Amsterdam for Introverts like Me: How to Make the Most of a City Known for Weed & Sex

European Adventure: Part 2 of 6

The second stop on my Great European Adventure of 2022 with my friends was the city of Amsterdam.

I’m sure you’ve heard of it.

I’m not a city girl. I prefer small towns, nature vistas, farmer’s markets, and quiet streets. I went to Amsterdam after Delft (one such small, quiet town). When I stepped off the train into this big, bustling city, I was ready to say: “Screw it. Let’s go back to Delft!”

Really, Amsterdam is just a another big city. Except it has canals. And it’s known for having Prostitutes and Weed Shops. Yay! (Please note the sarcasm).

However, while those things aren’t me, in every city there are also quiet spaces, charming streets, and plenty of historical things to do, which are right up my alley.

And Amsterdam is packed with history, beautiful Dutch architecture, and delicious food, so, like most cities, it’s worth braving the hustle and bustle for a little while.

I was helped along in my quest to find some peace and quiet in this busy place by the near constant rain the second day I was there. I always travel with an umbrella, and I’m not afraid of a little rain.

FYI: In Amsterdam the weed shops are called Koffee Shops and the place where you can get coffee is called a café. This is because weed is only decriminalized (and widely tolerated), but not legal, in Amsterdam. So sellers have to at least pretend to be subtle.

We stepped off the train (why doesn’t the US have trains like Europe does), and straight into the heart of Amsterdam. Our AirBnB rented room was only 7 minutes away, so we navigated there to drop off our baggage. The host was extremely kind, giving us some restaurant recommendations and telling us about some parks in the area.

We thanked her and set off, because we already had a few things planned (I was involved in planning this trip, so you know there were already some activities planned). The first thing was the Anne Frank House.

Anne Frank House

The Anne Frank House is always buzzing with tourists, but certainly worth visiting even if you’ve never read the book. It was incredibly moving and eye-opening to walk through the spaces, to learn about a family torn apart by the violence and cruelty of the Holocaust. It’s so different from reading a dry textbook. Instead, you’re truly standing in the bedroom that Anne slept in, where she pasted photos and magazine articles up on her wall of celebrities she liked and artwork that spoke to her. You walk through the kitchen where the family gathered and imagine them all crowded in there day after day.

There’s one point where you see a picture of Anne at her window and it says “the last photo ever taken of Anne.” And it hits you harder in that space than it does reading it in a book or online.

It’s misleading that it’s called a House because it was actually an annex above the shop where Anne’s father worked. Anne’s family (father, mother, older sister, and Anne) was in hiding for 761 days, and were joined partway through by another family of three and a family friend.

Several of her father’s former collogues helped them hide, providing food and news. Anne’s family was found (most likely ratted out) on August 4, 1944. The family was separated: her father Otto went to a camp for men and her mother, sister (Margot), and Anne went to a camp for women. Anne and Margot died of typhus in the camp in February 1945. Only Otto survived, and he did not know what had happened to his family. He diligently searched for news for months before learning his wife had died. Months later he discovered his children had also died.

While vacation is meant to be fun and enjoyable, there’s also a responsibility, I think, to acknowledge and understand the good and the bad. Learning about the Holocaust as a student in America is like sticking your hand in a bucket and having the water come up to your knuckles. In the Anne Frank House, it’s like jumping in the deep end of the pool.

Canal Cruise

After the descent into history of the Anne Frank House, we needed something to bring us back to the here and now. We had booked a canal cruise to get an overview of the large city. My cousin Elli was also traveling Europe and we happened to briefly overlap in Amsterdam, so she joined us for the canal cruise.

While the intent of these cruises is to listen to a guide talk about the city of Amsterdam, my friends and I sat far enough in the back that we couldn’t hear and were able to take in the views and chat with other. Getting out on the water was a great way to escape the crowds of people walking and biking on the streets and take in the city with a little peace and quiet. Everything looks more beautiful from the water.

We coasted smoothly through large canals lined with houseboats and past narrow Dutch houses, some that were tilting to the side! The sky threatened rain but never opened up, and it was warm and cozy as we chatted about what to do next and where to eat.

The canal cruise offered some cheese and unlimited wine, so by the time we got off the boat (three and a half plastic cups of wine later), we desperately needed something to eat. We found a small Indian restaurant and then walked through the glowing city to return to our AirBnB.

Rijksmuseum

We started day two with a museum visit.

The Rijksmuseum is an art museum–but never let it be said that art isn’t history!

The Rijksmuseum is organized by time periods, going as far back as 11th century artwork (mostly illuminated manuscripts and Christian art). Most come for the 1600-1700 (for Rembrandt and Vermeer) and 1800-1900 for Van Gogh.

