Category: Netherlands

The Oude Kerk - Oldest Church in Amsterdam

11/24/2014

As is almost always the case for Jim and me when we arrive in a new city, we find ourselves on that first tired morning drawn toward the peace and beauty of a cathedral or basilica. In Amsterdam, we found ourselves inside the 800 year old Oude Kerk (Old Church). The church is Amsterdam’s oldest building and oldest parish church, founded as a Catholic church around 1213 and consecrated in 1306 by the bishop of Utrecht and Saint Nicolas is its patron saint.

The original wooden church was replaced by the present Gothic structure in the 14th century. It grew from a modest single aisled church into the large basilica it is today and began life as a gathering place for traders and a refuge for the poor. This changed in 1578 after “The Alteration” when after the defeat of Spain during the Dutch Revolt; the church was taken over by the Calvinist Dutch Reformed Church. The homeless and traders were evicted in 1681 and the church was strictly used for Protestant services.

Sadly, during the Dutch Revolt, the church was looted and defaced on numerous occasions, and most of the church art and furnishings, were destroyed. Only the gilded paintings on the wooden ceiling, which were unreachable and some of the stained glass windows were spared.

Even without all the original elaborate decoration, the vaulted space is impressive and serves its purpose creating a place of peace and spiritual contemplation.

One of the most decorative items in the Oude Kerk is the Great Organ created by Christian Vater which was installed in 1724. It has 4000 pipes and is one of three organs installed in the Kerk.

The stone floor is covered with gravestones. The church was built on a cemetery and local citizens continued to be buried on the site within the confines of the church until 1865. There are 2500 graves in the Oude Kerk, many of them are the graves of famous citizens, war heroes and important city officials.

My favorite part of the Oude Kerk, were the Misericords (mercy seats, leaning posts). These are small wooden shelves on the underside of a folding seat in the choir of a church, installed to provide a degree of comfort for a person who has to stand during long periods of prayer. These particular misericords were decorated with grotesques, parables, warnings against bad behavior and just plain funny carvings!

Rembrandt was a frequent visitor to the Oude Kerk; his children were all christened in the church and his wife Saskia is buried in the church. It is the only building in Amsterdam that remains in its original state since Rembrandt walked its aisles. I tried to take a moment to imagine what it might have been like to stand in this beautiful space way back in the days of the Dutch Renaissance. The Oude Kerk might be one of the best places in Amsterdam to experience such a feeling.

Outside the church, you notice that this holy place is smack in the middle of the red-light district of Amsterdam where prostitutes offer their services from behind windows. This is a situation which most visitors find rather ironic.

Behind the church near the apse end, a small courtyard lined with a few small shops, restaurants and bars provides a shady place to sit and enjoy a quiet drink or snack. If you look carefully, you can find a bronze relief of a hand caressing a breast that was set in the cobblestone at night by an anonymous artist. In the center of the courtyard is a bronze statue named Belle honoring the prostitutes of the world. It was installed in 2007.

Amsterdam is a city of wonderful idiosyncrasies and the beautiful Oude Kerk with its surrounding square is one them.

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Traditional Dutch Food Beside One of Amsterdam's Oldest Canals at Restaurant Haven van Texel

11/18/2014

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When we chose to have an early dinner at Haven van Texel in Amsterdam, we chose it for its amazing canal-side location with a view of two canals that are among the city’s oldest canals. It sits near the Zeedijk (sea dyke) which formed part of Amsterdam’s original fortifications in the 1300’s and the buildings that line the canals are some of the oldest in the city. It is a wonderful place to take in the beauty of historic Amsterdam.

We watched the lively crowd enjoying the late afternoon, young people perched along the canal walls with legs hanging above the water, more prudent tourists peered over into the canal from the bicycle lined bridge, and groups of partying visitors cruised up and down the canal in boats of all sizes and shapes.

Like us, some sat at small outdoor café tables enjoying a cool drink, coffee or some of Haven van Texel’s wonderful food. If you want to taste traditional Dutch food, you must eat at this restaurant. We started with the seasonal Split Pea Soup which was deliciously thick with chunks of ham nestled on top. We then ordered what is called “Dutch Steak” which consisted of a thick filet, beautifully caramelized on the outside and tender inside, topped by a thick brown sauce and served with fat Pomme Frites and fresh salad. It was divine!

