Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
houses like this one. To the left of
the house is a display of carved gable
stones that once adorned housefronts
and served as street numbers (and still
do at #19 and #26, the former mother
superior's house).
The brick-faced
English Church
(Engelse Kerk,
from 1420) was the
Beguine church until 1607, when it
became Anglican. The Pilgrims (strict
Protestants), fleeing persecution in England, stopped here in toler-
ant Amsterdam and prayed in this church before the
Mayflower
carried them to religious freedom at Plymouth Rock in America.
If the church is open (its hours are sporadic), step inside to see a
stained-glass window of the Pilgrims praying before boarding the
Mayflower
(far end), an old pew they may have sat on (right wall),
and a 1763 Bible (on the altar) with lot
ſ
of old-
ſ
tyle
ſ
's.
The “hidden”
Catholic Church
(notice the painted-out
windows, second and third f loors) faces the English Church.
Amsterdam's oppressed 17th-century Catholics, who refused to
worship as Protestants, must have eagerly awaited the day when,
in the 19th century, they were legally allowed to say Mass. Step
inside (through the low-profile doorway), pick up an English bro-
chure near the entry, and tap softly on a “marble” column.
Today, Holland still has a religious divide, but not a bit-
ter one. Roughly a third of the population is Catholic, a fifth is
Protestant...and two-fifths list themselves as “unchurched.”
•BacktracktobusyKalverstraat,turnright,andcontinuesouth.Pause
at the intersection with Spuistraat and look to the right.
Spui and Rokin
A block to the right is the square called
Spui
(spow, rhymes with
cow). Lined with cafés and bars, it's one of the city's more popular
spots for nightlife and sunny afternoon people-watching.
A block to the left is the busy street called
Rokin.
A statue
of Queen Wilhelmina (1880-1962) on the Rokin shows her riding
daintily sidesaddle. Remember
that in real life, she was the
iron-willed inspiration for the
Dutch Resistance against the
Nazis.
•Walktowardthestatueand
pause at the canal dock.
Canal cruises
depart from
the Rondvaart Kooij dock (€8,
3/hr in summer 10:00-22:00,