I’m less interested in art and more in history, so the Rijksmuseum was the perfect fit. Not only was the art beautiful and informative, but many famous pieces had a bin of laminated information cards beside them to explain all about the painting, techniques, and (most important for me) the historical context.

My favorite piece was Fishing for Souls by Adriaen van de Venne, painted in 1614.

The artwork is a comment on the religious landscape at the time. Most of Europe was caught in the struggle between Catholicism and Protestantism, which this painting represents by placing Protestants on one side of the river and Catholics on the other. With a close look, it’s easy to see which side van de Venne supported.

Upstairs Pannenkoekenhuis

When our eyes were strained and our feet hurt from looking at art, we walked back toward the center of the city, looking for the Upstairs Pannenkoekenhuis (another gem of a recommendation from my grandfather). It’s a small restaurant located up a steep flight of stairs and only has five tables. It serves exclusively Dutch pancakes, which are wide and thin, but thicker than French crepes. It smelled of sweetness and, when the rain started pouring outside, the interior was warm and cozy, rumbling a little bit with the thrum of quiet conversation.

I had such a hard time choosing what pancake to get, so Julia and I shared a sweet and a savory, and my favorite was whichever one I was currently taking a bite of!

Banana, cinnamon, and cream pancake & bacon, honey, and Brie pancake

Upstairs Pannenkoekenhuis — Banana, cinnamon, and cream pancake & bacon, honey, and Brie pancake

It was still pouring when we left, so we nearly ran back from the restaurant to our AirBnB to regroup for our next adventure.

Our Lord in the Attic Museum

Our Lord in the Attic Museum is the best thing I did in Amsterdam. And no one I’ve talked to has ever heard of it!

First, this small, unassuming museum guides you through three 17th century Amsterdam canal houses. Skinny, tall, and with original tiling and staircases from four hundred years ago, it’s a chance to see how people, both wealthy and middle class, lived in this bustling port city.

Our Lord in the Attic Museum kitchen with original a7th century Dutch tiles

One thing that was very common in that era was symmetry. Walls were hung with many paintings, but they’d be positioned to be symmetrical from the center of the wall. In these pictures below, the position of the doors (one is fake just to provide symmetry) reflected in the shelves, and the fireplace reflected with the wardrobe provides symmetry. The ceiling and floor both have a checked pattern.

I love seeing how people used to live, what their beds looked like and the rooms they entertained in. The kitchens are fascinating, to see the way they’re laid out. There’s a shelf full of crockery in the Museum that’s been pieced back together–the shards were found underneath the privy. This tells us that broken dishes were tossed down the privy.

I want to know what people ate and what they were reading and what they wore to sleep in. I love the cupboard beds (they look cozy, but hard to make) and the fact that the staircase in the house didn’t lead to any hallways. Instead, doors opened off the side of the steps, even in the middle of the flight of stairs. When your house is so narrow, there is no room for the wasted space of hallways.

Another cool aspect of the homes that still exists in Dutch architecture today is a wheel in the attic of the house. a rope is wrapped around it and the end hangs from a hook at the front apex of the roof. This is to lift furniture from the street and in through a window because the stairs are too narrow to carry large, bulky things up them.

I would have loved the museum even if it were only those three homes. I probably could have wandered them for hours finding all the little details and speculating on a thousand questions, but this museum is even more unique than you can image.

Because the creme de la creme is the Catholic church in the attic.

In the 17^th century when the Netherlands became Protestant, religious freedom was allowed, but for anything other than Protestantism, it had to be performed in secret. So attic Catholic churches became a thing. How cool is that!

This one spans three attics (hence the three homes still preserved in the museum). The largest is the home of the wealthy merchant Jan Hartman. He purchased the two smaller homes that butted up against this and combined the attics to form a singular, beautiful church.

This secret church is the only one that remains out of an estimated 400, and it dates from 1663. It could fit about 150 worshippers and included a sacristy, a baptismal font, a confessional, an altar to the Virgin Mary, and living quarters for the priest.

Our Lord in the Attic Museum attic Catholic church during the 17th century

The altar is carved of wood and painted to look like marble. This was common practice in homes in those days, and the entry way of Jan Hartman’s home had painted marble wood, as well. A pulpit folds out of the base of the column on the left. If you look closely at the photo, you can see a seam in the painted wood.

Every week, the secret Catholic worshippers would file into Jan Hartman’s home. Surely the neighbors knew what was happening, but it wasn’t illegal to be Catholic, only to worship in public places.

It is incredible that this attic church remains, and actually still hosts services on Sundays.

While I could have stayed forever, the Museum closed at five. It was still raining out, lightly dripping, but it was too beautiful and we weren’t ready to head back yet, so we walked the streets in the rain, enjoying having much of Amsterdam to ourselves.