If you are looking for a yummy Dutch meal or just a beer while having a view of all the canal fun, you must stop by Restaurant Haven van Texel!

Address:
St. Olof Lane 11
1012AK Amsterdam

Tel: 020-4270768

Email: [email protected]

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A Visit to Amsterdam's 18th and 19th Century at the Willet-Holthuysen House Museum

11/14/2014

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One of my favorite pastimes when visiting a European City is visiting a House Museum. These museums provide a unique glimpse into the daily life of the families who lived these homes during the city’s historic past and in Amsterdam, we found The Museum Willet-Holthuysen. It is the only fully furnished canal-side aristocratic house in Amsterdam that is open to the public.

The Museum Willet-Holthuysen was built along the Grachtengordel (Canal Ring) for Jacob Hop, the mayor of Amsterdam, in 1685, but it is named after its last residents. In 1739 the outside was redesigned to look as it does today, in the Louis XIV style, which was highly fashionable during the 18th century.

photo above by Jvhertum - Wikimedia Commons

The house became the property of wealthy coal merchant Peter Holthuysen in 1855. His daughter Louisa married Abraham Willet and both loved to collect beautiful art pieces and furnishings for their home. The museum has a large collection of silverware, plates, and books from the Dutch Golden Age.

The couple died childless, so in 1895, the house and its collection were left to the city of Amsterdam with the condition that it would become a museum.

Walking through this beautiful canal home is like stepping back in time to see how the wealthy merchant class lived during the 19th century. Three floors are open to the public, the ground floor (basement) with the kitchen and garden, the first floor with its long hallway and grand formal rooms, and the top floor where one bedroom is on display as well as a small study and exhibition rooms.

The museum Entrance leads you into the ground floor basement and garden area where you purchase your tickets and proceed into the home.

The kitchen is in the basement, at the garden end of the house. This beautifully tiled room was the staff’s domain. When the Willet-Holthuysens lived here, there was a huge stove. The room display is an interpretation of a late eighteenth-century kitchen, made up of items from different houses in Amsterdam

A staircase leads from the service areas to the first floor, where the family's formal rooms are located along a long decorative hall.

The Women’s Salon was the room where Louisa Willet-Holthuysen received her guests. A reception room like this was designed to show a hostess to her best advantage. To obtain the desired effect, the room was furnished in a cool and distinguished Louis XVI style.

The Ball Room was created in 1865, when the Willet-Holthuysens converted the main room on the ground floor into a hall for entertaining guests. They hosted musical concerts, literary events and gala balls. The furnishings and upholstery in the ballroom were also done in the sumptuous Louis XVI style.

The Men's Parlor, in Abraham Willet’s day was actually green rather than the current blue damask, and it was here that the master of the house received his guests. Here Willet would host art lectures for his fellow collectors, showing off his latest acquisitions. His guests would sit around a big table, with space for up to eighteen chairs. The furniture on display is on loan from Quignon of Paris. The chimney "grisaille" painting is by Jacob de Wit (1695-1754).

The Dining Room is a more intimate space than the Men’s Parlor. Primarily because of its low ceiling. At one time there was a storeroom in the mezzanine floor above the room where the tableware was kept. The silk wall covering is a careful copy of the 18th century original.

The table is laid out as a stylish dinner for six. In the middle is an ornamental centerpiece. It is part of a 275-piece Meissen porcelain service with which the Willets could seat 24 at dinner. Larger parties would be held at the huge table in the men’s parlor.

The Conservatory which is located at the end of the long corridor, was used by Louisa Willet-Holthuysen used as a tea-room. With its characteristic shape, light-green woodwork and its setting overlooking the garden, it has the feel of an eighteenth-century pavilion.

The Garden currently dates from 1973, when it was laid out as an early 18th-century city garden in the French style. How the garden actually looked during the residence of the Willets is uncertain.

The Formal Staircase built in 1740, with its elaborate gilded balustrade leads to The Bedroom, The Collectors Room and the Exhibition Rooms. The lower walls of the stairwell are painted to look like marble and the upper wals are decorated with niches filled with statuary.

