AMSTERDAM Part 3--Two Places to Stay and Two Churches

Amsterdam is an interesting blend of old and new, modern and traditional, ornate and humble.  To illustrate, I've chosen two contrasting "places to stay" and two contrasting churches.

FIRST, TWO PLACES TO STAY

I don't usually blog about our hotels, but we stayed in one so unique in Amsterdam that it deserves mention here. After scouring TripAdvisor, Hotels.com, and other sites, we settled on citizenM Hotel.  The price was right and the reviews were extremely good. While it isn't in the downtown tourist area, it is located just a few blocks from the train station and right on the main bus line.

(Internet photo)

CitizenM is by far the most unique hotel we have ever stayed in.  It is made of shipping-container sized rooms, put together off-site and basically stacked atop each other during construction. Below is a photo of a photograph of citizenM Amsterdam that was hanging in the hotel.  I think some of the guests should close their blinds, don't you?

The rooms are tiny but incredibly well designed.  There is a wall-to-wall king-sized bed at the far end under an equally large window.

To get there, you have to weave through the "bathroom," a toilet area and a shower that each have a circular glass enclosure.  (This is not a room to share with someone you are not very comfortable with.)

There are lots of fun touches, like a "mood pad" that controls the TV, window blinds, temperature, wake up alarm, and lighting.  You can even turn the room purple or orange or whatever other color fits the mood you are in. Even the toiletries have a unique style:

 The hallways continue the world traveler theme:

Quotes about travel are painted on the door panels:

Pretty fun.

There can hardly be a bigger contrast to citizenM than the Anne Frank House, also located in Amsterdam.

When we were there, the line to get in snaked around the block.  We had been told that a special mutli-attraction ticket we bought would get us right in, but we couldn't figure out where to go to make that happen.  After standing in line a while, we realized that we were in the wrong line and went to another line.  Turns out we had been in the right line, and we had to go back to the original line, but to the end, effectively doubling an already long wait.

Once we finally made it inside, I pulled out my camera and had taken several pictures before I was sternly told that photography was not permitted.  Here are a few of my pilfered photos:

It was exciting to see the real diary, and later to see the attic rooms where Anne and her family lived for two years before being discovered and shipped off to concentration camps. While it was definitely not the citizenM, I was surprised by how large the living space in the hidden annex was. I wish I could have taken more pictures, but there are a lot of good pictures on the internet.  (For example, see here and here.)

One other thing I got a picture of before I was shut down was the display telling about the 1959 movie The Diary of Anne Frank, which won three Oscars.

Shelley Winters, who won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Mrs. Van Daan, donated her statue to the museum:

The view from the window of the upper story of the house is beautiful.  I wonder how much of this Anne was able to see?

SECOND, TWO CHURCHES

Like all European cities, Amsterdam has many churches.  Nieuwe Kerk (or "New Church") is a 15th century church located on Dam Square and is only used as a church for important state events, such as weddings or investitures.

Nieuwe Kerk is the burial site of some famous Dutchmen, including Michiel de Ruyter (1607-1676), the country's most famous naval officer:

In contrast to the richly ornate Nieuwe Kerk, the humble "Our Lord in the Attic Church" takes up the top three floors of a row house. It was built in the 1660s during a period when Catholicism was illegal in Holland.  When Catholics were finally allowed to build a regular church in the 1880s and worship openly, this attic church was turned into a museum, making it the oldest museum in the city.

Its quiet intimacy was very appealing after all the huge cathedrals we had visited during the previous two weeks, and the hidden rooms were eerily similar to those in the Anne Frank house.

Floorboards

The confessional:

COMING UP: One final post on Amsterdam, including food, Judaism, and the Flower Market.

LEIDEN, HOLLAND, Part 2

I think I took more "scenery" pictures (i.e., pictures of quaint or interesting things with little historical value) in Leiden than anywhere else on our trip.  It is really a beautiful tourist destination, perfect for a day-long stroll. These remaining pictures of the city reflect that sense of wandering.

This ship was built in 1896 to carry peat, which I am assuming was used for heating and fertilizer.

Note the pattern created by the off-set bricks in this wall:

And here, note the rippled effect caused by the very unstable wetlands upon which most of the country sits:

A 400-year-old botanical garden on the left, and the man who planted it, Carolus Clusius (1526-1609) on the right:

One of the unique embellishments I loved most in Leiden was the result of their Wall Poem Project of 1992-2005: 101 poems from various countries inscribed on the exterior walls of buildings all around the city. This is Shakespeare's Sonnet XXX, one of my favorites,

As far as I could tell, the poems were always "posted" in the language in which they were written.  This one is by Russian poet Marina Tsvetaeva:

Those who placed the poem on the wall were also kind enough to provide translations in English as well as Dutch:

Here is a Japanese cinquain, as beautiful for the artistry of the writing as it is for the words that the kanji represent:

Moving on, this relief sculpture has something to do with William of Orange and 1575, but that's about all the Dutch I can decipher:

Pieterskerk, the church of the Pilgrims and the site where John Robinson, their leader, is buried:

Here, Kitty Kitty Kitty:

The home of Jan Steen, artist and contemporary of fellow Dutchman Rembrandt van Rijn:

The City Hall, my favorite building in Leiden, was badly damaged in the Great Fire of 1929. I think this is the original facade, however, and that the interior of the building has been rebuilt:

There are those red keys again:

And here they are again, along with a restorationist working on an old plaster lion:

He seemed to be working without any way of preventing a fall, and it made me quite nervous:

These, my dear children, are called "records."  Note the John Denver album on the right:

We especially enjoyed the Citadel of Leiden, constructed in the 12th century as a defense against invaders coming up the Rhine. As the city grew up around it, it became less useful and was turned into the park it is today in 1651:

I'm not sure if these symbols on the information sign mean these things are allowed or not allowed.  Either the Dutch don't put a slash through their red circles like we do in the United States, or the Citadel is a major party site.

Wouldn't you love to have a door like this one leading into your backyard?  I would. How about it, Bob?

The Citadel is basically a circular wall that gives a 360 degree view of the city:

A sign in Dutch and English informed us, "The domed church, called Marekerk, was the first Dutch church built specifically for Protestant services. Until then formerly Catholic churches had been used."

After we saw Hooglandse Kerk from the Citadel, we went to see the interior. A Protestant church, it is also known as St. Pancras Church, and dates to the 15th century:

St. Pancras was a Roman citizen who converted to Christianity around 300 AD and who was then beheaded at age 14 for that choice.

Beautiful cross-stitch sampler made in 1934:

A very unusual triptych in the church:

A few more random shots taken as we made our way to another church:

A beautiful door . . . 

. . . but on closer examination, it is even more beautiful:

"I am the way, the truth, and the life"

Hartebrug Kerk, the Catholic Church, built in 1836, is not a particularly important tourist destination, but it was fun to wander into and out of:

Leiden was one of only a couple of times that Bob fell away from his fat-free vegan diet. Fish lover that he is, he just couldn't resist these window displays:

 And truly, one has not been to Leiden unless one has had a herring and onion sandwich:

Leiden was the last stop for the Joneses and DeLongs.  The next day, they returned to Montana and Minnesota.  Chris and I said our fond farewells to gelato together.  I think this was about #50 for us, wasn't it Chris?

Bob and I spent another day in Amsterdam, so I have at least one more (or maybe two) posts to go before I finally finish documenting this amazing trip.