Amsterdam is a city with a rich cultural heritage that allows you to reach a variety of activities with in walking distance.

Eric writes:

“I'm the only American working in our museum, the only 'outsider,' but if any customer asks for directions or where something is located, everyone looks at me. I've always been a tour guide, it seems. It comes naturally to me, since I love to find out what is going on and what is new.”

Itinerary 2:

Eric writes: As you can see by the tours, I like to walk. Wear comfortable shoes and tell me if I walk too fast.

Rembrandt Walking Tour

We will walk the streets and canals of Amsterdam as if we were in the time of Rembrandt. The Rembrandt House itself is a great place to start. You can see where he lived and worked for over 20 years. Having worked there myself for over eight years I can show you how and where he made is famous paintings and etchings. His neighbor's house is now a library but back then the home of a famous client. Across the street is the South Church and the burial place of more then one of Rembrandt’s children. The New Market is a short walk from here. On the way we will see the 17th century Trippen House where an other man of fame, and customer of Rembrandt’s, lived. De Waag, now a restaurant in the center of the square, was an old gate to the city and the location of the scene for Rembrandt’s painting, The Anatomy Lesson.

Another short walk through the Red Light District, the oldest part of the city, we end up at the Old Church where Rembrandt must go when he had to answer to the church for his infidelities. This is the same church where his wife Saskia is buried. We then walk south on the Woemerstraat to the Dam, passing the stock exchange where gold was traded in the Golden Age. The nearby palace was the new city hall in Rembrandt’s time, a palace for the people. Well, a palace for the people to pay taxes and declare bankruptcy, as Rembrandt had to do. Also a palace of history.

Still with me, OK, two more places. Are you up for the Amsterdam History Museum and then the Rijks Museum? If not, maybe tomorrow, on your own. Or…. we can do that together and hit some of the other hot spots of Rembrandt.

Itinerary 3:

Jewish Historical Tour

Amsterdam’s Jewish Quarter has changed a lot since Rembrandt’s time, however, if you know where to look, many places still exist. The Portuguese Sephardic Jews were rich and came here with lots of money from years of trading of goods in Portugal. They built the grand Portuguese Synagogue and filled it with their religious treasures. However, it took the help of the Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe to rebuild the ceremonies lost in years of the inquisition. These buildings are not used for prayer today but for concerts and also museum.

Once a month on Monday evening my neighbor Lennie gives a flute concert at the Uylenburgh Synagogue. She has a foundation working with Jewish composers and musicians. The Jewish Historical Museum is in four old Ashkenazi Synagogues and give you an idea of the lively community that was once here. Pictures from Jacob Olie (1900) will also show you another important time of the people of the neighborhood. There are still people here on my street who lived through these times. Mr. Jansen is over 80 years old but can remember every change that happened on our street. He was born in the same house he lives in now and as a matter of fact his mother was also born there. Also born in the old Jewish quarter is Jannie de Vis and she is always good for a tall tale about how is was back when she was young, some good some bad.

From the First World War on, Jews were finding it harder to live in Europe and when the Nazi invaded theNetherlands, if you were Jewish you either left the country or went into hiding. Mr. Van Eiken still remembers the day that they fenced off the Jewish quarter and only Jews were allowed in or out. (Anne Frank and her family could have easily walked to the old Jewish quarter from their hiding place. as we can quickly and freely walk there from here.) The Jodenbreastraat was a street with a tram, but those who survived the war dug up the ties to use as firewood during that last cold winter of the war. This tram had brought the Jews of Amsterdam to there final destination and it was too painful for the city to ever replace.

Amsterdam Shopping Tour

Amsterdam is a city where you can get anything if you know where to look for it. High end shopping? The P.C. Hooftstraat is a street with everything from Gucci to Ralph Lauren. How about a books? There is Waterstone’s and The American Book Store for a large selection of English Books. There are lots of used book stores too and on Friday the Spui Square has a large book market. Speaking of open air markets, Amsterdam is full of them. Try the Waterloo Square Market for vintage clothes or odd knick knacks.

On Saturdays, the New Market has organic and local fruits, vegetables, meats, breads, and of course cheeses. The flower market is also a must-see when in Amsterdam, but few people other then the locals know that on Monday the Amstelveld Square has a flower and plant market. This is where the city people go to get all those great plants for the windows and baloneys. The Northern Market on Mondays specializes in furniture. Now , if you really want to take home some authentic Dutch flavor, the New Spiegelstraat (Mirror Street) is a good place to locate a 17th century painting for your study or maybe a Napoleonic credenza for the dinning room. If modern is more your style you will find the Dutch live in the past but with a very modern taste. Stores like the Bijenkorf and Metz are a showcase for Dutch design. We can shop until you drop.