The Collection Room is a small, low-ceilinged room that Abraham Willet called his “antique room”. Here he would invite his connoisseur friends to informal gatherings to view the smaller items in his collection. These included medallions, sculpture, glass and other valuable objects. It is furnished in the sober Dutch Renaissance style with dark wood and stained-glass windows.

The Bedroom is an interpretation of what the bedroom used by Louisa and Abraham Willet would have looked like. Their bedroom furnishings would have been done in the Louis XVI style, but have not been preserved. The current bedroom space was originally a library and their original bedroom was across the hall where the exhibition rooms are now located. The bed is a “lits-jumeaux”. It is comprised of two separate beds with two half canopies side by side. It is known that this is what the Willets had.

The Exhibition Rooms show off a portion of the amazing collection created by Louisa and Abraham and is a delight to explore.

The Museum Willet-Holthuysen is being carefully restored one room at a time to bring it back as close as possible to the original appearance of the home when the family occupied the residence. Be sure to follow their progress and be sure to visit the museum when you are in Amsterdam!

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Finding Dutch Masters at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam

11/7/2014

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We visited Amsterdam’s famous Rijksmuseum in May, almost exactly one year after it re-opened from its 10 year 375 million euro renovation in April of 2013, and as The Netherlands’ National Museum, dedicated to the arts and history of Amsterdam. It was as impressive as I had hoped! Enjoy this photo peek into the fabulous Rijksmuseum!

The museum is located in Museum Square close to the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (modern and contemporary art) and the Royal Concertgebouw (concert hall). Museum square itself is a great place to spend time, with its large park, reflecting pool and gardens and best of all, there is a canal boat stop right in front of the museum square.

The Rijksmuseum was moved from The Hague to Amsterdam in 1808 and finally into its current building which was designed by Pierre Cuypers and opened its doors in 1885. The architecture is beautiful, built in what is referred to as a combination of both the Neo French Renaissance and Neo Gothic styles popular during the second half of the 19th century.

As an Art History major, my goal was to visit the great Dutch Masterpieces I had studied in college and take in their beauty up close and personal, but the museum actually has 8,000 objects of art and history on display. We spent the afternoon doing my favorite thing in the world…… wandering the museum looking at stunning art.

Above: The Milkmaid, Johannes Vermeer, c. 1660

Abpve: The Love Letter, Johannes Vermeer, c. 1669 - c. 1670

Above: Isaac and Rebecca, known as, The Jewish Bride - Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, c. 1665 - c. 1669

Above: Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq, Known as the ‘Night Watch’, Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, 1642

Above: The Wardens of the Amsterdam Drapers’ Guild, Known as ‘The Syndics’, Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, 1662

Above: Model of the William Rex - Cornelis Moesman, Adriaen de Vriend, 1698

Above: The Company of Captain Dirck Jacobsz Rosecrans and Lieutenant Pauw, Cornelis Ketel, 1588

Above: Portrait of Andries de Graeff, Artus Quellinus (I), 1661

Above: Triton Blowing a Conch Shell, Adriaen de Vries, c. 1615 - c. 1618

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Dining With a View of Windmills at 5 D' Vijf Broers Bar and Restaurant

11/3/2014

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When you plan to visit the lovely Living History Village of Zaanse Schans, we recommend starting your day with an early lunch at 5 D’Vijf Broers Bar Restaurant & Hotel. Not only is the restaurant wonderful, but later you will be walking along green fields, up and down windmill stairs and through the many village shops and museums. You’ll need the energy!

The food is tasty and the restaurant is cute and cozy. We sat out on the patio since the day was mild and working on being sunny. Jim leaned toward breakfast with a fluffy omelet, while I ordered a lunch of delicious smoked salmon on fresh local bread. As we leisurely ate, we watched the sailboats on the Zaan was they made their way toward the windmills of Zaanse Schans.

A perfect start to an amazing day and the view from the restaurant is amazing!

Bar restaurant hotel D' Vijf Broers Lagedijk 32 – 34 (tegenover Zaanse Schans) 1544 BG Zaandijk - Gemeente Zaanstad T: 075 – 621 00 30 F: 075 – 621 72 83 W: http://www.devijfbroers.nl E: [email protected] Onze openingstijden Zeven dagen per week, 24 uur per dag.

