We arrived in Amsterdam after a 2-hour flight from Bilbao. We were picked in an Uber driven by an incredibly nice man originally from Afghanistan. He and his wife escaped from Afghanistan 20 years ago. They fled through Pakistan and then passed along through 7 or 8 European countries before landing in the Netherlands. His life was full of hardship and suffering, but he is now happy that his family is safe in Amsterdam. He works about 60-70 hours a week with little time off.
Stories like these make it difficult to be 100 percent anti-migration. He did everything right. But countries have the right to decide who enters the country and have an obligation to investigate and vet the people trying to come to keep their people safe.
We stayed at another Holiday Inn Express, but it was nothing like any Holiday Inn express that I had seen before. It was a 14-story, 500-room hotel overlooking the Amstel river. In fact, we could see from our window the Holland America cruise ship that we were boarding tomorrow.
For some reason, I love Amsterdam. I know. I know. Parts of it are decadent. But it is a vibrant, clean, interesting city with friendly people. And everyone seems to be riding bicycles, which is the most annoying part. God forbid if you are ever caught walking in a bicycle lane. The cyclists get angry. When I say I love it, I mean that most European cities I’ve already visited I could care less if I ever came back. But a few are calling me back. Amsterdam is one of them. Budapest is another. The problem is that when you visit a country for the first time, you are almost obliged to visit the major city and see all the required tourist sites. For me, once that’s done, I’m ready for smaller quaint villages outside the cities.
The name comes from “Amstelredamme” meaning a dam on the Amstel river (not built until 1200). They had to construct a dam because the village was sitting on a swamp.
Before Christianity, the Germanic tribes in the area worshiped multiple gods. Missionaries brought Christianity around the 10th century. The Bishop of Utrecht declared Amsterdam an official city in 1306. Shortly afterward a church dedicated to St. Nicholas was built. By the late 15th century, Amsterdam had over 20 monasteries.
In the 16th century, the Protestant Reformation changed the religious situation in Amsterdam. There were violent uprisings. On May 10, 1535, 40 Anabaptists occupied city hall. Soldiers attacked, captured, and gruesomely executed them. In 1566 came the Iconoclastic Fury in which Calvinists destroyed or defaced Catholic churches, buildings, paintings, and religious images. Finally, in 1578, the Alteratie—a bloodless coup—removed Catholic leaders and replaced them with Protestant leaders. Catholic churches and clergy were replaced by Protestants. Calvinism became the official state religion.
It was our third time visiting Amsterdam. Last year we walked to the Anne Frank house, which was worth it. A few years before that we traveled out to the windmills outside the city and watched people make cheese.
In the morning, we headed straight for the cruise ship and off to Norway. The Scandinavian part of this vacation is what I’m most excited about.
In the 17th century there was some religious tolerance among differing Protestant religions, but Catholics continued to worship in secret. Restrictions on Catholic worship eased in the mid-19th century.
The 1928 Olympic games were held in Amsterdam. During World War II, Nazi occupation eliminated the Jewish population. The Anne Frank story became a symbol of the Nazi occupation and holocaust against the Jews.
By 2015, Christians formed only 28% of Amsterdam’s population. The Netherlands legalized same-sex marriage in 2001. Christianity is the largest religion, accounting for 57% of the population in 2021, but active participation is low.