If I was to live in Amsterdam I would love to get a house or an apartment in Oud-Zuid in the south of Amsterdam or in Jordaan in the West. Jordaan is a pretty place, a residential neighborhood of Amsterdam Centrum that is quite hip and alternative and home to many art galleries. The Grachtengordel West (the canal belt) that lies opposite the neighborhood is also gorgeous.
My visiting friends and I were quite lucky that fateful Saturday in late February. Even if it was chilly, the sun was shining so we only had lovely fotos of the neighborhood. Now, for those that are not familiar with the surroundings of the city, the canals in Amsterdam, especially in this part of the Centrum (West), can be very confusing. Girl friends were complaining that they are experiencing some sort of visual disorientation, haha—The same canals here, the same buildings there, crooked, old and lanky. So I have to explain—No, we are not on the same canal stretch my dears!
Did you know that Amsterdam is one of the (or THE) greenest city in the world? During spring and summer, the canals are transformed into sparkling greenery which can conversely pose a challenge to sight the beautiful old typical Amsterdam gable buildings behind the trees.
This foto is taken in one of the corners of Jordaan. The neighborhood is located on the west of Amsterdam Centrum across Prinsengracht. Right foto looks like a Tulip Museum but it’s too early for tulips to be blooming in February.
This is the Westerkerk (Western Church) and its beautiful tower. The Anne Frank House, now a museum is located at the back of the church and this statue of Anne Frank can be found on the church’s little square.
Amsterdam typical buildings with shutters along Brouwersgracht and moi having a souvenir foto in one of the corner canals with the typical Dutch stone arch bridges as well behind me.
More fotos here… I guess it’s not bad to discover Amsterdam on a horse-carriage tour especially if the weather is great. Other popular ways of discovering Amsterdam is with a boat (tour or you can rent a small one) and of course on foot!
I think this is on the quiet corner of Prinsengracht and Egelantiersgracht. On the middle foto, please check the gable and the protruding pulley hanging from the top. The buildings in Amsterdam have very narrow entrance doorways and stairs that moving in (and moving out) of furnitures are done through the windows. They are carried up and down using the traditional pulley system. Foto on the right is an interesting detail from an outside foyer of a house on Egelantiersstraat.
Biking is a lifestyle in the Netherlands. Here you can see a mom with her kids snuggled nicely in a wheel barrow bike. There are plenty of ways of transporting your kids on a bike in this country.
Some interesting wall art in the area and middle foto is the Egelantiersstraat in Jordaan.
The Jordaan neighborhood is made popular by the Westerkerk (Western Church) and the Anne Frank House, now a museum. Anne Frank is a Jewish girl who wrote a diary about her family’s life during the Nazi occupation in the Netherlands. The whole family went in hiding in a secret annexed house with the entrance door covered by a bookcase.
My plan was to climb the church tower so I can shoot beautiful panoramas of Jordaan, the Grachtengordel and the surroundings however the building was closed. As well as I wanted to visit the Anne Frank House, but the queue was so long it was developing into a kilometer long line, and this was even in the morning. You know, I am not patient with these things. Better luck next time.
More fotos are found here: Jordaan – Grachtengordel West, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Amsterdam is so pretty, I hope you enjoyed the fotos =)
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