Skip to main content

New Amsterdam

Here it is, a little bit belated, of why I went to NY this last weekend. Sorry it took so long. Where I stayed didn't have internet access and besides, I only have one regular reader so I figured that you one person could wait a bit until I got back.

New York City wasn't always called New York. The area, as everyone knows, was originally explored by Henry Hudson in 1609 but actually settled in 1613 with Ford Amsterdam being erected in the area now known as Manhattan in 1625 by the Dutch.

The British conquered the area in 1664 from the Dutch. The Dutch later retook the island renaming it New Orange only to trade it in a treaty for Suriname in 1674. Thus giving up their foothold in the North America. At this time in history the Dutch were fading as a world power and the British were rising. The new world area including the 13 colonies were not very profitable yet while Suriname area in South America was.

Today, located about and hour northeast of the City is a small hamlet known as Blauvelt NY. Located on the west bank of the Hudson, this tiny little town was orignally called Greenbrush, the Blauveltville, finally Blauvelt. And yes, this is named after my ancestors. How cool is it to have a complete town named after you, in a way. So that's where I stayed and the reason for my visit.

I know this is a very brief overview but I'm going through the pictures and deciding what I want to share later so you'll get more indepth later.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

de Vries, Hans de Vries. Almost.

In 1967 THE James Bond (Sean Connery) decided to step away from the world of James Bond films. EOS studios thus had to find a replacement. It came down to 5 men. 2 Brits, an American, a Australian, and a Dutchman. John Richardson, Anthony Rogers, Robert Campbell, George Lazenby, and Hans de Vries. None of those names ring a bell? George Lazenby won the part for the 6th Bond film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service. A movie that has been lauded both as the worst and one of the best Bond films in the franchise. If you haven't seen it, you should. It was the Bond film that 'Breaks the Fourth Wall', Bond gets married, wears a kilt, and goes skiing. But the reason for this post is instead of this; (Yes, THAT is James Bond) We could of had this. Improvement? Probably not. He looks a wee bit angry. Plus, no one watches OHMSS anyway. So, did de Vries have a movie career after Bond? Ha, no. The only notable movie rolls I can find for him were pre bond. And that was

General Recommendations for Amsterdam

Do not be sucked in by Argentinian or Italian restaurants, they are everywhere instead go to the outskirts of town for some excellent local food. Come in through central station-> if coming with luggage prepare yourself to wheel your bags over rough cobblestones to your hotel. Walk streets before biking them, otherwise you will get hopelessly lost. Rental bikes- find one close to hotel or a spot that you want to see as you walk back to the hotel, scout out prices, check your bike before you leave to see if you have a small map attached on the back, be careful about brightly colored bikes because they mark you as a tourist [which tells the Amsterdamers to take it easy on you when biking but also draws unsavory types], always lock your bike completely Try to get off Damrak (main tourist street)- it's really crowded with luggage wheeling tourists, full of souvenir shops, and lousy restaurants Canal boat tours are worth it especially if your feet are tired from walking

Voedsel

If you enjoy eating delicious food and/or being gastronomically adventurous your entertainment surrounds food.  That being said I will try almost anything once and the Netherlands does not have many foods that really scare me ( cow tongue, squid, chitlins) When we set our feet down in Amsterdam I immediately thought of all the foods I wanted to try.  Some words that I quickly became familiar with were 'gesloten' (closed) and open and the abbreviations for the days of the week The food. Pickled herring-> no I didn't try them.  I know, I know; during the winter they only have the canned variety so you need to wait until May-June to get the years fresh catch called 'hollandse nieuwe' Bitterballen-basically hush puppies.  They can be filled with different things. Frites-normally with frites sauce which is most similar to mayonnaise, but it is a tad lighter with a hint of lemon in my opinion.  The food to eat in Amsterdam, no you can not start a diet while tr