3, 1944, Anne Frank and her family were deported from the Westerbork concentration camp to Auschwitz. Of the four members of the Frank family, only Otto Frank survived. But through her diary, Anne became the voice of the one million Jewish children who were murdered in the Holocaust.  There is an incredible museum in Amsterdam dedicated to the Frank family that includes the house in which they hid from Nazis from 1942 through 1944.  We toured the museum this morning and it leaves a pit in your stomach looking  at remains (desk, makeshift kitchen, toilet) of their Secret Annex.   The most poignant was the actual bookcase that provided the entrance to the Annex. The Franks hid in the  Annex for over 2 years, with the Van Pels family and Fritz Pfeffer.  They maintained their secrecy with the help of Victor Kugler, Johannes Kleiman, John and Bep Voskuijl, and Miep and Jan Gies.

Everyone should visit this shrine at least once in their lifetime.

Tony

Otto, Edith, Margot, and Anne Frank

Westerkerk, located footsteps from the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, is a 17th-century Protestant church and the largest of its kind in the Netherlands.

Dear Commons Community,

Last night, Elaine and I had dinner at Bleu, a quaint little restaurant about a ten-minute walk from where we are staying in Jordaan.  Afterwards we took a stroll along one of the many canals in this part of Amsterdam.   

Fine evening!

Tony

Bleu Restaurant

Main Entrance to Sebastian’s

Dear Commons Community,

Elaine and I arrived safely in Amsterdam.  We are staying at Sebastian’s which is located in Jordaan, just outside of the old center of Amsterdam. It is noted for the eleven canals that crisscross the area.  It was also the home of Rembrandt who, after he went bankrupt in 1655,  moved into a rented house on the Rozengracht in the Jordaan, where he lived until he died in 1669.

Tony

The view from our hotel room.

Sebastian’s Bar

Dear Commons Community,

My wife, Elaine and I, will be leaving for Amsterdam this evening on vacation.  We will be spending about a week touring parts of The Netherlands and Belgium.  Assuming we have safe travels, we should arrive about 9:00 am tomorrow morning.

Tot morgen!

Tony