Amsterdam

Canals in Amsterdam

We went to Amsterdam for a weekend a while back, back when it was still cold.  This must have been the third or fourth time I've visited, I seriously love that city!  Though it was a first time for Dave.  We wandered the canals, saw a lot of art, unfortunately their main museum, the Rijksmuseum was undergoing major renovations, so not a lot of stuff was on display.  The Van Gogh museum was great as always, though incredibly packed, as always!

I didn't take a lot of photos, I guess third time round the canals hold a little less fascinations, still pretty, just a little more blase about them perhaps.  I did manage to get to the red light district this time, the first time I've visited.  It was more weird than what I thought it was going to be.  You hear about the girls all sitting around in the windows wearing not a lot, but they don't tell you there's a bed in there with them, and they're not just sitting around, they are all trying to entice you in.  When we went it was still incredibly early, in fact it was still light outside, so a lot of the other people walking around were families.  But you would still see big groups of guys disappear into houses together, the curtains were drawn at those houses!

Gotta get some art in Amsterdam

The West church, trying to collapse into the canal

The main square, with the Jewish exhibit at the right

Something else we saw which I haven't seen before was a Jewish history exhibit inside an old church.  Strange mix there, but perhaps the Nederlanders are atoning for their history. I suppose with Anne Frank having her own museum it's hard to forget.  I was hoping to learn a little bit about their beliefs, it's one group that in Australia we don't have a massive exposure to.  I think I know more about Islam than I do about Jews so I was keen to find out more.

There is a large Jewish population here in London, every morning there are a lot on the train, with their little skull caps, or the big black hats.  So I was keen to find out a bit more of their history, and the answers to the big questions, like why are their two types of hats, and why do they wear them?  Unfortunately none of that important stuff was answered.  Though I did learn the difference between a synagogue and a temple, and what a sanctuary is, it's like a portable temple where services were performed during Moses' flight from Egypt.