Amsterdam in the Golden Age. A metropolis full of grandeur and remarkable buildings, people and products. Those who would have liked to take a look here will come a long way with the book “Amsterdam for five dollars a day. The guide to going out, sightseeing, shopping, eating &drinking in Amsterdam in the seventeenth century”.
The title immediately reveals the structure of the book. It is intended as a time travel guide for people who wonder what Amsterdam looked like in the Golden Age. The book is not a scientific work with new insights, and researchers (to be) should not expect notes or literature references.
Also a pity for the curious reader is that the captions to the images do not mention origin, maker and year. In the postscript, the authors state that they only read the last quarter of the 17 e century because the urban expansion was then completed. However, the images regularly come from a different period. Maybe no captions to avoid confusion among the readers?
But despite these scientific flaws, which may make the booklet less interesting to historians, the time travel guide has been very successful. It is vividly and visually written and the many beautiful images and examples from the 17 e century reinforce this. As a reader, it is not difficult to place yourself in the dynamic and wondrous, but also perilous and smelly world that the authors describe.
The book is divided into themes. Each chapter deals with a different aspect of life in the metropolis. Below is a short summary of the book per chapter.
1. The journey to Amsterdam
Before the traveler sets off, he or she prepares by reading information about the destination. Also about Amsterdam in the 17 e century. This chapter deals with the city in general. How many inhabitants it has (219,000, but no year is mentioned), the climate and the best transport to reach the city.
Organized carriage services are expensive and uncomfortable because of the bad roads. Most people therefore opt for the tow barge, a typical Dutch mode of transport. The tow barges leave with great regularity and it is a good place to be on the boat. According to the travelers, you don't even realize you're on the road.
2. Stay in Amsterdam
Once you have arrived in the city, it is important to find a place to stay for the night. The traveler can go everywhere, from shabby to chic. A handy tip:approach Amsterdammers and ask them about a good place to sleep. Tourists can also stay overnight at private homes. There are no house numbers or street name signs, so the tourist will be pointed to shop signs and gable stones to find their way.
This chapter also describes different neighborhoods in the city. There are many foreigners in Amsterdam and they like to get together in their own bars, eateries and lodgings. Travelers will not quickly suffer from homesickness. But if you want to try a real Dutch meal and room, there are plenty of waffle houses, snack shops, inns or luxurious men's lodgings.
3. Mores and habits
The Dutch are a bit different and, according to foreigners, have remarkable habits. Despite their wealth, meals are frugal, except on special occasions such as a wedding. Then the food just keeps coming and the drink flowing. The jokes are getting flatter.
The women in Amsterdam are a sight in themselves. They sit in the pub with men, join in discussions and even trade. They are always scrubbing at home. Spitting on their clean floors will therefore not be thanked. The houses may be clean, the people themselves are not. Clothes are washed weekly but the body itself stays away from water because bathing is out of fashion. Both men and women use perfume against unsavory body odors.
4. Living together and believing
Different types of religions live peacefully side by side in Amsterdam. Although the Reformed Church is the official church, many other churches can be found in Amsterdam. Synagogues, Walloon, English and Lutheran churches show off along the canals. Catholic churches are banned but as long as they are not visible they are tolerated. Catholic travelers can therefore simply attend mass in churches that look like private houses from the outside.
On the street, tourists can also distinguish all kinds of faiths, such as Catholics with rosaries or Yiddish-speaking Jews. This is not a problem in this multicultural city. Another striking phenomenon for foreigners is the mixing of rich and poor. Wealthy Amsterdammers have their houses right on the street and not hidden behind high fences. They even walk among the common people to their destination. Amsterdammers themselves know that this equality is only apparent. The rich have the power and make the decisions.
5. Shopping in Amsterdam
Amsterdam is a commercial metropolis. If you can't find it here, it doesn't exist. The 'Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie' (VOC) – the largest employer in the Netherlands at that time – ships the most exotic products. In addition, daily products are also sold, each in its own place. There are meat halls, apple, fish, butter and cattle markets and the Grote Jaarmarkt once a year. Vendors come from everywhere with their merchandise to this free market and then it is a party in the city for weeks.
In addition to the markets, there are also all kinds of shops in Amsterdam. The middle class uses the front part of their house on the street as retail space. From behind the shutters they sell their products such as bread, fabrics, silk stockings or paintings. The Kistemakerspand in the Kalverstraat is remarkable. In this department store you will find the most beautiful furniture made in Amsterdam. But they are so expensive that most tourists don't care.
6. Entertainment in Amsterdam
Even in the Golden Age, Amsterdam is known for its nightlife. Playhouses for dancing and playing cards, gruesome bars or neat wineries for drinking, brothels, theatres, pleasure gardens full of statues and artful mazes or cabinets of curiosities with stuffed animals. There is plenty to do and something for everyone. By the way, don't expect a fancy evening at the theatre:the visitors often enter in a drunken state and chatter quietly throughout the entire performance.
Late in the evening you don't have to be afraid on the street because the new street lighting illuminates you and the night watch runs his rounds. And if you are lost, they will bring you back to your inn. Just don't act rude, because they don't like that and they will punish them severely. Also avoid the dark alleys, especially after a few drinks, because that's where the crooks are.
7. Sights
Also during the day, Amsterdam offers many interesting attractions to visit. The imposing buildings can usually be visited for a fee, so feel free to walk in. The city hall is the most impressive and is also called the eighth wonder of the world. Tourists come from far and wide to Amsterdam to view the lavish interior. This is also where the most powerful men in the city reside:the four mayors.
Near the town hall is the stock exchange building, where tourists can watch the traders from all corners of the globe at work. The anatomical theater in the Waag is also unique:here the corpses of executed criminals are dissected in public. You can end the day with a look behind the scenes at the criminals in the Rasphuis or the "half soles" in the Dolhuis.
8. Surroundings of Amsterdam
Not only is there a lot to see in the city, it is also a good place to be outside. Especially in the warm summers, when the city is stuffy and the canal water smells even worse than usual, the wealthy Amsterdammers move to their country houses. Less charming is Volewijck, which lies outside the city gates and on the north side of the IJ. This is where the corpses of criminals who were executed on the scaffold on Dam Square end. Every hour a boat leaves for Volewijck, which has grown into a sinister attraction for young and old. The many corpses hanging here on gallows and wheels until they have rotted away serve as a warning:stay on the straight path or else you'll end up here!
9. Who's Who in Amsterdam
The authors conclude the book with a chapter about important Amsterdammers of that time, such as the painter Rembrandt, the poet Joost van den Vondel and the architect of the city hall Jacob van Campen. As an encore, the reader is given some useful sentences to make themselves understood in Amsterdam of the Golden Age, of which a few examples:
I need to go to the toilet, where can I find the Pig Lock? I need flowers, where is the Varckens lock with the secret? (The public toilets in the city were above the water, at locks and bridges).
Money for a bite to eat? Go to the homeless shelter, bum!Alms for God's sake for a bite of bread? Go to the Bayerd, ledichganger!
It is a beautiful city, but the people are rather strange.It is a beautiful city, but 'tvolcxken is too dirty.