Eliot's Travels

A Study in Contrasts
In route to Oude Kerk, we walked into the heart of the seedier part of Amsterdam - the (in)famous Red Light District. This "coffeeshop" - hash bar - claimed to be the first one in Amsterdam. The oldest church in Amsterdam (1306) is now surrounded on all sides by brothels. As the boys posed for a picture, a lady was showing her wares in a bedroom next door. Overall, it's less obvious than I was expecting. It was 3:00 in the afternoon though.

Down the street from the old church at Oude Zijds Voorburgwal 40 is the lovely Amstelkring Museum. This handsome 17th-century merchant's house was once owned by Jan Hartman, a Catholic merchant from Westphalia who made his fortune selling stockings. The interior is now furnished in the style of the Dutch Golden Age, with black and white tiled floors, heavy oak cabinets and 17th-century Dutch paintings... the main living room where Hartman built a slendid fireplace bearing the coats of arms of hiself and his wife.

The most extraordinary feature, though, is the chapel of Onze Lieve Heer op Zolder - Our Lord in the Attic - hidden in the roof. We perhaps imagine this as a cramped little room under the rafters, but it is in fact a full-size baroque church built on top of three adjoining houses. Clearly, this was not a particularly secret church... these chapels, though officially illegal, were quietly tolerated.

This is a very well done museum with a great brochure and tour. The museum had special activities for children identified with a ladybug - a secret hole to put your hand in, a coloring station, and a secret door with a picture of the Virgin Mary. The parts of the house that I found interesting: the beautiful parlor and its elaborate fireplace, the box bed built into the wall for sleeping, the between room (an extra space between floors), and the 17th-century kitchen. The most lovely surprise is the church on the top. It's gorgeous and much larger than one expects. The altar and organ are quite ornate and they have nice exhibits of alterpieces, artwork, and a silver collection. Eliot "really liked the items that we saw in that museum."

posted by Whitney @ 11:42 PM