Amsterdam
Marnix, Hugo's brother, is taking us for a tour of Amsterdam in his little boat. We could never have done this on our own. I'd be lost on those canals in five minutes and it would be quite uncomfortable in my little inflatable. Marnix's boat is bigger and has proper seats. Walter, whose memory is usually amazing, goes off on his own in the morning and manages to forget that we are going on a boat tour in the afternoon. So it's just Hugo, Helen and myself, with Marnix as our guide. The weather is a bit mixed but we only have one brief shower and the sun finally comes out later in the afternoon.
Amsterdam is a completely man-made city. Built on a swampy river delta, the canals are artificial and the buildings stand on wooden piles driven into the mud. The whole city sinks 2mm per year. Most of it was built in the 1600's and has thus sunk nearly a metre so far. Reconstruction is a constant but is barely visible.
But Amsterdam is beautiful. The canals grant benefits that no other city can match. Most obvious is the open space between building. Buildings are densly packed along the shore but face onto the wide open space of water separating them from the houses opposite. The water is also a highway, a park with beautiful trees lining the banks, a playground, a garden, a moat, a barrier, a mirror, a source of food and a source of life. These days the canals are clean and full of fish, ducks, swans and other birds. The locals swim in them and we heard that many fish, including sturgeon, are back in these waters.
As we motor past the tall narrow buildings Marnix provides a running commentary on the city history, the buildings and the people. We stop at his house, meet his teenage children, admire the patience and care that has gone into his renovation and come away with a sense of the city that we could never have gotten on our own.
More photos in the Gallery
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