Painting the Town Orange in Amsterdam

We stayed in Rembrandtplein while in Amsterdam. This neighbourhood was named after the famous painter Rembrandt van Rijn, who owned a house nearby in the 15th century.

We were told that the Rembrantplein Square is the focal point of nightlight there, courtesy of the many cafes, bars, restaurants, and nightclubs around it. It is the ultimate party place...a far cry from what it used to be in the Middle Ages - a humble dairy market for farmers.

At the centre of the square is a monument dedicated to Rembrandt. It’s ironic how his cast iron statue looks down so pensively at the bunch of revelers around the square, as if wondering why everyone was acting so carefree and happy.

Below the pedestal where he is perched, there used to be a 3D representation of his famous painting, "Nachtwacht (The Night Watch)," a group portrait of a company of civic guardsmen whose primary purpose was to serve as defenders of their city. In the painting, the figures are depicted in action, with the characters coming alive as they go about their tasks, instead of them standing so stiff and dignified, as how they are normally represented in other paintings. The tableau looks more like a frozen frame from a video of a dynamic scene, rather than a posed portrait. The sculpture inspired by the painting was a major tourist attraction, for visitors were allowed to take pictures among the 22 statues. However, at the time of our visit, they had been removed due to frequent vandalism. I was disappointed for not seeing this.

As evening approached, the already busy district turned into a crazy zoo. Things swiftly got a lot noisier and a festive atmosphere naturally unfolded as the restaurant diners watching an important FIFA match that involved the Dutch team turned to beer-drinking and cheerleading after dessert.

The party became a lot wilder when the Dutch soccer team won the match. Apparently, that season, they were strong contenders for the World Cup (sorry, I am not a soccer fan so I did not get all the details) and the Dutch people were in full support. The whole town seemed to have conglomerated in the square and they were painting the town orange…yes, orange…not red.

People were wearing orange shirts, orange hats, orange shorts, orange socks, orange headbands, and orange anything that you could don in any part of the body, including face paint. There were orange balloons, orange banners, orange pompoms, and even orange mascots dancing around. Why orange? Isn’t the Dutch flag red, white, and blue? Where did the orange come from?

Our Tour Director, who walked with us to the square, explained that orange is the colour of the Dutch Royal Family because the lineage of the current dynasty is the House of Oranje-Nassau. Oh yes, I remember the succession of the Dukes of Orange, which was the name of a medieval principality in southern France, starting with William I (from my History of Western Civilization class at university; it pays to listen to your professor).

The people of Netherlands have adopted this royal colour to symbolize national pride. So now, they wear orange not only on their Queen’s Day, but on the all-important World Cup soccer games as well...and we were first-hand witnesses!

The Dutch certainly know how to party. The whole square was filled to the rafters with boisterous crowds at the outdoor patios, toasting with their beer mugs, jumping, and screaming at each other to celebrate the night’s victory. There were street musicians and street performers in every corner and the bars were overflowing with youngsters who took to dancing in the streets.

My husband and I zigzagged our way to the side streets away from the party people to do some window-shopping. We found a relatively calmer section filled with noteworthy shops, along with the usual souvenir stores selling tacky items.

We checked out jewelry stores that sold decent diamonds (we were just looking), and sampled quality Dutch cheese (Boerenkaas, Edam, Maasdam, Leyden, Graskaas, and Gouda - my favourite). We had fun with Dutch clogs and wooden shoes and admired Delftware blue porcelain goods. We discovered Dutch birthday calendars called verjaardag that only feature dates without accompanying days or years, used specifically to remember family birthdays and anniversaries. We looked at fresh tulips and flower bulbs, as well as their wooden equivalents.

We purchased some Delfware magnets for our collection and a few tulip and windmill-themed calendars. And best of all, we got some stroopwafels to munch on while walking. These are local treat made of two thin waffle cookie layers filled with syrup, usually paired with coffee or tea. Traditionally, one puts it on top of the cup of hot drink to soften one side, while keeping the other side crispy. But we didn't even bother with the drinks.

The one thing every tourist should watch out for is the throng of bicycles around the city. Bikes rule Amsterdam. Since navigating by car through the city centre is discouraged, Amsterdam is overtaken by bikers. People use bikes not just for exercising or riding around but literally for everything. I saw parents hauling little kiddie carts to and from school, construction workers deftly maneuvering the handles on one hand and carrying their tools on the other, grandmas balancing shopping bags behind, and pet-owners taking their puppies and kitties out for a bike stroll in their little baskets.

Our Tour Guide warned us early on, to be very careful not only while crossing the main streets, but more importantly while walking along the sidewalks. She added that tinkling bells sounds are usually followed by a speeding bike and that we should be attentive enough to step aside quickly. The warning bells are sort of the biker’s way of saying, “I’m coming fast and I am not changing directions so you better move away if you do not want to get hurt.”

It didn’t take long for our group to get her point. One of my tour mates almost got hit as he was stepping out of the hotel lobby. Wow, talk about a close call with “death…by bicycle!” Only in Amsterdam indeed!

There is a lot more that I would like to see and do in Amsterdam. Unfortunately, we had to head out to our next destination early the following day. I made a mental note of what I’d explore if I get the chance to go back there – the Van Gogh Museum, the Anne Frank House, the Stedelijk Museum, Rijksmuseum, the Royal Palace, the Begijnhof, and go up close to a windmill, or take a peek at their famous Red Light district just to see what it’s like.

I also have an old university friend who lives in the Netherlands, near the Belgian border. I didn’t get to meet up with her on this trip. Perhaps, we could plan something for next time.

We left Amsterdam right after breakfast the next morning, passed Arnhem, site of the most famous battles of World War II because of its strategic location along the banks of the Rhine River. Our guide briefly told us why it’s significant.

The Allied Forces planned to secure all bridges across the rivers in then-Holland so that they could advance rapidly into the lowlands of Germany. However, due to a series of mistakes, they failed to secure this bridge at Arnhem, resulting to their defeat. Had the plan been carried out without the unexpected snags, the war would have ended by Christmas of 1944. But alas! It delayed the Allied advance into German territory until the following Spring.

It's funny (not the laughable kind of funny, though) how one incident, no matter how minor, could start a domino effect, and that a single error could alter an outcome with some serious implications. Come to think of it...sometimes in life, a seemingly trivial decision could really change our lives and those of others forever.

The war in Europe didn’t end until May 1945, with Germany’s unconditional surrender. According to our guide, a 1977 movie called Bridge Too Far was based on the events that happened in Arnhem, but I have not seen it. I was only three years old then.