Amsterdam is a large city, but the Old Town covers only about four square kilometers—it’s not that big. I usually get around by bike, but this time I decided to explore on foot.
Amsterdam is a city of canals. Central Station, famous as the model for Tokyo Station, is sandwiched between the IJ River to the north and canals to the south. The city of Amsterdam spreads out to the south of Central Station.
Apart from the large Amsterdam Canal, which appears to have been a river originally, there are four canals that encircle the city center in a circular pattern. From the innermost, they are the Singel, the Herengracht, the Keizersgracht, and the Prinsengracht. Several other canals extend radially, crossing these four main canals. The photo shows a sightseeing boat traveling along one of these canals.
アムステルダムは大きな街ですが、旧市街は４キロ四方ほど、それほどの広さはありません。いつもなら自転車ですが徒歩で散策をすることにしました。
アムステルダムは運河の街。東京駅のモデルとして有名な中央駅も北をアイ川の港に南を運河に挟まれています。中央駅の南側にアムステルダムの街が広がっています。
もともと川だったと思える大きなアムステルダム運河を除き、街の中心を円形に囲むように４本の運河があります。内側からシンゲン運河、ヘーレン運河、カイザー運河、プリンセン運河の４本です。それら４本の運河にクロスして放射状に数本の運河が伸びています。写真はそんな運河を行く遊覧船です。
On my first day of sightseeing, my first stop was “Anne Frank House.” It’s located in the northwest part of the city, facing the outermost Prinsengracht. My youth hostel was southeast of the city center’s “Dam Square,” so it was practically on the opposite side of the city. The distance was probably just over a kilometer.
I walked along the canal near the youth hostel toward Dam Street. As I walked down Dam Street, two canals appeared on my right. The area along those two canals is the red-light district known as De Wallen (literally “the walls,” though it’s famous for its “red windows”).
[Hmm, so it’s down that canal. I’ll check it out when it gets dark.] Even in the bright sunlight, there’s a somewhat shady atmosphere.
I kept walking and came out at Dam Square. Maybe it was still early, but there were no street musicians—the city’s famous attraction—and only a few tourists here and there.
I walked straight past the back of the “Royal Palace” facing the square and arrived at the “West Church” on the fourth canal, the Prinsengracht. A short walk to the right from there—[Wow, there are quite a few people here]—brought me to my destination, “Anne Frank House.”
There were already many tourists there. “Anne Frank House” features large windows covering an entire wall, just like a typical Dutch home. From the outside, the building appears to be four stories tall.
Right after arriving in the Netherlands, I had noticed that the windows in all the houses were uniformly large. I was even worried enough to wonder, “With windows this big, are the walls strong enough?” Later, I heard that it’s precisely because the Netherlands has so many cloudy days that they value sunlight so much.
Admission was 3 FL (about 250 yen). I picked up a map with Japanese explanations at the reception desk and followed the route inside.
観光初日、まず向かったのは「アンネ・フランクの家」。場所は街の北西、一番外側のプリンセン運河に面しています。ユースホステルは街の中心「ダム広場」の南東にあり、ちょうど真反対の位置になります。距離的には１キロちょっとでしょうか。
ユースホステル近くの運河沿いをダム通りへと出ます。ダム通りを進むと右手に２本の運河が現れます。その２本の運河沿いが De Wallen(デ・ワーレン＝飾り窓 本来の意味は城壁)と呼ばれる歓楽街です。
［ふーん、この運河の奥か。夜になったら覗いてみよう］明るい日差しの下でも何となくあやしい雰囲気が感じられます。
そのまま歩いて行くとダム広場に出ました。まだ時間が早いのか名物のストリート・ミュージシャンの姿はなく、観光客もチラホラといった感じです。
広場に面した「王宮」の裏手を真っ直ぐ進み、４本目のプリンセン運河に面した「西教会」に出ました。そこから右へ少し行くと［へぇー、けっこう人がいるじゃん］お目当ての「アンネ・フランクの家」です。
すでに多くの観光客がいます。「アンネ・フランクの家」は一般的なオランダの家の特徴そのままに壁一面に大きな窓が取り付けられています。外から見る限り建物は４階建てのようです。
オランダ入国早々、家々の窓が一様に大きいのは気付いていました。［こんなに窓が大きくて壁の強度は大丈夫なの？］と心配するほどです。後に曇りの多いオランダだからこそ太陽光を大切にするのだと聞きました。
入場料３FL＝約250円。受付で日本語版の説明付きの見取り図をもらい、順路に従い中へと進んで行きます。
Leave a Reply