Digital Wanderer

We live as long as we fly

☰

Amsterdam and London — 6, Jordaan District

2010-12-04

The story about the night of museums somehow abruptly ended on its own, well whatever, some lazy people still can't give me the photos anyway, and it'll be boring without them.

A piece of good advice: before a trip, study a map or even a scheme, a rough one, with main landmarks.  It's understandable that you're lazy, but it'll be a lot more fun getting around on the spot. For Amsterdam, something like this will do. (from here)

A detailed map of Amsterdam showing the network of canals, streets, buildings, and parks. The river IJ with ports and docks is visible in the upper part.

This is a map of the center, our hotel isn't on it. I'm now leaning towards the opinion that a "booklet" map is better than a fold-out one, because you usually just look at one page at any given moment anyway, and on the whole you can navigate the city on a small scale.

We visited various districts and various squares (plein, if I'm not mistaken, is pronounced "plyne"), many of them are beautiful and worth a visit on their own. If you, like me, read a recommendation online to come to a square and just sit and look around, don't forget that it applies to the summer. In autumn and winter, sitting in the cold and piercing wind from the canals is unpleasant for yourself, and for other people, so there's nothing to look at either. It's usually warmer in Amsterdam than in Latvia, and especially in most parts of Russia, but the weather changes quite often, plus there's frequently a strong, cold wind, so keep that in mind. I warned the punk in advance, but he still whined that it was cold and pulled up his hood, looking like a gopnik while doing it. He, however, didn't like my "rooster" style beanie, so it's all symmetrical. Anyway, he never pays attention to anything, never prepares for anything, and doesn't follow good advice or common sense. Either I'll put up with it, or next time I'll go with other people (who will inevitably have their own flaws).

Let's get down to business, though. I must say, it would be good to plan everything in advance, including Lenin's spots and the route of movements, but that's a traveling salesman problem in terms of complexity, and I haven't reached such a level of enlightenment yet to solve it for an unfamiliar city using an online map, factoring in transport and other nuances.

On a wooden table sit a metal kettle, a stack of striped mugs, two spoons, and a clear bag with white contents. The background shows a room interior with wood paneling, shelves, and a tall vase with flowers.

Having breakfast at the hotel

Two smiling women on bicycles – one dark, the other red – are riding along a city street with tram tracks against a backdrop of multi-story buildings.

People of any age, gender, and social status use bicycles in Amsterdam

All the bikes, by the way, are single-speed city bikes. At most, with an internal gear hub and 3-7 speeds.

Now I'll tell you about the Jordaan district, one of those you absolutely have to visit. While you're at it, check out the museum of fluorescent art, just look at the opening hours, we didn't get in because we went on a Sunday. The museum is small and inexpensive, just right for museum non-lovers.

A young man with glasses stands in an autumn park, resting his hand on the shoulder of an invisible man statue in a coat and hat, who is holding a musical instrument case.

The punk and a statue

Two smiling men stand on the bow of a boat in an autumn city canal surrounded by historic brick buildings reflecting in the water, and trees with yellow foliage.

Us on a barge

A brick building facade with two arched blue doors numbered 169 and 171, above which sits a stone sign reading 'SUIKERWERKFABRIEK PETROVITCH'. A bicycle is parked in the right foreground.

Petrovitch Sugar Factory

An autumn city canal with a row of brick buildings, along which cars and bicycles are parked. The buildings and trees with faded orange foliage reflect in the murky canal water, with numerous small boats moored between them.

A large orange-red heart made of tiles is depicted on the gray tiled roof of a building. Nearby, other brick houses and a tree with sparse autumn foliage are visible under a gloomy sky.

Cute, just like the whole of Jordaan, actually

A narrow city street stretching into the distance is flanked by multi-story brick houses with windows and balconies. Bicycles and black bollards line the sidewalks, the sky is overcast.

The light blue facade of a residential building with two black windows, behind which beige curtains are visible. A wooden bench sits in front of the building, and a climbing plant with orange fruits grows on the wall; part of a dark front door is visible on the left.

I'll say it again - it's hard to understand what a person feels living right in the middle of history their whole life. When everything looks so fantastically cozy and cute, it probably has an extremely positive effect on one's character traits.

A glass window of the Afghan restaurant 'Mantoe.' with large white lettering and an image of an ornamental jug. A promotional poster is also visible on the glass, and in the reflection – the photographer, parked bicycles, and a gray building across the street.

Right on the ground floor of residential buildings in Jordaan, you can stumble upon restaurants, museums, and modern art galleries. This used to be a working-class neighborhood, now it's home to artists, students, and yuppies, and it's considered prestigious and trendy.

A window with a black frame, white curtains, and a decorative element in the shape of a green frog is surrounded by lush greenery. In front of it sprawl bushes with red and green leaves, and on the right along the wall stand tall potted bushes on a paved brick path. A small tree with almost bare branches and a few yellow leaves in a tub in front of a large window with white louvered shutters. IMG_2300

On the top floor of a gray building with windows, there is a large dark sculpture of a torso without a head and limbs, partially protruding from the facade. An overcast sky is in the background. 

IMG_2307 

Houses sometimes have stone plaques with the profession of whoever lives (or lived) there.

They were used to replace wooden signs back in the 18th century, because those took up a bit too much space.

A view of a city street in Amsterdam with historic brick buildings and trees against a cloudy sky. In the foreground, people with bicycles are standing by the embankment railing.

 

A view of a city canal with a metal railing in the foreground, behind which are modern and historic brick buildings, autumn trees, and parked bicycles. 

This is the Anne Frank House.

