If you are a Brit, a trip to Paris or Amsterdam is but an hour or so away and most have fitted in, at least, a weekend to either or both cities. Likewise, Antipodeans and Americans do not venture to Europe without ensuring a trip to Paris is on the cards.
Given that most readers ‘have been there and done that’ I thought I’d come at this from a different angle.
European history is vast. France and the Netherlands have come together through art and sovereignty and a common enemy war and severed ties through the same!
We found so much similarity we thought instead we’d compare and contrast!
Coming from the UK, the first thing one notices when flying into the cities or brooding over the edge of the Eiffel tower is that both have all their historical buildings in tact. While citizens in both probably starved during WWII there was little physical bombing and therefore everything still stands as it did a hundred years ago. While it makes for pretty cities it means that nothing changes much and it’s such a shame as the new architecture of the London skyline with the ‘Cheese grater’’ Television remote/walkie talkie’ and ‘Shard’ and for me leave London feeling a bit more hip and exciting.
The Dutch with their dancing houses along canals (dancing because the ground which is sand is shifting) are stunning and the height prevents you looking into the grey sky (It’s always so cold!). We loved the artwork and gargoyles on the house fronts and peered through windows on basement flats.
The French seem to have cornered the market on buildings in cream grey stone. While there are differing styles of buildings the stone gives a sense of lightness that neither London or Amsterdam have but old buildings mean that when staying in a typical Parisian apartment you are reminded that the king size bed you love would never fit in and neighbours need to be friendly when in such close proximity to each other and it just wouldn’t be French to have wall to wall glass windows.
The wider streets of Paris certainly provided more space for cars and Steve demanded we stand at the Arc de Triomph for an hour as the Whyalla boy in him expectantly awaited a car crash or two. He left disappointed! Comparatively in Amsterdam the narrow roads and ‘killer bicycles’ are the ones to watch for. You don’t need to be in ultra tight lycra pants here to ride a bike so was good not to see too many MAMILS her (Middle Aged Men In Lycra as we call them in Oz). High heels and umbrellas are quite acceptable attire and the only helmet anybody refers to are the ones in the red like district (which obviously with two kids we didn’t go to)
Both cities had legions of smokers. For our Australian kids who haven’t seen anyone smoke because a pack of 25 cigarettes costs over AUD$20 and it is banned almost everywhere this was crazy. It meant in both cities we had to eat inside instead of out. Not a problem when it’s only 14 degrees but would be a shame in summer. Neither kid is new to the smell of marijuana as we’d been through Denver where it is legal, but the proliferation in Amsterdam made Kyran feel very sick and was a reminder that legal or not it shouldn’t be near kids.
So onto art!
Steve desperately looked for an excuse to opt out when I’d made plans for the Louvre. I followed everyone’s instructions and booked before time to avoid queues, which was successful, but we were unprepared for the throngs of tourists inside. For such a stunning building, with a myriad of valuable collections it was a heinous experience. Erin had been planning her Paris trip for months with a serene moment looking at the Mona Lisa as a moment of glory.
The truth is, that on this school day in May, we couldn’t even get close enough to see it. We were jostled out of place by hundreds of Asian (mainly Chinese) tourists whose main aim was to take selfies and pictures of each other with artwork behind. Unfortunately this is what they did through the whole museum. Worse still, these groups took photos and videos of our children (guy looked at me blankly when I told him to stop) as well as the school children trying to get a lesson from an art teacher.
In contrast a visit to the Rijksmuseum and Van Gough museum in Amsterdam where cameras and photos are not allowed was a great experience. If you want to speed through the lines I recommend an online ticket purchase.
Art is a personal thing and never more so when a man uses it to battle depression. The excellent Van Gough museum felt like you were walking through one mans struggle with himself and his place in the world. He was a prolific painter with (according to a plaque on the wall) over 200 paintings and 500 sketches you can literally see through the canvas’ the days of anxiety and anguish vs. the days of lucidity especially in the self portraits.
We were amazed to see that Van Gough spent a lot of time in Montmarte, where we had visited the week before. He had plenty of artistic buddies naming Gauguin, Bernard and Lautrec as close friends. We got to see a lot of their work in the Met (NYC), the Louvre as well as the Rijks (Amsterdam) and Van Gough museum. I think he must have drove them mad with his depression / rantings and attempts of emulating their styles and not least attempting to razor his mate Gauguin after a night on the terps…. So our visit to the art galleries not only gave us a lot of information on art but a good insight into mental illness.
Our visit to Montmarte was marred by bad weather. We went for views from the Sacre Coeur but the rain kept clouds close and instead took shelter inside the basilica where a mass was being said. It was pretty wonderful (especially as the priest spoke 5 languages) and sat for that instead and had an ‘alternative experience!’
Revolution and Napoleon History
We have learnt on our travels that the American Revolution was a trigger for over extending royals everywhere. The Spanish lost control quickly of south American countries as they revolted and it didn’t take more than 10 years for the French to figure out they didn’t need their royal family either. However, the French were obviously used to a despot in charge because it didn’t take long to pronounce an emperor in Napoleon Bonaparte.
