Amsterdam Stairs

We arrived in Amsterdam and took a taxi to our Apple Inn hotel; the taxi driver said "your hotel is under construction" after seeing a big dumpster at the entrance. Judy asked the construction men where to go, and they said "next door".  The second surprise was the stairs; they are very steep with no elevator.  The basic Dutch house is 3 or 4 stories, each with 12-14 feet ceilings but only 10-20 feet wide.  The stairs are therefore very steep; perhaps based on a ship design (ladders).

We visited a house with a Catholic Church built into the top three stories; for 200 years they were not allowed to have a public church- after the alteration of 1578 only protestant churches were allowed.  And we went into the Oude and Nieuwe Kerks- the first two cathedrals in town-taken over and stripped of their decorative arts during the alteration. Both had wooden arch ceilings; neither is still open, although the Nieuwe one is used for coronations- most recently for King Wilhelm III? in April 2013.  And we went on a canal boat tour.  We are here and the City is full of new sights.