Tuesday, April 4, 2017

C - Canal Houses, Amsterdam

Amsterdam is developed along beautiful canals.  As a matter of fact, the area inside the canal ring of the Singelgracht is a UNESCO World Heritage site.  The hotel I stayed at on my return trip to the city was on the Singel, the Hotel Estherea.  It was lovely and consists of three former canal houses.  You can see the 'H' on the awnings of all the lower windows.  The hotel was quite nice inside too.



While in Amsterdam I visited the Canal House Museum.  It was very informative and I also picked up a book describing all the homes on the canals.  Here is one of the interior rooms.
There is also a lovely flower market on the Singel canal.




Bikes, boats, and water.
While in Amsterdam I visited two former residences, first the Van Loon Museum on the Keizersgracht, built in 1672.  The first resident was artist Ferdinand Bol.  It was remodeled in the 18th century and the Van Loon family stills lives on the upper floors.  Here is the hallway:
And the garden:
 On another day I walked the entire Herengracht canal to reach the Willet-Holthuysen House, built in the 17th Century.  It was donated to the city in 1895.  My favorite room was this lovely garden room, looking out to a beautiful garden:

Maybe in the future I will post more about these houses.

My own set of canal houses on the mantle.  Each of these is a replica of an existing house, most dating to the 17 century.  These homes were built on pilings buried deep into the ground.  The first few homes in my subdivision are also built on pilings as the ground was not stable enough to support them without the poured cement pillars.  

Some folks live on boats in the canals.  Is this something you think you would enjoy doing?  

Bonus:  Daylily 'Chicago Rosy'

42 comments:

  1. Your photos are beautiful and make me want to travel again.

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    Sandra, Aspiring family historian, fellow participant in the #AtoZchallenge

    Sandra's Ancestral Research Journal

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  2. wow! stunning pictures. the flower market, the canal houses are such scenic spots. Amsterdam continues to be on my list of places to visit.

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  3. I've been on the canal tour in Amsterdam - such an awesome city. :)
    I do not think I would like living on a house boat - not enough space ::g:: Although the lapping of the water to get to sleep would be cool.
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings - Shapeshifters and Werewolves

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    1. I love it cause it is so pedestrian friendly. I feel I could fly over, plop myself in a hotel, and feel at home.

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  4. Thank you for bringing us to Amsterdam today

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    1. You are very welcome. Glad you enjoyed it.

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  5. These are my most favorite of all your pictures.

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    1. And this wasn't even the prettiest city imo.

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  6. Oh, I think I need to go there! Just, WOW!!!

    No, I would not wish to live on a boat.

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  7. Gorgeous photos. No, I wouldn't want to live on a boat either, but I'd love to travel on one down these canals.

    C is for Church Committee: Intelligence Abuses by the CIA

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    1. I did two canal cruises. Very nice, but I'll stick to living on something that doesn't bob in the water.

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  8. We never made it to Amsterdam while living in Germany and it's still on the bucket list. Your gorgeous photos have bumped it up a notch! I can't imagine living on a boat. Such close quarters would induce claustrophobia.
    Debbie @ THE DOGLADY'S DEN
    Latest Post: CHERRY HILL PARK: First love is the hardest!

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  9. That Garden Room is just gorgeous! Boy could I chill out there! The first thing I thought of when I looked at the homes, however, was, OML! How many steps are there in them??? My age is telling! Great post!

    Calen~
    Impromptu Promptlings
    A to Z Challenge Letter C

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    1. I live in a ranch. My son has a three story home. Too many steps.

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  10. I simply love Amsterdam, and I drive there now and again. The canal houses are unique. My treat each time I go is a candlelit dinner cruise on a barge in the evening.


    Today in Amble Bay!

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    1. I am very tempted to fly back there for a week in June. I loved it.

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  11. Really enjoying your posts and your photographs are wonderful.

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  12. I do not know what I love the most! The flower gardens look stunning, so are the houses and the boats. Oh, I am making that European trip :)
    Thailand Travel Stories at Kohl Eyed Me
    26 Indian Dishes at Something's Cooking

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  13. Great pictures. The flower market sounds especially wonderful.

    I have pretty severe motion sickness issues, so I don't think living on a boat would work well for me.

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  14. What lovely residences and gardens! We hope to go to The Netherlands next year and I hope to rent an apartment (Airbnb) on a canal. This makes me excited to go!!

    Trudy @ Reel Focus
    Food in Film: Chocolate

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  15. I lived on a boat for many years Denise, which is how I got to places like Amsterdam and Oostende. My father was sailing mad. It is a life which calls for a particular type of person. I was too young to be very interested in the history of the places I visited. We were looking for food and fun.

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    1. I went to Europe in 1969 and even though I was very interested in history, it would be great to repeat the trip with the knowledge I have now. Of course, I don't think I could last ten weeks. Lol

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  16. Visiting from A to Z. Your photos are beautiful. We once stayed in a hotel in Amsterdam that was a converted canal house but it was a single house only and felt very narrow.

    D is for Dartmouth: Guy Mainwaring and the beagle pack

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    Anne Young

    Anne's family history

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    1. You could tell in this hotel how narrow an individual house would be. Not for me - plus those stairs.

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  17. How lovely, this makes me want to visit. The canal boats are quite long and narrow, which makes sense. Imagine how wonderful it must be to live there. Boat one day, walk or bike the next. I traveled through once but only to transfer planes. yearning now to go again, only to visit .

    #AtoZChallenge
    "Female Scientists Before Our Time"
    Shells–Tales–Sails

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    1. The great thing is there is no language barrier and it is very easy to get around. I often travel alone and this city is ideal.

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  18. Lovely, makes me want to hop on a plane and visit. I am not sure about living on a houseboat, but I think I would enjoy giving it a try to just be in such a beautiful spot.
    Tinbugs from Travelling Spoons http://travellingspoons.blogspot.com/2017/04/c-is-forcentral-christian-school-alumni.html

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  19. I loved this city and would love to visit it again. You must have loved seeing these gardens. I remember seeing many houseboats and, if I lost everything, I would be tempted but I know they are not cheap to live on

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    1. There was an episode on 'International House Hunters' and a young couple was looking for a houseboat to live on in the canals. The guy could not stand up in the sleeping area. I did live on our boat for a few weeks when I was getting divorced. Not my cup of tea.

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  20. The pictures of the canal houses are beautiful. I love the lily today. I have some of those in my backyard! Not yet blooming!

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    1. My yard is a swamp and more rain and even snow is on the way.

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  21. Those are astoundingly beautiful gardens. Have you ever been to Curaçao? Since it was "settled" (read: colonized) by the Dutch, its architecture is reminiscent of Amsterdam. A lot more colorful, though. I think you'd like it!

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    1. Other than Jamaica and the Bahamas, I have not visited any Caribbean islands. My one attempt was foiled by a hurricane.

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  22. I knew Amsterdam was beautiful, and your charming pictures only reinforce that knowledge. The keepsakes on your mantle are lovely too.

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    1. I love those little houses. I have them sitting next to the houses I bought in Estonia.

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  23. So wonderful! I have to get to Amsterdam. I love the canals.

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