Category: Uncategorized

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

Just like The Coffee Trader blog entry, (blog 40) this is more about the places from the book than the actual book itself. I again selected a book from the: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4284.Books_Set_in_Amsterdam list available online. I did not check the Book Trail website before selecting it, and was surprised after reading it that this book showed up on it also. https://www.thebooktrail.com/book-trails/

The Miniaturist is similarly set during the Golden Age of Amsterdam, so it’s locations are similarly set in the older, central, part of the city. https://www.iamsterdam.com/en/about-amsterdam/amsterdam-neighbourhoods/centre This is super convenient for tracking down the various locations. Similarly to the experience of looking for Coffee Trader locations, searching out where The Miniaturist takes place also forced me to look at buildings I had been just walking right past.

I have modified the map from the book trail website, just a wee bit. I have added a few more places mentioned in the book, most were not key locations, but may add interest. I put the red flag next to their names on the list and the revised map locations. https://www.thebooktrail.com/book-trails/the-miniaturist/ 

Going in order then, our first stop is The Oude Kerk, or Old Church. https://oudekerk.nl/ This is where the novel opens as we witness a very simple, yet surprisingly well attended, funeral service. As was custom, the church is used not only for the service but also for the burying; as in this case the deceased is lowered below the stone floor in the less desirable location of the east corner. The old church is old; it was founded in 1213 and consecrated in 1306. It remains a dominant building within Amsterdam (Red Light District) and since its re-opening in 2013 performs various cultural functions making it central to the community. When I visited it a few weeks ago, the quarterly art installation was “Poems for Earthlings”; an immersive experience which made seeing the actual insides of the church, as a church, difficult as it was dark, lit only by candlelight.

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Item B on the map is the Herengracht. Petronella Oortman has married the owner of the house, Johannes Brandt, and come to live with him on the Golden Bend of the Heregracht. The Gentleman’s Canal is indeed identified by the “B” marker on the map – but this part of the canal is not The Golden Bend of the Herengracht. I have added a red marker to the map to indicate the actual location of the Golden Bend which is further east in the newer half of the canal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gouden_Bocht

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The Kalverstraat is next. It is here that Petronella finds the Miniaturist’s shop and is introduced to the bakery of Hanna and her husband Arnoud by her maid, Cornelia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalverstraat  Just as it was 400 years ago, this is a street filled with small shops selling all types of items; though many now are of the “chain” variety – H&M, Zara, Foot Locker, and of course, McDonalds.

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Stay with me here as we skip two points of interest from the maps list of locations, and spend a few words on The Royal Palace, item number F on the list. https://www.paleisamsterdam.nl/ Previous to becoming royal, this was the City Hall (Stadhuis) which also housed the treasury and dungeons. It is here that Johannes’ friend/enemy, Meermans, works and it is here that Johannes is imprisoned and ultimately sentenced for his crimes.

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Next, after skipping item G, is my added location of The VOC (Dutch East India Company) on the old Hoogstraat. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oost-Indisch_Huis In our story it was here that Johannes Brandt maintained his work office and it was here where a pivotal encounter took place, on which much of the story hinges.

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During a dinner held at Petronella and Johannes’ home on the Heregracht, Agnes Meermans displays her piety by expressing her gratefulness to God that she is not among those who commit petty crimes and are sentenced to work for the city, and for their souls forgiveness at the Spinhuis for women, https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinhuis_(Amsterdam) or the Rasphuis for men. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasphuis (See red markers on list and map)

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As they are out shopping, Cornelia takes Petronella past her old home which carries the sign of children dressed in black and red grouped around a dove, it was the orphanage. We don’t learn much about the maid’s childhood, but we can visit the location – it is now the Amsterdam Museum. https://www.amsterdammuseum.nl/en

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As we return to the list of locations provided by the book trail, we find we have reached the end of locations actually in the book. Item D, The Rijksmuseum, is not part of the story; but is credited with giving the author the idea for it when she viewed the Doll House (curated between 1686 and 1710) which belonged to the real Petronella Oortman, among the collection. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petronella_Oortman

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Item #E is the Vondel Hotel. Just off the canal zone and steps away from the Vondel park, this small hotel is typical of accommodation in this area; notwithstanding the huge Marriot down the street. I have not been inside this particular hotel – but, if I were guessing, the rooms are modern, clean, and very small. It is included because it is said the author, Jessie Burton, stayed in this particular hotel while writing the book.

