A blog about (hidden) Amsterdam
Eighty years after the center of Rotterdam was destroyed, I walked through an empty Amsterdam. My city of too many visitors strolling along 17th-century canals while inhabitants whiz by on bikes seemed like an entirely different place without people. Just as pictures of Rotterdam before the bombing seem like another Dutch city, not the Rotterdam we know.
As a foreigner, I adore both cities, though true denizens of both would say that is impossible. Rotterdam is a young city with more people of different classes and different races. Amsterdam has citizens from 196 countries, but they are mostly marooned in smaller groups amidst of sea of tourists and white Dutch people whose forefathers built the canals and have the money to show for it. The difference between Rotterdam and Amsterdam is the difference between Kendrick Lamar and Billie Eilish; they are interesting in very different ways.
Like all local rivalries, the cities have more in common than they do differences. My university in Boston had a number of New York students who fought Massachusetts natives on principle. While studying abroad, both groups were flabbergasted that Europeans would mistake them for each other. Like New York and Boston, Amsterdam and Rotterdam attract a certain type of person and foster a different type. Rotterdam thinks Amsterdam is twee and unreal. Amsterdam, well, I don’t think Amsterdam thinks of Rotterdam much at all.
The first month that COVID shutdowns emptied the city, however, this Amsterdammer thought a lot about the pictures of Rotterdam before and after the Luftwaffe hit it. Like Amsterdam, Rotterdam was a thriving port city clad in red brick and overseen by church spires. It was gone within a day. On the north side of the river, where the center of the town had been, only a church and a couple solid buildings survived. The pictures look like desolation.
Rotterdam now is a modern architecture showcase. It’s said that an architect hasn’t truly made it until they have a building in Rotterdam – and not just by the Dutch! After the war, the city rebuilt with care, attention, and lots of planning. Instead of recreating red brick history, they rebuilt with steel and glass ingenuity. The city is a marvel to look at from any angle. Clean and modern, it’s called the city of the future. The people get an energy from the buildings and they, in turn, funnel it into street culture and tech startups. It’s a special place.
No one would choose the tragedy that befell them. The injuries and deaths were appalling. As a lover of history, I mourn the destruction of the buildings and archives as well. But it is also undeniable that something impressive and unique was created on the foundation of that tragedy.
I tried, as I walked through Amsterdam’s deserted canal belt that day, to find some hope in Rotterdam’s fabulous skyline and culture. They would’ve given anything to avoid the times they lived through, as we would the crises we face today. But they took their loss and shaped it into something monumental. It gave me hope that we might do the same.
Forget canals and piles – Amsterdam is a city built on stories. Some of its most interesting, though, have been overlooked by history. On this socially distanced tour, we stroll through the spacious Plantage neighborhood and stop to hear the untold stories of Amsterdam’s layered history.
When the Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalize gay marriage, four couples were married by the Mayor of Amsterdam. But did you know that the city’s LGBT+ history stretches back to the medieval ages?
See Amsterdam through the stories of the hidden badasses who helped create it. You choose one or several of the themes: women, Jewish people, LGBT+ people or BIPOC. You can also ask for an interest area, such as artistic, academic, leaders or warriors. The tour can be up to three hours and customized by pick-up/drop-off location.