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Zaanse Schans - A Dutch Living History Village and its Windmills

11/2/2014

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You can’t visit Amsterdam and not take at least one day-trip to see its historic windmills. Since we were limited in time, we decided to visit the museum-village of Zaanse Schans. It was a short and direct train trip from the main train station in Amsterdam and from what we had read; the lovely living history village was filled with historic windmills.

Picturesque Zaanse Schans is part of the town of Zaandam and was created in 1960 as a tribute to the ingenuity of the 18th and 19th century and as a museum, providing a glimpse into the Zaan region’s heyday and its traditional Dutch way of life.

Beautiful houses were built as homes to rich windmill owners, traders and dignitaries. Many of these houses have decorative façades at the front and back as status symbols. The houses were located on the dike along the river Zaan, a very important thoroughfare from the 17th to 19th centuries.

Those who could afford it also had additional gardens close to the house, but separated from it by a road or by water. The gardens were used for growing vegetables or flowers or for bleaching cloth.

The exteriors of the houses displayed rich shades of various greens ranging through to beige and light blue. The houses also featured brightly-colored interiors. These features are characteristic of the Zaan region.

Zaanse Schans derives its name from the Dutch word “sconce” which is an earthwork (a war fortification built from earth) used during the Eighty Years’ War (the Dutch revolt against Spain). It is believed that there were 13 of these sconces in the Zaan region in the 17th century. Right next to the museum village of Zaanse Schans, on the other side of the through road, was the earthwork of Kalver-Schans, built in 1574. It was the largest in the region and the only one never to have been conquered by the Spaniards.

The area would undergo great change after the invention of the crankshaft by Cornelis Corneliszoon van Uitgeest in 1594. The crankshaft made it possible to convert the horizontal wind direction on the windmill sails into a vertical movement, allowing for grinding and sawing movements inside the mill.

Thanks to the explosion of international trade during the Dutch Golden Age (17th century), the Zaanse Schans region’s location, on the water and in close proximity to Amsterdam, grew into one of Europe’s oldest industrial regions, with over 600 working windmills. It was also a center for ship-building. As many as 26 shipyards launched between 100 and 150 ships every year.

The local population developed different types of industrial windmills, capable of producing wood sawn by machine, paper, ground spices, oil for food and paint pigments, fabrics, flour, cocoa powder and anything else that could be processed in a mill. These developments brought great prosperity to the region, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Today, historic shops, cottages, windmills, houses and buildings from all over the Zaan region have been relocated to the village to create this living history museum where the local people live and work in age-old Dutch occupations.

Six preserved historic windmills were relocated to Zaanse Schans and others were re-built from original blueprints. They alternate hours and days, so Jim and I were lucky to visit three really interesting windmills: The Oil Mill, The Saw Mill and the Paint Mill.

The Oil Mill which is called De Bonte Hen (The Brightly Colored Hen) was originally built in Oost-Zaadam in 1693 and is what is called a “Smock Mill”. Smock Mills get their name from their shape which looks like a peasant smock. The top portion turns separately with its sails. Unfortunately it experienced two devastating fires and long neglect and by 1973 was desperately in need of saving. It was purchased by the windmill society De Zaansche Molen (Mills of the Zaan) and restored over five years to working order. Today, the mill is operated by volunteer millers and produces vegetable oils such as linseed oil.

The colossal millstones roll over the oil-bearing seeds or nuts crushing them under the great weight of the stone wheels. Because they roll on their sides (edges), they are called edge runner stones. Wooden guides keep the seeds and nuts from being pushed off to the side. The stone wheels themselves are usually painted with blue and white patterns as a safety measure, so that even in the dark of night, the mill workers could see if the stones were turning.

When the seeds and nuts were pulverized, the ground seed/nut was heated up on a stone stove fueled by wood, peat or briquettes. This stove was also used by the workers to heat their tea. A museum display portraying the artifacts from the daily lives of the oil millers includes several of these antique tea-kettles.

The heated mass of seed was then put into woolen bags. The bags were then put into a protective covering of horsehair and leather and placed into the oil press to extract all the oil. This process left a thick cake of pressed meal which was used as cattle fodder in historic times.

