Amsterdam

Card no 408 – Gerrit

Views of Amsterdam

Country Card Sent From: The Netherlands

Place Card Sender Lives: Amersfoort

Date Received: 20^th February 2013

Distance Travelled:  355  miles

Time Taken:  6 days

The top view is Central Station.  The bottom three are Nicolaaskerk, Damrak and the Royal Palace.

Church of St. Nicholas (or St. Nicolaaskerk in Dutch) is located in the Old Centre district of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is the city's major Catholic church.  Officially the church was called St. Nicholas inside the Walls, i.e. the oldest part of the Amsterdam defence works.

The Damrak is a partially filled in canal at the centre of Amsterdam, between Amsterdam Central railway station and Dam Square, running north-south. It is the main street where people arriving at the station enter the centre of Amsterdam.  In the 19th century, a section of it was filled in. Because of the former stock exchange building, the monumental Beurs van Berlage, and several other buildings related to financial activities erected there in the early 20th century, the term "Damrak" has come to be a synonym for the Amsterdam Stock Exchange in the same way "Wall Street" is synonymous with the New York Stock Exchange .  Today, the area is known for its restaurants, bars, and currency exchanges. Its canals serve as a busy area for canal boats, as well.

The Royal Palace in Amsterdam (Dutch: Koninklijk Paleis Amsterdam or Paleis op de Dam) is one of three palaces in the Netherlands which are at the disposal of Queen Beatrix by Act of Parliament. The palace was built as a city hall during the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century, construction beginning in 1648. The building became the royal palace of King Louis Napoleon and later of the Dutch Royal House.

The stamps on this card are most unusual – I think Gerrit may have forgotten to put a Dutch stamp on but there were what I assume are Russian ones.

And a San Marino one.