Amsterdam Tourism
This city isMore than just another tourist town
Amsterdam belongs to the world!
Tourism is vital to this city, the people of Amsterdam love tourists, they give them an opportunity to practise their foreign languages. The Dutch are lindquist, not all of them of course, some have simply not had the education but learning languages is in our blood. The Dutch are also curious and helpful, not so much to their own but they love assisting tourists. Again, it gives them an opportunity to try out their language skills.
Tourism is important to this city's economy. Hotels, restaurants and bars thrive during the tourist seasons. The city has so much to offer, to the young, and weren't we all once upon a time, there's the music scene, the disco's that open at 9 at night and close at 6 in the morning, the coffeeshops of course, and the fact that Amsterdam is a young city, a city for young people, students, travellers and young professionals all find this a great place to hang out.
So you say, I've done that young thing, I'm older now, does Amsterdam have anything to offer me? Yes it has, the city is rich in museums, parks, architecture and there's also a "classic" music scene, there are Jazz hangouts, a myriad of restaurants and sightseeing tours to go on. Don't forget to make a trip down Amsterdam's famous canals on one of its numerous tourist boats. Strolling along the same canals can also be pleasant experience.
Mokum
Mokum is an old synonym for Amsterdam. It's a Jewish word that means city, a reminder of the large number of Jews that once enriched this town with their irresistible humor.Amsterdam's citizens hate their city and its government, we get confronted with various nuisances everyday and yet, we all love this town of ours. And so do most folk who ever spend time here, whether your speaking to an opinionated Catalonian, a computer programmed Russian or an inebriated Englishman; Amsterdam is a great place to visit, experience and spend time at!
Amsterdam loves food, loves drinking, loves music and late night/early morning partying. They will all be discussed in detail on this site. Other points of interest are: Dam square, the Gay pride boat float, The Amsterdam triangle, SAIL, the flea market, the ref light district, the Jordaan quarter and last but not least the new town hall and subway to pass by.
The Amsterdam Canals
Amsterdam is known world wide for its beautiful canals, the city has often been called the Venice of the North. The waterways are laid out like circles of horseshoes around and in the city centre. The oldest ones were created as a defence, they were called "Wallen." In Dutch wal means embankment, quay, rampart, wall, These days it's mostly used for sailors who go ashore (gaan aan wal).The wallen are also a synonym for Amsterdam's red light district. It's precisely on the Eastern part of the city's oldest and most inward canals that our famous red light district is located.
Vincent van Gogh
One of Hollands most famous artists is no doubt Vincent van Gogh. Only Vincent wasn't from Holland, he was from Brabant, once an important duchy that included the southen part of The Netherlands, most of Belgium and a part of Germany. Vincent's father was a man of the cloth and they frequently clashed over Vinny's love affairs. Him developing syfilis of course, didn't help. Vincent was a sensitive man and he always suffered greatly after a break up. Many times going into deep depressions.
Rembrandt van Rijn
This man was without doubt and indisputably Holland's finest painter. Unlike van Gogh whom we discussed above he was popular and respected. He not only painted but also passed his skills on to others. Some of his best works are the portraits he painted of his students and contemporaries. He began his career as a portrait painter and like van Gogh did quite a few self portraits. He was born in the university city of Leiden and did indeed study there for a while. It became soon apparent however that his real interest lied in painting and not in the areas of the scholastic. In 1631 he moved to Amsterdam, the city was rapidly expanding and there was plenty of money to be made here.
Anne Frank
She and her attic are The Netherlands primary tourism venue. She was neither Dutch nor German when she died of sickness and grief, she died stateless. She lost her German citizenship after she and her family fled Germany and never bothered applying for a Dutch version. Her story is such a sad one, what happened to her and her people will forever remain alive due to the writings of Anne Frank, Corrie ten Boom and many others.
Amsterdam coffeshops
Another favorite attraction Amsterdam has to offer are it's world renowned coffeeshops. While some actually brew coffee what people really come for are of course the soft drugs hashish and marihuana. There are supposedly about 240 soft drugs selling cofeeshops in Amsterdam, marihuana is usually sold in the form of previously prepared joints, large cigarettes with carton filters and a mix of marihuana and tobacco rolled in especially large cigarette rolling paper. Hash is usually sold by the gram. prices are 2 euros a joint and 5 euros for a gram od hash.