Having read about and viewed the oil pressing processes in Greece and Italy, it was really interesting to see this Dutch pressing technique.

The Saw Mill is a “Cap Winder Mill” called Het Jonge Schaap. The Cap Winder Mill gets its name from the fact that the mill has a cap-like portion on the top.

The original mill located in Zaandam, was destroyed in 1942, but using detailed drawings from the original mill, an exact copy of the mill was constructed in Zaanse Schans in 2007. The mill is a Beam Mill and is used for sawing crude beams and planks for building rather than fine wainscoting used for decorative paneling.

High up in the mill, the gear wheels converted the wind power into usable energy for the mechanisms.

Tree trunk and beams were hoisted into the saw-sled which then dragged the log through the saw frames. The frames would rise and fall as they sawed the tree trunks and beams. The ratchet wheel moved the saw-sleds forward little by little as the log progressed through the saw frames.

I have to admit, it made me a little nervous to be so close to the saw blades even though I knew I was perfectly safe where I was standing! Even so, it was fascinating to see.

The last mill we visited was The Paint Mill called De Kat. The mill was originally built on the Kalverringdijk between 1646 and 1696, but was devastated by fire and rebuilt in 1782. Due to later replacement projects and the fact that the mill needed to be moved from the growing city of Zaandam, the old top of a paint mill called De Duinjager was placed on the old shed base of De Kat and the composite mill was added to the Zaanse Schans collection.

The mill grinds raw material for paint pigments. Barrels throughout the warehouse hold the processed pigments and the day we were there it was grinding chalk.

We were able to climb up to the top of this mill to get an up-close look and the huge grinding gears and the tall sails and view was incredible!

The caps of both the Smock Mills and the Cap Winder Mills and their sails can be turned by the miller to face the wind. We were lucky to see this process in action!

Be sure to visit the Zaans Museum. The museum contains living cultural heritage and region-related collections displaying regional dress, painted furniture and utensils found in Zaandam homes. The industrial heritage displays include the corporate collection of the Verkade family, founders of Verkade; a company famous for its cookies and chocolate.

And don’t forget to stop into the huge gift-shop!

Zaanse Schans is a fun day-trip from Amsterdam. We highly recommend a visit and it’s a wonderful place for kids (of all ages, ha ha!) to explore and learn about the history of the iconic Windmills of the Netherlands!

Information for this post supplied by: Wikipedia, The Windmill Society Pamphlets, dezaanseschans.nl website

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The Anne Frank House - One of the Most Moving Museums We Have Ever Visited

10/23/2014

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There are lots of places in the world that take your breath away and some others where you immediately sense a place of reverence which cause visitors to quietly view, observe or simply experience their specialness. The Anne Frank House experience goes far beyond either of those and into a realm where you are almost physically struck by the awful history played out in this modest canal building.

Anne Frank is one of the millions of victims of the Nazi persecution of the Jews during WWII. She was a teenage girl full of dreams and aspirations, which makes a visit to her last hiding place a thought provoking experience. People line up around the block to see this house and take photos of the plaque at the entrance as a keepsake and reminder of their visit to a place which continues to be a pilgrimage site for many.

photo above via Wikimedia

When Hitler came to power, the Frank family moved from Germany to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, but the persecution followed them and on July 6th 1942, the family went into hiding high up in the depths of the building where Otto Frank’s business was located. Four friends and co-workers help to hide the family, creating a small living space accessed via a “secret” door, hidden behind a bookshelf. Eventually, eight people would be hiding in this small space for two long years.

As soon as you walk behind the false bookshelf and enter the “Hiding Annex” the horror of what they experienced begins to sink in.

Photo above via Wikimedia

Photo above via annefrank.org

Having read “The Diary of Anne Frank” as a young girl (everyone should read it!), I knew enough to bring a tissue with me, but little did I know, the visit would be far more moving than I expected.

Even now, I remember the silence as every visitor walked silently, single-file up steep narrow stairs and through the unimaginably small living spaces, not a word spoken, but a few sniffles, a little nose-wiping, and damp cheeks made it clear that everybody was affected even though everyone was trying to appear as if they weren’t.