All I knew of Napoleon previously was that he was short and had a wife called Josephine (as in ‘not tonight….’) and that Nelson and his pigeons hover over a square dedicated to a battle against him. I was ignorant and wow have I missed some riveting European history.
This bloke was a legend. He took over France, Netherlands, Italy oh and the rest of Europe! No wonder the Brits hated him. His legacy is everywhere – in buildings, museums and education system to name a few.
He is buried in the Hotel Invalides in Paris in one of the the biggest tombs I’ve ever seen.
Originally the Hotel Invalides was built by Louis 14th to house injured soldiers but now should be on everyones to do list. It’s only a 20 minute walk to Eiffel Tower and houses 3 museums: Napoleon’s tomb, lots of information on his history, the army museum and an outstanding long term exhibition to the two world wars. You can’t physically miss the building, as it’s as stunning on the outside as it is on the inside with its golden dome. Children are free but you have to negotiate with the ever-friendly French to get your ticket (more on their outstanding personalities later).
The Rijksmuseum also houses some terrific art on Napoleon and the battle of Waterloo and Trafalgar and it was great to pull this information together in the space of a week. I’m off to see my historian brother next week in York and I’m sure he’ll fill in the gaps.
And the rest
We took the recommended dinner on a riverboat cruise down the Seine (Paris) on our first night to see all the sights. Well worth it as sights and food were great.
It goes without saying that the food in Paris was far superior to Amsterdam. A town that puts sex and drugs on it’s main to do list was never going to be a gastronomic haven. However, In Amsterdam, we found the winner of the best Dutch burger in restaurant Termarsch and Co; chips (fries) and garlic mayo are pretty good everywhere, and finally, the floating Sea Palace, may look a bit tacky but has outstanding Chinese food and service.
In Paris, we stayed in a 2 BR apartment/hotel in the Latin Quarter and were a 5-minute walk from Rue Mouffetard. There was outstanding food in almost all restaurants. No specific names as everywhere we went we ate well and kids loved the Crepes.
The French are well known for refusing to speak English. While the more touristy places have had to adapt, waiters still glare at you if you mutter in English. I speak no French having studied German and Spanish and it was entertaining to see Steve give it a go. I personally think his winning smile and his ability to use Google translate got us through.
The Dutch are the opposite. Everyone speaks English and travel was very easy.
We got out of Amsterdam for half a day by visiting Volendam and Zaans Schans where all the windmills are. One wonders how Netherlands will get out of the great global warming and sea level rise in one piece. Half of the country is made up of canals and the slanting buildings, are a sign of shifting sands. According to the guide the Dutch are outstanding at keeping the water at bay and while the rest of the world will succumb the Dutch and their engineering will keep the country afloat.
It was great to get out of the city and made us resolute to put more country into our future trips.
We couldn’t get into Anne Frank house. As of May 1st 2016 you must book online for tickets from 9am-3.30pm and it is fully booked. You can queue in the afternoon but the queue was almost two hours long and we didn’t have it in us.
Eiffel Tower. To get official tickets to the summit you need to book a few months out. We missed this and instead booked through a company on Expedia. It was about double the price but worth it.
Cathedral of Notre Dame – Stunning but heaving again with tourists. Had the unique experience of listening to a choir of over 70’s belt out some French Hymns- once again Chinese were going down to the front snapping pictures forgetting that this is a religious place!!
Accommodation
In Paris we stayed at Villa Daubenton. Came recommended by family in Australia. Terrific location and price and came with free Wi-Fi for when you are out and about (very useful when using Google map and translate!). The dark blue interiors in our two-bed apartment were a bit overwhelming but the full kitchen was a good addition even if was just for cups of tea.
In Amsterdam we stayed in a houseboat found on Airbnb. It was like a tardis. ‘Monika’ is an enormous two bedder with full kitchen and two flat screen TVs where we could watch English movies with Dutch sub-titles. Location is on the main canal entrance at Prince Hendrickks so not a small quaint area but once inside we didn’t care.
In both instances we travelled via plane from City Airport. Eurostar was several hundred pounds more expensive for our trip to Paris and we found that flights from City were much more convenient than both Eurostar and the major airports given our location in SE1. For us, it is also important, during this time of potential terrorists attacks that we have booked all our flights from the ‘smaller London airports’ such as Southend, City and Stanstead and avoided long check in and customs queues. Getting from the airport to Amsterdam was 15 minutes in the train, which was so easy. From Orly (not CDG airport) to our apartment in Paris it meant a taxi.
Lastly travel…
Metro is the way to go in Paris. Instructions on the ticket machine can be translated into English so it became quite easy.
In Amsterdam we hired bikes and negotiated the roads. Lots of fun.
To be honest in both cities we walked as much as we could and knocked off 20,000 steps on Steve’s pedometer a day which helped validate the very large glasses of wine at the end.
Off to York and Edinburgh on our next travels and just booking Italy for after that.