Thursday, November 29, 2007

Not-So-Old St. Nick

Sticking with the "Sinterklass" theme in a more abstract way ... this is the view to the Sint Nicolaaskerk (St. Nicholas Church) in Amsterdam. Built in the late 1800s, when it was again considered "safe" to openly practice catholicism, it "replaced" the old St. Nick church which simply became the Oude Kerk (Old Church) after the protestant reformation.
The church looks imposing and somewhat gloomy from it's front face that you see when you leave Central Station. But I think it blends in nicely from other vantage points in the city.

It can be challenging to find "charm" in Amsterdam, but it's there. Every once in a while you can find a bit of tranquility, even on a busy weekend day.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

It can be challenging to find charm in Amsterdam?? how insulting to write that about Amsterdam. You should move back to the your country.

R&R said...

I'm all for criticism, positive and negative. But comments like "move back to your own country" are not constructive, and the fact that the previous comment was anonymous only proves to me that the person who left the comment doesn’t even deserve a response.

However, in case anyone else interprets my statement in a negative way, I will explain further. Anyone who has visited (or lived in) Amsterdam knows that it is an extremely busy city. It’s hectic with all the people, bikes, trams, cars, etc. To many tourists it is just a stop to leer at the windows in the red light district, or get drunk at a stag party, or whiz in a canal. My meaning is that the city might, at first glance, appear to be crass and commercial. But you only have to turn a corner to find that it's not always so, and it's always possible to find a nice spot.

We enjoy Amsterdam very much, which is why it has featured so often on this blog. I challenge the person who made that comment to read the previous posts on Amsterdam on this blog ... I think the words and pictures speak for themselves.

Anyone who wants to leave a negative comment is welcome to do so, but I will not hesitate to turn off anonymous comments if they feel necessary to do so in an insulting manner.

And I hope the commenter learns to lighten up a bit!

Fénix - Bostonscapes said...

And space cakes, you forgot to mention that... ;D

Anonymous, you should lighten up, indeed. Look, I LOVE all things Dutch. The people and their culture, the history, the architecture, the traditions, the Dutch spirit, even some of the food (yeah, some, because, regretfully, that's the one thing the Dutch are not very good at) and yet, if I had to name the most charming cities in Holland, Amsterdam wouldn't be make it to my top five choices. At least not in the past 50 years.

Fénix - Bostonscapes said...

BTW, that's a delightful view of Sint Nicolaaskerk. Can't wait to see your theme day post.

Neva said...

I did turn off (or is it on?) the anonymous comment box. If you have a comment, do it with your name,,,oh well. I like your blog and I haven't been to Amsterdam but my son has and he has said the same thing as you. busy, hectic but can be charming . what is so wrong with that ? sometimes you wonder about people!

R&R said...

Fenix ... you said it. Neva, I can't imagine anyone leaving bad comments on your blog!
Thanks.

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

Hi R,
Great 'playing with words" also a great church thanks:)

Lezard said...

I can't believe you left this comment on your blog...Being from an anonymous, I think I would have deleted it right away, being an insulting comment.

Anyway, this is a beautiful picture, the reflection is great. I lived in Amsterdam for a while, it is a very nice city to live in provided you do not have either kids nor a car!!!