Yep again, the rowing festival

It is a yearly festivity, in the canal in front of my house, always in October, close to a hundred rowing boats try to beat the record time rowing through Amsterdam. It's always fun to watch as some are not so good, see the example below (click on it to see the full size one):

House hunting

with a camera that is :-).

Below some examples of nice houses for sale in Amsterdam in an area I could live in, pictures taken today.

New York

This year it is 400 years ago the Dutch (with an English captain though ...) discovered Manhattan ....

New Amsterdam (Dutch: Nieuw Amsterdam) was a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement that later became New York City.

Thetown developed outside of Fort Amsterdam on Manhattan Island in the NewNetherland territory (1614-1674) which was situated between 38 and 42degrees latitude as a provincial extension of the Dutch Republic as of1624. Provincial possession of the territory was accomplished with thefirst settlement which was established on Governors Island in 1624. Ayear later, in 1625, construction of a citadel comprising FortAmsterdam was commenced on the southern tip of Manhattan and the firstsettlers were moved there from Governors Island.

Earlier, theharbor and the river had been discovered, explored and charted by anexpedition of the Dutch East India Company captained by Henry Hudson in1609. From 1611 through 1614, the territory was surveyed and charted byvarious private commercial companies on behalf of the States General ofthe Dutch Republic and operated for the interests of private commercialentities prior to official possession as a North American extension ofthe Dutch Republic as a provincial entity in 1624.

The town wasfounded in 1625 by New Netherland's second director, Willem Verhulstwho, together with his council, selected Manhattan Island as theoptimal place for permanent settlement by the Dutch West India Company.That year, military engineer and surveyor Krijn Frederiksz laid out acitadel with Fort Amsterdam as centerpiece. To secure the settlers'property and its surroundings according to Dutch law, Peter Minuitcreated a deed with the Manhattan Indians in 1626 which signified legalpossession of Manhattan. He was appointed New Netherland's thirddirector by the local council after Willem Verhulst returned home inNovember 1626.

The city, situated on the strategic, fortifiablesouthern tip of the island of Manhattan was to maintain NewNetherland's provincial integrity by defending river access to thecompany's fur trade operations in the North River, later named HudsonRiver. Furthermore, it was entrusted to safeguard the West IndiaCompany's exclusive access to New Netherland's other two estuaries; theDelaware River and the Connecticut River. Fort Amsterdam was designatedthe capitol of the province in 1625 and developed into the largestDutch colonial settlement of the New Netherland province, now the NewYork Tri-State Region, and remained a Dutch possession until September1664, when it fell provisionally and temporarily into the hands of theEnglish.

The Dutch Republic regained it in August 1673 with afleet of 21 ships, renaming the city New Orange. New Netherland wasceded permanently to the English in November 1674 by treaty.

The1625 date of the founding of New Amsterdam is now commemorated in theofficial Seal of New York City (formerly, the year on the seal was1664, the year of the provisional Articles of Transfer, ensuring NewNetherlanders that they "shall keep and enjoy the liberty of theirconsciences in religion", negotiated with the English by PetrusStuyvesant and his council).

This weekend: Jordaan festival

Again a big party in Amsterdam, in "De Jordaan", Jordaan Festival.

The Jordaan is a district of the city of Amsterdam in The Netherlands.

The Anne Frank House, where Anne Frank went into hiding during World War II, is located on the edge of the Jordaan, on the Prinsengracht canal. Rembrandt spent the last years of his life in the Jordaan, on the Rozengracht canal. He was buried in the Westerkerk church, at the corner of Rozengracht and Prinsengracht.

The Jordaan is home to many art galleries, particularly for modern
art. The neighbourhood is also dotted with speciality shops and
restaurants, and markets are held regularly at Noordermarkt, the Westerstraat (the Lapjesmarkt textile market) and Lindengracht.

The most common theory on the origin of the name is as a derivation of the French word jardin, meaning garden. Most streets and canals in the Jordaan are named after trees and flowers. Another theory is that the Prinsengracht canal was once nicknamed Jordaan (the Dutch name for the river Jordan), and that the neighbourhood beyond the canal came to be called this as well.

Built in the first half of the 17th century to house the working
class, the Jordaan is now one of the most expensive, upscale locations
in the Netherlands. The neighbourhood has become "yuppified" as many of
the neighbourhood's original working-class residents have moved out of
the city to more affordable locations in recent decades, mainly to Almere and Purmerend.

A view of the Jordaan, at the corner of the Prinsengracht and Bloemgracht canals.

Construction of the Jordaan began in 1612.
The streets and canals where build according to the old ditches and
paths. In the 19th century, six of the Jordaan's canals were filled in,
including the Rozengracht, which is now the main traffic artery through the neighbourhood. Tram lines 13, 14, and 17 run through this street.

The neighbourhood was traditionally a leftwing stronghold, with a stormy history. Heavy riots broke out in 1835, 1886, 1917 and 1934. The February strike of 1941 started with meetings on Noordermarkt square.

The Jordaan had a lively music scene in the 20th century. Several of the most popular musicians, including singer Johnny Jordaan, now have a statue in their memory at the corner of Prinsengracht and Elandsgracht. The Jordaanfestival, celebrating the neighbourhood's music tradition, is held annually.

The Jordaan has a high concentration of hofjes (inner
courtyards), many of them with restored houses and peaceful gardens.
These courtyards were built by rich people for elderly women, as a kind
of charity. By the 1970s most of these courtyards were in very bad
shape, like the rest of the neighbourhood. After their restoration they
were inhabited mainly by artists, students and some elderly people. If
you come across the entrance to a hofje, and it is unlocked,
most residents won't mind if you sneak a quiet peek. Some of the
courtyards are closed to the public, and open only on special "open
monuments days". During the summer some of these yards are opened on
Sundays during free concerts known as hofjesconcerten.

Many houses in the Jordaan have a stone tablet on their facade, a
stone sign displaying the profession or family sign of the inhabitants.
For instance a butcher displayed a pig and a tailor a pair of scissors,
carved in stone above the entry. The first such stone tablets were made
in the 16th century, when citizens were ordered to use these tablets
instead of big wooden gables that obstructed the traffic in the narrow
streets.