Atlantica - 01.09.2002, Blaðsíða 28

25 A T L A N T I C A
Peter Kappinga
Hairdresser
Where’s the first place you
take visitors to in
Amsterdam?
“Ij Haven on Java-eiland, for
the architecture and the
‘new’ Amsterdam.“
slant. The reason for this is that the city was built, against the
bible’s recommendations, on sand. The houses stand on pillars,
which are driven through approximately 12 metres of mud and
peat, down into a hard layer of sand, which was formed furing
the Little Ice Age around 10,000 years ago. When a pillar gives up
to the pressures of time, rots and breaks, the building loses its
balance and leans affectionately towards its nearest neighbour.
These crooked houses, with their narrow fronts, are one of the
distinctive characteristics of Amsterdam, along with the canals
which form a 75 km long net around the city. The canals are
around three metres deep, and locals say that they are made up
of one metre of water, one metre of mud and one metre of bicy-
cles, seeing as around 10,000 bicycles are fished out of the canals
every year. This is the old Amsterdam, but those who have time
should also have a look around the newest areas of the city. One
of the most enjoyable areas is Java-eiland, which is a thin island
located northeast of Amsterdam. The approach to the island is
unusual, as the bridge which connects the island to the mainland
lies through an age-old warehouse, pakhuis Willem de Zwijger. At
first glance, it doesn’t look like a very exciting area, seemingly
made up of one enormous five-to-six storey apartment building in
a variety of colours and with differing fronts. It’s not until you get
in among the houses that you realise how cleverly designed the
neighbourhood is, with small canals, plenty of pedestrian bridges
and an unbelievably diverse range of architectural styles. And it
makes you glad to see that it’s possible to successfully build a new
and modern neigbourhood in a city with age-old history and tradi-
tions.
Amsterdam never ceases to surprise.
Jón Kaldal is the editor of Atlantica magazine.
LEFT: THE CONCERTGEBOUW WHERE THE WORLD’S BEST MUSIC TALENTS PERFORM REGULARLY; RESTAURANTS ARE ABUNDANT IN AMSTERDAM.
Icelandair flies five times a week between Amsterdam’s Schiphol and Keflavík
International Airport in Iceland, where passengers can connect to five North
American gateways.
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