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Albert Cuyp Market, Amsterdam’s most famous street market, is the final stop on our book trail. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Cuyp_Market While it is old, it dates only back to 1905; 250 years short of the Golden Age. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Golden_Age  It has been added to the list for a particular shop at the market selling the tasty Poffertjes which Cornelia makes for Petronella. http://www.poffertjesalbertcuyp.nl/ These small pancakes are a Dutch treat available not only at Albert Cuyp, but all over the Netherlands.

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With this, another book trail is complete. Putting The Miniaturist in the Little Library down the street, I am moving on to The Light of Amsterdam, by David Park. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13449104-the-light-of-amsterdam I know little of this book other than I have already checked, there is not an existing book trail posted for it and it is not set in the Golden Age; a reading change of pace.

But wait – surely there must have been more than one reference to the ‘gable stones’ (blogs 39 and 40) in this book too; why yes, yes there were. At the “sign of the sun” on Kalverstraat is how the Miniaturist describes their shop location in the Smit’s List. In her first letter to the Miniaturist, Petronella signs her note ‘’at the sign of the dolphin, Herengracht”. It is at the sign of two sugar loaves that they find the confectioners, Hanna and Arnoud. And the text: “Sign of the fox on Prinsengracht” identifies the home of the Meermans.

As you can see below, I have looked pretty hard for these four signs; anything close to a dolphin eludes me still:

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A night in a hotel

The day trip to Delft went so well, we decided to up our game; we planned an overnight trip to Utrecht. What is “Utrecht”? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utrecht Utrecht is about 25 miles south of Amsterdam. The phrase we had heard from many folks is that: “Utrecht is Amsterdam before all the tourists”. It is small, very walkable, and the canals are different from those in Amsterdam; they are two levels. It also has a train museum which is a ‘Benjamin friendly’ attraction. It sounded like a good place to go without actually going too far.

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Off we went taking the national rail out of Amsterdam Central, we were in Utrecht by 9:30 am on a Saturday morning. Utrecht Centraal station is the busiest in the Netherlands, but it is a beautiful and functional new building; easy enough to navigate – if only we could go the right direction out the right door the first time we leave a train station. Nonetheless, we wound our way around to find our hotel (total 10 rooms) on the Oudegracht (old canal). Dropping off our overnight bags we were ready to explore the town.

Our first stop was at the Reitveld-Schroeder house. https://www.rietveldschroderhuis.nl/nl/rietveld-schroderhuis?set_language=en Even though this is one of the ‘top-ten’ things to do in Utrecht, it is not likely I would have found it if Aj had not said we should see it. Even today, this is a modern house with walls and windows that retract allowing great flexibility in how the house is used – it was built in the 1920’s. We learned a lot about the house and its architect, Rietveld, which came in handy on our next stop.

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Next stop, Utrecht Centraal Museum. https://www.centraalmuseum.nl/nl  The museum has multiple furniture items designed by Rietveld. He was a furniture designer before the newly widowed Mrs. Schroeder gave him the opportunity to design her new home. From there, he went on to become one of the most famous designer/architects of the Netherlands. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrit_Rietveld In addition to Rietveld, the museum also had an exhibit on sixty-five years of Miffy. https://www.miffy.com/  https://www.centraalmuseum.nl/nl/tentoonstellingen/65-jaar-nijntje  This was great fun and even included the recreation of the artist’s (Dick Bruna) design studio, which I always find interesting. For the record, there was also a special exhibit on Surrealism and the Sexes, which I intellectually understand – I did not care for it. https://www.centraalmuseum.nl/nl/tentoonstellingen/de-tranen-van-eros

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We ended our day by walking back on the Oudegracht and finding a great tapas restaurant right down the canal from the hotel.

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Next morning, no hurry; I had arranged breakfast in our room. Yes, a tiny bit ‘bougie’, but also kept us out of the germ pool in the breakfast room of the hotel; win, win. We walked the canals back through town, even finding Andy a new pair of shoes – he has to have ‘work clothes’ again now that he is on the “B” rotation back into the actual Coty building. Then on to the train museum. https://www.spoorwegmuseum.nl/  What fun. Giant locomotives and a special exhibit on ‘diners’. A favorite diner car was from Belgium, the BarDisco. A party train carriage that went to the Mediterranean with disco ball, velvet seats, full bar, and flashing lights with music all the way.

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From there we had a rest in the park, they even had anchored lounges, until it was time to go to Dom Tower. https://www.domtoren.nl/en This is the highest (112 meters) church tower in the Netherlands. How flat is the Netherlands? We could see Amsterdam, The Hague, and Rotterdam from the top of the tower; amazing.