Photos were not allowed, so visitors peered for a long time at each of Anne’s small “posters” in her room, as if committing them to memory. These old fragments left on the wall and when found many years later by her father, were preserved as poignant reminders of her young-girl interests; pictures of her favorite movie stars and other things that caught her imagination, many simply cut from magazines.

Photo above via flicker.com

As we filed through, taking in the tiny, rudimentary kitchen, bathroom, sitting room and sleeping spaces, you realize how difficult it must have been to find any privacy.

Knowing that they spent their days quiet as mice and sealed in with the windows shuttered, as you peek up through the attic trap-door to the rooftop, it is easy to understand how Anne and her young friend and co-refugee, Peter, would have loved to escape to the attic to breath fresh air, see the night sky and dream of their lives after the war. Lives they would never have.

Photo above by Alexisrael via Wikimedia

The people in hiding were betrayed and arrested on 4 August 1944. Of the eight in hiding, only Otto Frank, Anne’s father survived the war.

When you leave the actual hiding place and emerge back into the museum proper, the display of Anne’s diary pages and later re-writes are fascinating. There are three versions of her diary and all are on display.

Photo above via Wikimedia

Photo above via annefrank.org

Version A is her original diary, continued on note paper after her small diary was full.

Version B was started by Anne when she hears a request on Radio Oranje for diaries and other writings made during the occupation to be kept. She wanted them to be published after the war.

Version C was created by Anne’s father Otto Frank. After Anne and the other people in hiding were arrested, those who were helping to hide the Franks, collected all that they could find of Anne’s writings. When it was clear that Anne’s father was the only survivor of the extermination camps, he was given his daughter’s writings.

From these, Otto compiled the book ‘The Secret Annex’. It is a combination of passages from Anne’s A and B versions. The book was published in 1947.

Photo above via annefrank.org

Along with the diaries, the museum displays records from the Auschwitz internment/extermination camp, historical information and documentation and film from the Nazi occupation and persecution of Jews in Amsterdam during WWII.

Photo above via annefrank.org

As I mentioned above, the line to get into this museum is always VERY long so our recommendation is to purchase your museum ticket on-line ahead of your visit. You will get a scheduled entrance time, so all you have to do is show up at a special door and ring the bell for entrance, skipping the long, long line. The Anne Frank House Museum is a must-see if you are interested in the history of the Netherlands during WWII and especially if you have ever read the book “The Diary of Anne Frank”. Seeing the space brings the story to life in a whole new and moving way.

To learn more about the Anne Frank story and the Museum, click HERE (Anne Frank Museum Website)

Click HERE to find out more about the hiding annex! http://www.annefrank.org/en/Subsites/Home/

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A Secret House Church in Amsterdam

10/19/2014

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One of the most interesting museums you can visit in Amsterdam is the Museum Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder (Our Lord in the Attic) a clandestine church or "schuilkerk" hidden away in the top three floors of a typically lovely, but unassuming, canal house.

The 17th century Dutch Reformation was a hard time for those who wished to remain Catholic in Amsterdam. Those who dissented from the Dutch Reform Church were forced to worship in hiding in a “out of sight, out of mind” manner tolerated by the city fathers. As a result, many of these “house churches” sprang up around Amsterdam.

The Museum Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder was originally built in 1631 on the prestigious Oudezijds Voorburgwal.. It was built as a house for successful merchant, Jan Hartman. He owned the tall canal house and the two houses behind it. Hartman was Catholic, and his son was training for the priesthood, so he decided to convert the top three floors of his house into a secret Catholic church.

photo above by Andreas Praefeke via Wikipedia Commons

On the ground floor and basement Jan Hartman built a shop and storage room for his business. This room is currently the museum lobby.

The self-tour starts on the first floor (second flour for U.S. folks) so you will begin by climbing the steep narrow stairs that are common in the tall 17th century Amsterdam homes.

The museum is currently under renovation, but you can walk through the rooms, which are being carefully restored to what would have been their original 17th century appearance and climb the narrow stairs to the unique Catholic Church in the attic.

On the first floor of the middle house, Hartman added a lavish reception room called the Sael (parlor) decorated in the Dutch Classical style, to show off his status and receive guests. This impressive hall, has a marble floor and painted paneled ceiling.

