FOr the guests finding good walking routes, the province of North Holland is probably not a clear choice. The scenery is popular as flat with local pancakes and attractive mountains, forests and waterfalls are in short supply.
Head to the countryside south of Amsterdam, however, and you will find great walking routes in the middle of a quintessentially Dutch scene of green fields, windmills and waterways. Walks along the Amstel River, which flow north to Amsterdam, also offers an opportunity to follow in popular footsteps. Rembrandt Van Rijn lived in almost all of his life near the river, loves to walk its banks and make some beautiful pictures here. In Amsterdam celebrated its 750th birthday in June, it was a good moment to see the city from a different angle, along with the waterway that gave the city a name.
My walk in the footsteps of Rembrandt begins with Ouderkerk Aan de Amstel, a small town a few miles south of Amsterdam. Ouderkerk is not big but it is very pleasant; A warren of narrow brick streets that are cradling along the river, with a tall church tower standing in the middle like a shocking drawing. It wasn’t long before I took a moment to see Beth Haim’s cemetery, where twelve -old old gravestones tilt to soft grass. Nearby, the streets are full of diggers stacked with sandbags, and warnings of signs: Let the OP! Drijfzand .
After leaving Ouderkerk, I was walking north with a narrow gravel footpath that tracked the amstel like a handrail. It was a glorious sunny day, with birds walking in and out of tall bustle in the river river, and rowers were walking throughout the water like skittery insects. But despite all this movement, the amstel itself itself is quiet as a mill pond – in a land without hills, you can hardly say many waterways.
As I walked north, the amstel was initially lined with terrace houses but the scenery soon opens, with elevated rivers offering views throughout the Emerald fields. During the golden age of Amsterdam in the 17th century, many of the wealthy city traders owned homes on weekends. Today, most older homes are replaced by modern mansions, but there is still a wonderful creation of the 18th century left, the oostermeer, with a stunning gravel drive. I took a picture and solved that if my little book on Amsterdam became a best seller, I will also buy a palace here.
Continuously north, I pass a rock obelisk as high as a house, etched in words Terminus Proscriptionis. Studying my map, I realize it is a Banpaal . Rembrandt, as a well -known -known expense and love of the rat, may be lucky to have avoided himself. A mile or later, on a huge bend in the river, there was a beautiful windmill next to a large statue of Rembrandt who knelt on the grass on the hat and cape, which sketched on a pad resting on his knee. Looking at the south, I see a view that has not changed much since Rembrandt has been —etched it in 1641: a Rumpled Meadow, a slender church tower in the distance, and a small boat sailing on the river.
Five miles after leaving Ouderkerk, I arrived at the correct Amsterdam. After the silence of the countryside, the city’s haste came as a shock. The narrow riverside trail was replaced by wide streets with clanging trams, joggers, cars and cyclists. Here, the amstel is probably half the width of the Thames river, and is lined with large old barges in sailing that have converted to houseboats. Rembrandt sketched another picture showing this place, known as The Omval, with a massive tree standing like a gnarled fist by the river. Things look different these days. Just after noon a day, the restaurant’s restaurant terraces overlooking the amstel were filled with people drinking white wine and eating expensive salads. Dutch works some of the shortest times in Europe, and it shows.
I go north, past the H’art Museum, which will take up a Rembrandt exhibition from April 9. Then I crossed the river over a dirty blauwbrug, or blue bridge, which was not blue. Rembrandt drew a popular amstel view from Blauwbrug in the late 1640s, now in Rijksmuseum. Looking for West I see the Grand Waterside Home of Rembrandt’s Patron Jan Six, which has assigned a lot of works. If you ask well, many weeks in advance (through the six collection website), you can be allowed inside to see the picture made by Rembrandt of Jan six in 1654, now hanging so six appears to keep a careful eye on the river.
After the Newsletter Promotion
After a short trip to see the large statue of Rembrandt on the tourist Rembrandtplein, I walked away from Amstel to Nieuwmarkt, a wide square ring of bars and cafes. The space is dominated by WAAG, a large turretted building. It is here that Rembrandt created one of his most famous works, the lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp’s anatomy, showing doctors who fought the body of a killed criminal. Near, in Nieuwe Doerstraat, you can also see the place where Rembrandt delivers his most popular work: The Night Watch.
I walk south with the belt antoniesbrestraat. My final stop is hard to miss: on a street of ugly modern buildings there is a good 17th century front; A five -storey brick mansion with red shutters on windows such as doors to an advent calendar. This is the house where Rembrandt has lived for almost two decades, now a museum. The interior is mainly a modern change but it is difficult not to feel a seizure of chaos when you see the Sunlit studio where he painted some of the most popular arts of history.
The museum closed and I hung out on Sluyswacht, a pub across the street in a small lockkeeper cottage that seemed to be lifted from the pages of a fairytale. This place is not as age as Rembrandt – it was built 26 years after it died – but it was definitely one of the most attractive -attractive pubs in Europe. I sit outside the gutter, drink a Pilsje of beer and eat a plate of cheese, and think: that rembrandt, he has a great taste.
Amsterdam invented, a history of Europe’s largest city in Ben Coates’ ten walks has been published by Scribe UK (£ 12.99). To support the Guardian and the observer to buy a copy at GuardianBookshop.com. Delivery charges can be applied