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Another dinner at another outdoor restaurant and then it was time to head back to Amsterdam. Mission accomplished; a holiday weekend with a stay in a hotel all safely completed with distancing, hand gelling, and masks on public transportation.

What did we learn during the London Ikea adventure? (See Blog 1) First, it is a whole day thing. We don’t live in Towson anymore. We don’t have a car anymore. Second, know your public transportation options and stops. We got soaked in the rain in London because we had no idea where to catch the bus and kept running from one stop to the next – in the rain. Third, be ready to commit. Know what you need, know that you are not coming back next weekend; take detailed pictures and notes. And, lastly, know it all turns out fine in the end; we found a very good restaurant very close to our initial London apartment because we (me) were too wiped out to walk very far for dinner after the trip to Ikea; this part could happen again, be ready.

The previous paragraph was written on Friday before our Ikea trip on Saturday. We thought we were so much smarter now; turns out, we may be a little smarter, but we are far from being ‘homies’. We scoped out the tram and metro options, which are nothing compared to London, more comparable to Baltimore. There are a few tram lines and two metros. We decided on a combination of tram and metro to keep ourselves above ground. No worries; we have our cards, we have our required masks for public transportation, we have our iPhones for maps. We caught the tram not far from our apartment at Dam Square, easy enough. But, after a while we saw that the tram itself was not staying on the map line – we learned it can be confusing if you don’t speak or read the local language; omleiding in Dutch means detour in English. Luckily, the detour ended before our stop at the intersection with the metro; the trip taking over an hour instead of about 20 minutes.

So, it took longer to get there, but we had time and no rain. The Ikea is huge. Because of Covid, they are set up to limit the number of folks inside at one time, but no need; it was not crowded. We made our way finding a couple chairs for tv watching, a side table for our entry way, a desk for me in the dining room, and a butcher block for a soon-to-be-purchased microwave in the kitchen. Before we got too tired, we made sure we were on the route to the Ikea café. We knew a sit down with coffee and a snack would be helpful in maintaining our sense of humor. We found the café – oops, I forgot to check the website for all Covid required changes the store has in place; café is now take away only for smoothies, bottle drinks, and muffins, no meatballs, no seating. Taking one of each we made our way on to the next section. Luck intervened, and we found a bench next to what used to be a children’s play area which is also closed for Covid. Our Ikea shopping crankies were averted.

We finished our trip without incident and returned via the metro without a problem. Yes, we were empty-handed. We can’t begin to take Ikea items back to our apartment. With the delivery costs the same, its actually easier to order online than wait in person to arrange delivery. The items are in the online ‘winklewagen’ (shopping cart) almost ready to be brought in to the apartment; (waiting on a Netherlands phone number to complete the online ordering requirements) leaving only the problem of putting it all together, but everyone who reads this already knows how that part going to go. And dinner? We stretched out the trip, so it was almost dinner time as we walked back from Centraal Station. As we walked down the Harlemerstraat we settled into an outdoor seat at a restaurant we’ve had our eye on anyway and had some wine as we waited to order our food – on the whole, a successful trip.

Not a big adventure. A lesson about language for sure; and generally, not worth writing too much about. There aren’t even any pictures, but it feels like a circle is complete; so there’s that.

And, it’s only 40 miles from Amsterdam

Netherlands, and the whole of the EU, are in a phased reopening after the extreme lockdowns of the spring and early summer. Wearing facemasks, we can begin to travel for non-essential reasons. We started small.

We both appreciate pottery. Many fun nights were spent with Jay WSC and Dr. Frank in Blaise DePaolo’s pottery courses at Morgan State University. https://www.morgan.edu/college_of_liberal_arts/departments/fine_and_performing_arts/visual_arts/faculty_and_staff/blaise_depaolo.html We know how to roll, cut, throw, scrafitto, and paint at various levels of accomplishment. We know how to cry when things do not come out of the kiln as expected. We know how to celebrate as items are sold for fundraising purposes. We do not though, ‘collect’; especially now as even more of our belongings are ending up in storage boxes. But a few souvenirs from our time in Europe are in order. Our first month here we ordered a set of Delft Blue dishes. A practical move, a souvenir we can use now and later. Yet we remained interested in the process and the history of this unique style of creating decorative arts.

So off we went for our first day trip in months. We scheduled factory tours at the two remaining in the region. We began with the Royal Delft factory (and showroom). The buildings are original, as are the examples of pottery through the centuries in the display cases. This is truly the big time in pottery and yet during the tour we could have easily reached out to touch, and possibly destroy, a multitude of items. https://www.royaldelft.com/  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2q_BR7QF-FozVuSAp3hd_A

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After a lovely lunch at an outside café, we followed the canal path to Heinan Delfts Blauw https://dedelftsblauwfabriek.nl/  Technically, this factory is not in Delft, it is in Rijswijk right next door. A much smaller operation, but still amazing in the handcrafted work produced.

