Day 4

Saturday June 02, 2012

Day 4

Not knowing how to speak a word of the native language is something new to me.  Nederlands (Dutch) is the primary language here, but nearly everyone in a service position speaks fantastic English.  Even the locals on the street speak some English, and well.  Dutch is also not hard to read and understand, as it is quite similar to roots found in English.  However, to hear it sounds like a strange offshoot of German, but as if they have a wad of gum in their mouth.  Or something like that.  And while I can understand a bit of German, I can't produce or comprehend any Dutch.  It's a bit of a strange scenario, since I am a woman walking around the streets by myself in some very non-touristy (but still safe!) areas, I've had quite a few people come up to me asking, probably, for directions.  I just shrug apologetically and say "sorry, I don't" … and they usually get the idea.  So today I looked up how to say "Sorry, I don't speak Dutch" in Dutch.  The translation is this: "Sorry, ik spreek geen Nederlands."  But I don't even know how to pronounce that.  I had every intention of learning a bit of Dutch before I left, but it was kind of hard to fit that in amongst the craziest semester of my life, including trying to produce a thesis project.

Having said that, I am now appreciating even more my familiarity with Spanish and Italian having visited both Spain and Italy.  At the time I didn’t think I spoke either language very well, but even just simple phrases like "excuse me" or "how much does this cost" or "where is…" were useful to have mastered.  Now the places I visit are not solely populated with American or English tourists.  The typical American tourist will hang out in the brown cafes all day, and I go to visit the social housing museum.  There are also tourists in places like these, but from other European countries.  I met an older couple today from Munich; the man was also an architect interested in the Amsterdam School (a style, not a university) of architecture.

And having said that, I had an incredible visit Het Schip in Spaarndammerbuurt, another district located outside of the main center, northwest of Centraal Station.  I walked all the way there, starting early in the morning, so I could see some other buildings on my way, and also so I could make it to the tour given in English at 11am.  The district was formed in the early 1900s in response to the Woningwet housing act that was passed regulating conditions of working class social housing.  Michele de Klerk designed three blocks of housing in this district, including Het Schip (which means The Ship, because it looks vaguely like a ship) and you can see how his style progresses over time, gradually getting bolder and more expressive.  I spent the entire morning here and enjoyed the sun which was great for taking pictures.  With the tour we even got to see inside one of the model apartments.  The rest of the units are still used today for social housing.  Apparently the waiting list is quite long. 

Saturday is a different beast in Amsterdam than any other day of the week thus far.  The streets that are usually bustling are now jam packed with people, natives and tourists on foot and on bike.  This is usually contained to the main squares and streets, so on my walk back to the hotel I tried to take some side-road detours.  The life is so vibrant here, though, and there's always something going on everywhere you turn.  I passed through two different music performances just on my walk back to the hotel.  

 

I had to take a quick rest after my trip to the Spaarndammerbuurt, but after checking the weather for the rest of the week, I realized that there is a possibility that it may be cloudy/rainy for the rest of my days here.  That meant that I wanted to get some good pictures in the sun of Borneo Sporenburg and Java/KNSM Islands.  These comprise the eastern docklands of Amsterdam, entirely artificial constructed islands that are mostly housing, built in the late 1990s.  The atmosphere there was incredible, very laid back but family oriented; and there were tons of cats and children playing around.  The high density of building remains, but does nothing to hinder the general atmosphere.  In fact, it contributes to it.  Along the water (the IJ) there are rows of houseboats, yes, where people live.  I went around dinner time, so there were these really yummy smells wafting from the open windows, and some families were eating outside on their balconies.  After seeing all I could see of that area, I took the tram back to my hotel area, got some dinner, and then fell right asleep for the night.  Hence the small delay in posting.  Another very efficient day, and one of the nicest days in terms of weather!