The Stunning Streets of Amsterdam
Amsterdam is unquestionably enchanting. The rows of narrow buildings that loom over the city’s canals are askew, as though they are about to lose their balance and topple over each other in a comical heap of animated laughing bricks!
“A Peculiar Pack of Buildings that Breathe”
A variation of neutral browns and earthy reds provides a sense of continuity between the buildings, but each one seems to have a uniquely-shaped facade that gives each home a character. They look like they are living and breathing.
Their windows are eyes that watch as the city’s residents leisurely peddle past on bicycles. At night, their eyes glow, casting iridescent sparkling reflections onto the water below.
As it turns out, the buildings are purposely built in this unbalanced manner.
Many years ago, the houses that were built in Amsterdam were taxed by the amount of space the frontage took up.
To combat this, some clever financially-savvy people began building homes that were extremely thin in order to minimise the amount they would be taxed.
This caused a separate problem though – how would the homeowners get their large pieces of furniture up the narrow staircase?
The solution: build a facade that leans forward over the street.
If you look closely, the buildings are affixed with a large hook right at the very top. This is where they attach a pulley system to winch sofas and bed-frames up to their elevated rooms without causing damage to the facade itself.
Interestingly, the narrowest house in Amsterdam is located at Singel 7 and is just 1-metre wide!
“A City Brimming with Bike-Lined Canals”
Amsterdam’s beauty can largely be attributed to the one hundred kilometres of sparkling canals that wind through the city.
The three main canals – Herengracht, Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht – were established in the 17th century and form a series of concentric semi-circles. Understandably, the canals are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The streets between the canals are connected by spectacular cobblestoned bridges – 1500 of them to be precise! Most of these bridges are crowded by rows of bicycles, which adds to their charm.
These bikes certainly aren’t there for decoration, as residents reportedly cycle a combined two million kilometres each and every day! In fact, the city is home to roughly 880,000 bicycles – four times the number of cars!
“A Cluster of Delightful Houseboats”
Houseboats are another of Amsterdam’s fascinating gems. With such an intricate network of canals, it makes sense that the space would be used as a residential area.
About 2,500 colourful wooden dwellings are moored along the banks of the canals, often with gorgeous vivid blooms overflowing from windowsill flower boxes.
Many of the houseboats are more than a hundred years old, fabricated from restored ships used during Holland’s maritime trading era.
Sometimes, the houseboat residents will wave cheerfully at you from their floating decks, suggesting that canal-living is just as pleasant as it looks from the outside.
“A Land of Whimsical Windmills”
The windmills of Amsterdam are arguably as iconic as its houseboats.
In years past, the city-centre was cluttered with them and they served various purposes.
Some prevented flooding by pumping excess water out of the canals. Others were used to grind down seeds for mustard.
As the city became more built-up, the windmills had to be dismantled and moved to windier areas in the nearby countryside.
Currently, eight windmills remain in the city-centre, one of which (Molen van Sloten) is open to the public and is still operating as a draining mill.
The eye-catching structures are hundreds of years old and make for a picture-perfect snapshot of Dutch heritage, in the magnetic city of Amsterdam.