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While we resisted shopping at the Royal Delft, our need for souvenirs ran right into a sale at Delfts Blauw. Always need a new pig. And, it came with free shipping.

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Taking advantage of the coffee and cookies available at the entry desk of Delfts Blue, we were recharged and ready to make our way back to the center of town with just enough time to visit the Vermeer Museum. https://www.vermeerdelft.nl/nl/  This is a very small museum, with none of his original artwork; yet it presents an interesting and fairly detailed look at the times, the man, and the art. He is a great example of ‘hometown boy does well’, and they are justly proud. We both felt like we learned so much; much more than watching The Girl With The Pearl Earring movie. The next day, back in Amsterdam, we went to the Rijksmuseum (https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/ ) where a few of the Vermeer originals are displayed; his work in depicting light was groundbreaking at the time and amazing to see still.

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Following our pattern of the day, a little learning, a little eating; it was time to eat again after Vermeer. The center square of Delft is a very large open area bookended by a church and a city hall and framed by two sides of shops and restaurants. We found a table in the sunny outdoors and reviewed our day over some wine and beer.

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We know we are doubly lucky; not only to be in Europe, but to also be in a region where we can begin again to travel around for pleasure; it was just a day trip, but it meant a lot to us and we are happy to share some of this experience with you.

How do you learn about a new city?

A city like Amsterdam has hundreds of years of history, art, and architecture. Where to begin? We are visiting museums using the social distancing access options available here since June 1. We are watching YouTube videos. We are eating different foods and Andy is drinking the different beers. And, of course, reading.

Several websites list the most popular books set in Amsterdam. One example is: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4284.Books_Set_in_Amsterdam  From this list, I selected The Coffee Trader as my first intentional Amsterdam read. While looking at the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, mentioned early in the book, it occurred to me that I could document Amsterdam book locations in some way, maybe in an Excel spreadsheet. But first, I Googled “The Coffee Trader book locations Amsterdam”. Turns out documenting book locations is not an original idea:  https://www.thebooktrail.com/book-trails/the-coffee-trader/ What follows is an overview, with pictures, of some of the locations the main characters visit in this story. This is not a book review posting, this is a book trail posting. To learn more about the book itself: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Coffee_Trader

Miguel, the Coffee Trader, is a commodity and futures trader on the Amsterdam Exchange in the mid-1600’s, the golden age of Amsterdam. We begin our tour at the site of the Exchange. The actual commodity exchange building referred to in the Coffee Trader no longer exists. That building was built in 1611 and remained in use for over 200 years. https://www.amsterdamredlightdistricttour.com/amsterdam-stock-exchange/ The building was replaced with the De Beurs van Zocker building which in turn has been replaced by the Amsterdam Stock Exchange Beurs van Berlage (The Bourse) still in existence, although now functioning as an events space and home to several restaurants. An adjacent new building, Beursplein 5, is the current home of the Euronext Exchange, combining Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, Lisbon, and London trades.

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Not far from The Bourse is Dam Square. In the 1600’s the square functioned as an open-air market. The square remains and is now the central congregating point of the city with its wide-open area surrounded by restaurants and significant buildings.

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One of the significant buildings Miguel visits on the square is the Town Hall; the brand-new building which first welcomed employees and visitors in 1655. Impressive by any scale at the time or even now; the Town Hall was built to represent the prosperity of the city. https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/rijksstudio/timeline-dutch-history/1600-1665-amsterdams-prosperity So impressive, that when Louis Bonaparte arrived in 1806 it was converted into the Royal Palace, which it remains today. No pictures are allowed to be taken inside. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Palace_of_Amsterdam

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The Palace is adjacent to the New Church on Dam Square. New in this case being relative, it was consecrated in 1409. https://www.nieuwekerk.nl/en/

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Miguel frequents locations on the Warmoesstraat. One of the oldest streets in Amsterdam, today this is a main artery through the red-light district, but “Warmoesstraat used to be an aristocratic street with dignified shops. In the 18th century it became the center of the trade in coffee and tea.” https://www.amsterdamoldtown.com/places-of-interest/warmoesstraat 

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Rosengracht, a street with bars and shops where Miguel, as a Jew, could not be seen – but was. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rozengracht