Canon of Amsterdam
Amsterdam "tells" the story of Amsterdam by means of 50 windows. The more I read the more impressed I become by the images the story tries to impress on me, it's reader.
I do try to remain objective though by placing question marks and a footnote here and there. Supported by facts of course.
MY VIEWS ON THE CANON OF AMSTERDAM
Amsterdam Airport
The airport that serves the city of Amsterdam is called Schiphol, it's also the Netherlands main international airport. it's official name is Amsterdam airport Schiphol, schip hol translates into English as ship hole, hole the way the word is used by animals to live in underground. I somewhat odd name but that's what it's called. This LINK will take you to its arrivals and departures page. The airport features an underground railway station with trains departing for the city every 10 or 15 minutes.
Football Club Ajax
Of course every little bitty town in Holland has to have it's own football club (soccer to you Americans) and Amsterdam is no exception. We proudly present you FC Ajax, this nations most successful football club.
Mokum is proud of its team and we expect them to win every match, when they do we are jubilant and when they don't we're heart broken. The club has produced some of the worlds finest players, among them Johan Cruyff and Marco of Basten.
the Amsterdam red light district
The infamous city's red light district's reputation is well spread throughout the entire world. A walking tour around the oldest district of Amsterdam is consequently on the itinerary of every tour group visiting the city but the business is under threat. Most of the women who work there are victims of the sex trade. They've been brought here under false pretenses and are exploited by their criminal pimps who reputedly work for Bulgarian criminal organisations. The city of Amsterdam has declared war on the illegal sex industry and closed down many of its venues. In May 2011 the city council annouced the intended closure of another 60 windows after having closed 80 last year.
The Logo of www.mokums.nl
Huub made the logo for this site! You are not permitted to use it at random, if you're really interested please mail us:
amsterdam@tourism.net
Huub is a fantastic artist who also does Tattoos. Please visit his (dutch) website, it's worth it!
What is it about tourism...
What is it about tourism that attracts us so much, once or twice each year most of us want to play the tourist for a while, to get away from the ordinary and see the spectacular, the extra ordinary. Or maybe just something different or somewhere different.
We think that being somewhere else, somewhere exciting will refresh us, and often it does. Being in some other culture, eating some other food, drinking foreign beverages and listening to alien music will also broaden our minds and expose us to people who have totally different opinions as we do. I guess that's what tourism and being a tourist is all about. To see and experience the different.
All links are at the bottom of the page
AccommodationExcursions in and around AmsterdamTouring the old city centre of Amsterdam Exploring The Amstel River The Aalsmeer Flower Auction Volendam & Edam Muider Castle Keukenhof from March 24th The latest pagesWedding Locations Sunday shopping in Amsterdam The Jordaan festival Santaclaus or St. Nicholas The oldest pub in town The smallest pub in town Theo Thijssen & Kees de jongen Site summerySo what is this site all about? let me start of by mentioning three things: 1. the history of Amsterdam 2. what is it that makes Amsterdam so unique 3. how did Mokum become a trend setter So this site is about the past (Anne Frank, jordaan riots etc.), the present (happenings, hotels, pubs, restaurants and night life, shopping, the zoo, Dam square etc.) and the future of Amsterdam. Anne Frank She was neither Dutch nor German when she died of sickness and grieve. Or is it really Hebrew? Jewish is something different than Yiddish! And is it spelled 'jewish' of 'Jewish'? Is Amsterdam a city or a town? Amsterdam is older than most people think and received city status far more recently than most people think. The top ten: City parks The Jordaan festival This is a yearly occuring 3 day Amsterdam musical street party that takes place in the Jordaan quarter. Usually in the month of September Markets in the Jordaan Mokum Events Amsterdam.NL The Elandsgracht Panoramas of Amsterdam |
Say Dutch Say cheese
What would Holland be without tulips
The Dutch tourist town of Volendam
RING