The merchant and his family lived what would have appeared to casual aquaintences, the normal lives of a wealthy successful merchant, on the lower floors of the houses.

The Canal Room (day room) was located in the front house and is where the residents would have spent their day. The room had no heating at that time and since it was at the front, the noise and the smell of the canal were a problem so wall curtains were used to add comfort and soundproofing to the room. The room is fitted with 17th-century furniture.

In the the rear house we found a bedroom with a Box Bed and the 17th Century Kitchen. The beautiful blue and white Delft tiles, the fireplace and the black-and-white floor are original.

In the front house, halfway up the 17th-century stairs is a "between room". This is where the chaplain lodged in the 19th century. There was a resident Chaplain serving the church from 1663.

In the uppermost reaches of the tall house, the Catholic Church "nave" spans the long space of the three house attics culminating in an elaborate altar. At the opposite end is a grand organ which is still used used. There are two galleries above the floor of the nave and the uppermost gallery is lined with clerestory windows which light the beautiful curves of the ceiling. The church was used beginning in the 1660’s and continued to serve the catholic community for over two hundred years.

The Atar is flanked by two marbled columns with classical capitals. The columns and an arch frame a painting by Jacob de Wit (1695-1754), The Baptism in the Jordan. At the top, the decoration culminates in a stucco sculpture of God the Father and the Holy Spirit, surrounded by clouds and cherubs which, together with the altarpiece depicting Christ the Son, form the Holy Trinity.

The Organ dominates the canal end of the church. It was built by Hendrik Meyer in 1794 especially for this church.

The Lady Chapel is the only additional altar at Our Lord in the Attic and is devoted to the Virgin Mary. Standing on the altar is a statue of Mary on a pedestal. This figure was probably made for the original church. The statue portrays a moment when Christ has just been given a pear by his mother – or maybe he is giving it to her. The pear is a symbol for Christ's love of humankind.

The Confessional was created around 1740. Few churches would have had such a simple confessional chair. The penitent kneels in the closet-like space to confess their sins to the priest.

In 1739 the priest Ludovicus Reiniers bought the house. He lived in the front house and improved access to the church by inserting a new staircase in the middle house.

The Church of St. Nicholas was finally built in the 1880’s to serve the Catholic community ending the use of the "schuilkerk" and a few years later in 1888, the house church was opened as a museum. Today, it is one of the oldest museums in Amsterdam, second only to the Rijksmuseum.

As part of the restoration and expansion of the Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder, in the Nieuwe Huis (New House) across the alley, there will be space for an entrance lobby, a museum shop, a cafe, temporary exhibitions and education. I am looking forward to visiting this museum again when the restoration is complete! It is an amazing peek into the turbulent 17th century religious history of Amsterdam.

photo credit - above photo - http://www.opsolder.nl/eng/toekomst-nieuws.php
Information for this article provided by DK Eyewitness Travel Amsterdam, Wikipedia,
and Museum Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder

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Amsterdam - A Photo Tour of Bikes, Canals and the Old City

10/12/2014

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While beautiful Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands, according to the Dutch constitution, the parliament and the Dutch government have been situated in The Hague since 1588. This doesn't keep Amsterdam from being a vibrant city and magnet to travelers everywhere!

Sometimes the best way to introduce yourself to a new place, is to simply take it all in as a wide-eyed tourist. We did this as we spent a few days wandering beautiful and energetic Amsterdam. Cameras in hand we simply wandered on foot, hopped on a canal boat and sat canal-side to soak up this amazing Dutch city.

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Sunday in Delft - A Photo Journey

9/27/2014

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Our first stop after we picked up our car and headed out on the Netherlands, Belgium Luxembourg Road Trip was lovely Delft, Netherlands. It was a Sunday mid-morning so the square was still sparsely populated, people were drinking coffee instead of beer and the shop keepers were just beginning to open. The air was fresh and the clouds billowed as the sky cleared for what was to be a beautiful day. Church-bells rang as the cathedrals opened their doors after services. We wandered, taking in the beautiful historic city center, sneaked into the "Oude Kirk" to get a peek at the painter Vermeer's tomb, visited the museum dedicated to understanding Vermeer's work and stopped in to buy Delft Porcelain of course! Follow along with us on a photo journey of Sunday in Delft!