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In our story, Hanna, Miguel’s sister-in-law, who thought she was Catholic until the day she was married to a Jew, who then told her she was Jewish; makes secretive trips to a hidden Catholic church. It was hidden in a canal house and may have been one of these; hidden no more. Note she was secretive so other Jews would not see her, it was not illegal to be Catholic, just not ‘supported’; many churches were hidden in canal houses. https://www.amsterdam.info/museums/museum_lordattic/ and http://bettinasimpressions.blogspot.com/2014/01/hidden-churches-in-amsterdam.html

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And, it was the Coffee Trader who first introduced me to the ‘gable stones’ or gevelstenen (see blog 39); as Miguel walks along the Herengracht canal admiring the plaques on the houses identifying some owners or their businesses.  It’s possible I may have become obsessed in my search for more gable stones. (the spreadsheet idea is not out of the question, yet) https://www.gevelstenenvanamsterdam.nl/  https://youtu.be/r6-SL5CABkg

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Or, Gable Stones

While reading a book set in Amsterdam, I caught a passing mention of stone markers on the houses of the Herengracht canal. This stood out because that is the canal we live on and I didn’t remember seeing any markers. My next trek out, the search was on for what I now know are Gable Stones, or in Dutch, Gavelstenen.

Since that first mention a week ago, I have learned a lot more about the Gable Stones https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/amsterdam-gable-stones  To begin with, they can be found on many houses, not just the ones on our street. (There are an estimated 650 stones in the city) Most are hundreds of years old, though some homeowners now create them to commemorate significant moments in their house such as remodeling or marriages. The style varies greatly too, from fairly plain to elaborate and colorful designs.

This morning, I stopped on a market street (Haarlemmerstraat) to take the pictures below:

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While I was stopped, a lovely Dutch woman offered: “They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” She understood quickly that I was looking at the gable stones. She knew the history of the stones explaining to me how previous to the invasion of the French in the early 1800’s, gable stones were the house and business location identifiers. The French brought the house numbering system that we know and use today.

This may be an obsession. Looking for the stones whenever either one of us is out and about. You have to look up; most stones are placed about 4 meters high. We don’t know yet what many of them mean – Google Translate does not appear to work on Old Dutch, and the picture itself may not be a direct representation, but we look forward to finding more gevelstenen and learning more of the history they may hold. https://web.archive.org/web/20151222171205/http://www.livius.org/dutchhistory/amsterdam/amsterdam_gevelstenen1.html

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“We are not in Kansas anymore, Toto”

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Our time in London was officially over on May 15, 2020 when Andy’s new contract with the Amsterdam office went into effect. On May 20th we were able to fly from Heathrow to Schiphol airport in Amsterdam to begin our adventure here. We do not recommend moving during a pandemic lockdown. Much of our time has been spent trying to accomplish tasks that a year ago would not require a second thought.

It has been three weeks already; it’s June for heaven’s sake – time flies no matter what country you are in. We have been busy with the usual moving things; utilities, unpacking, opening a bank account, shopping (holy cow, the packaging in the stores is in Dutch), and picking up a little bit of the local culture.

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We do not recommend moving internationally during a pandemic lockdown, but with plenty of help, and plenty of patience, we have done it. Below just a few pictures from our first walk from our apartment on the Herengracht Canal. More details to follow soon.

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Spring is the best time for the lockdown; it doesn’t rain every day, the daylight is over 14 hours a day now, and the flowers are blooming all over. Our UK guidelines include limited trips for food and medicine and one trip outside each day for exercise. We both have walked or ran almost every day for the past six weeks. We have expanded to exploring every side street and path we can find. We have both taken many pictures as we walk around the neighborhood, to the Thames, to Fulham, to Richmond, to Ealing – pretty much every street within a five mile radius of our home. (We, and Aj too, even completed a 10k this past week; https://runsignup.com/Race/MD/Timonium/LiveGiveRunVirtualRaceChallenge)

Last blog I posted pictures that may be unique to London’s lockdown and show some of what it is like ‘over here’. This blog is about the flowers; in particular the Wisteria. It is old, it is crinkly, it is purple for about two weeks (go Ravens!), and it smells wonderful. News of the virus and resulting lockdown does not need repeated here, but I want to remember, and share, that it has been a wonderful opportunity to really take time to stop and smell the [flowers] (roses are in a few weeks).

Above: This is the oldest Wisteria in the UK. It is from 1816. It can be found on the side of Fullers Brewery here in Chiswick.
https://www.fullers.co.uk/blog/brewery-articles/wisteria

Below is a sampling of the wisteria pictures we have taken over the past few weeks:

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