As you can see, the line stretches around the corner. The secret to not standing in it is simple - buy tickets online, at least at the hotel, if you're afraid of buying from home (which makes sense, since you might not end up where you planned). We weren't planning to go to this museum, so we weren't threatened by the queue. In general, it's better to go there either early in the morning or right before closing. Out of a dozen people I asked, only my mom knew who Anne Frank was. I remembered very vaguely myself, it only cleared up when I was reading online guidebooks.

A row of narrow multi-story houses on the Bloemgracht canal in Amsterdam, featuring diverse facade architecture — from red brick with a round window to dark buildings with shaped gables. Bicycles are parked in front of the houses under a gloomy sky. 

Indescribable beauty

A dark horse pulls an antique carriage with passengers along a cobblestone street, next to it a woman rides a brightly colored bicycle. City buildings with bare trees and autumn foliage, as well as parked cars, can be seen in the background.

The people and horses match the buildings in beauty

 A bottom-up view of a tall dark-brick church tower with a spire and a section of the massive church building. Arched openings and a coat of arms are visible on the tower, and a branch with autumn leaves frames the overcast sky on the right.

The Western Church (Westerkerk)

A white "CANALBUS" kiosk offers canal tours; people can be seen inside. It is located on a brick embankment along a canal, across from which traditional Amsterdam houses line up.

Here you can buy maps and tickets for the "canalbus", meaning a little steamboat. A tour or just transit tickets.

A stone bas-relief in a semicircular arch above a door, depicting four weeping cherubs and memento mori symbols: a human skull on a central pedestal with an hourglass and a book, as well as a second skull at the feet of the right cherub. 

Skulls

A person in a dark jacket leaning towards a lush bush with dark green leaves, pink buds, white flowers, and blue berries. A brick wall and gray cobblestones are visible in the background.

Smells nice

A large matte metal panel for an intercom and mailboxes with multiple numbered compartments and call buttons, situated on a brick building wall beneath a dark canopy. 

A curious mailbox, as I understand it. With an intercom?

The tall brick facade of a building, shot from bottom up, with windows framed by open shutters with a diagonal pattern of white and maroon triangles. Plants are visible on the balconies, and on the roof there's a hoist hook against a cloudy sky with dry tree branches.

Every year in Amsterdam, the municipality awards a prize for the most beautifully restored house, sometimes there are plaques

A large light wood sculpture shaped like intricately intertwined roots or driftwood stands on a wooden floor, reflecting in a glass display window. A staircase and a red panel with square cutouts are visible in the background.

Either they're selling it, or it's just a decoration

 A tour boat with a panoramic roof sails down a dark city canal towards the viewer. Sunlight reflects brightly off the water in the distance, where a bridge, buildings, and trees along the banks are visible.

That very same canalboat

IMG_2344

This they are definitely selling. The cube costs around 250 euros.  Inside there's wood, the outside is cast in plastic

IMG_2346

 A poster reading 'THE TOTALITARIAN ART GALLERY', with a portrait of Vladimir Lenin and a hammer and sickle symbol on a red background, placed behind a white metal window grate. The outlines of buildings opposite and the cloudy sky are reflected in the window glass.

Totalitarian art gallery

A black and white photo of four cosmonauts sitting in light-colored communications helmets with microphones. Left to right: Yevgeny Khrunov, Aleksei Yeliseyev, Vladimir Shatalov, and Boris Volynov, Moscow, January 1969.

Cosmonauts

 A yellow maple leaf with distinct veins lies on dark rough asphalt.

A little leafA street view of the 'INNERSPACE' smartshop with a round sign depicting a white mushroom on an orange background, and two men looking at a display window listing 'magic mushrooms, energizers, herbs, seeds'.

This is the smartshop I was telling you about

The Innerspace menu, titled 'HERB MENU', listing various herbal products for smoking or brewing tea, including smoking blends, damiana, and absinthe, with their descriptions, weights, and prices in euros. A blurred orange-yellow round image is visible in the background of the menu. 

Price tag for stimulants

A menu titled 'Innerspace', containing a list of various psychoactive substances and herbal supplements, such as salvia, kratom, and truffles, with a brief description of their effects and prices in euros.

Price tag for soft drugs

The ornately decorated corner building of the Magna Plaza shopping center in Amsterdam, made of red brick with light stripes and decorative elements. Numerous windows, sculptures, and a tall corner tower are visible on the facade against a blue sky. 

The buildings are gorgeous

IMG_2366

 In the foreground are three decorative cow figures: one in bright horizontal stripes, another white with red abstract patterns, and the third painted in the style of Mondrian. In the background are shelves with boxes and fabrics, and the wall on the right is covered with dictionary pages with large text.

A tall dark red brick building with pronounced horizontal bands and rows of windows, photographed from below against a light sky, through a network of street wires and a white pole.

 IMG_2371

Graffiti is too

A multi-story building with a blue facade, entirely covered by a bright pop-art mural. The mural depicts large black and white figures with red and yellow accents, blue dots, and the word 'VRAANKRYK' at the top.

On a gray brick wall covered in graffiti, there's a large pink sticker of a cartoon character in a hooded suit. Above it are a sign reading "WIJDESTEG PARKING" and a street sign "WIJDESTEG (CENTRUM)". 

Graffiti on a wall: an elongated figure in a suit with a long nose offers a piece of cheese on a fork to a large, snarling creature wearing a hat, resembling a cat or a griffin. 

 

The facade of a building with two stores: on the left, the open door of The Magic Mushroom Smart Shop, on the right, the window display of Crazy Gifts with a frog logo and lots of bright toys and souvenirs. 

Smartshops are also everywhere, although it seemed to me there were fewer of them

Ctrl + ←
Ctrl + →
To contents Ctrl + ↑