Surroundings

City Sights: 

AMSTERDAM

Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, has its origins in the 12th Century. It was granted city rights in 1300. It made its mark as a trading post, and the city's ever present water had a major part in this development. Amsterdam is also known for its beautiful historic centre with its charming canals and plentiful shopping streets. Amsterdam has a number of special museums, and other interesting sights of international fame.www.iamsterdam.com  

MUSEUMS 

Van Gogh Museum
A visit to the Van Gogh Museum is a unique experience. The museum contains the largest collection of paintings by Vincent van Gogh in the world. It provides the opportunity to keep track of the artist's developments, or compare his paintings to works by other artists from the 19th century in the collection. The museum also holds an extensive offer of exhibitions on various subjects from 19th century art history. www.vangoghmuseum.nl  

Rijksmuseum
With close on one million objects Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum is the largest museum of art and history in the Netherlands. It is perhaps best known for its collection of 17th-century Dutch masters, with twenty Rembrandts and many other highlights of the period, including works by Vermeer, Frans Hals and Jan Steen.www.rijksmuseum.nl

Anne Frank House
The Anne Frank house is a museum with an impressive history.
This is the house where Anne Frank and her family were hidden and where she wrote her diary during World War II.
 www.annefrank.org 

The Rembrandt House Museum
In the Rembrandt House you will see how the famous painter lived his life and how he painted. Rembrandt's paintings were made in this house.
 www.rembrandthuis.nl 

Madame Tussaud's
In Madame Tussaud's you can meet celebrities from all over the world.
www.madametussauds.nl 

Artis
In 1838, one of the Netherlands' best known zoos opened its doors. Over the years, the zoo has grown and today accommodates different ape varieties, small mammals, nocturnal animals, reptiles, hoofed animals, elephants, predators and birds. There is also an insect house, an African savannah, and an impressive aquarium. Likewise, Artis does not neglect the arts, and also contains a geological museum, a children's farm, a planetarium and zoological museum. In short, Artis is well worth a visit. www.artis.nl  

MARKETS 

Albert Cuypmarkt
This is Amsterdam's largest street market. Situated in the multicultural "De Pijp" area, this market and the adjacent little shops make for a pleasant afternoon's shopping. www.albertcuypmarkt.com   

Flower Market
Situated alongside one of Amsterdam's oldest canals, this market is open throughout the year. What is special about it is the fact that the goods used to be displayed on floating barges. Nowadays most of them are not floating anymore. This is a relic from the time when all the flowers and plants were still brought to this market by barge on a daily basis from the gardens surrounding the city. The Flower Market on Singel is the place to get your flowers and bulbs. 

Nieuwmarkt
On the edge of the red light district and of Amsterdam's Chinese quarter is the Nieuwmarkt. Here you'll find De Waag, one of Amsterdam's old city walls from the 15th Century. A small market is held here every day, offering food items and odds and ends. On Saturdays, there is a market of exclusively organic produce and an antiques market on Sundays. With its surrounding restaurants this area is an absolute must. www.nieuwmarkt.org   

Noordermarkt
This market offers a diversity of goods and is very popular with the locals. For example, a market for organic products is held on Saturdays, and on Mondays, there is a second-hand market for clothing and other articles. The market is situated in the historic Jordaan area. www.boerenmarktamsterdam.nl   

Spui Market
Just three streets behind the hotel a special market takes place on certain days at "Het Spui". On Sundays for example, there is a unique antiques market and on Fridays a book market. http://www.artplein-spui.nl 

Waterloopleinmarkt
The Dutch best known flea market takes place on Waterlooplein along the Amstel. It is open seven days a week. This is where you will find second-hand clothes, bric-a-brac, curiosities and junk. A pleasant afternoon out. www.waterloopleinmarkt.nl 

DEPARTMENT STORES 

Bijenkorf
Originally set up in Amsterdam as a haberdashery shop in 1870, this exclusive department store has grown to become what is perhaps the best known of its kind in the Netherlands. Items of clothing, furniture, cosmetics, gifts, household articles, you will find them here. www.bijenkorf.nl  

Magna Plaza
Based in Amsterdam's former main post office, this grand department store is now home to a variety of shops. Ranging from clothes to gadgets, here you will find what you are looking for. Magna Plaza also has trendy lunch rooms. www.magnaplaza.nl  

Maison de Bonneterie
Over the years it has grown to a reputable department store for Amsterdam. Here you will find the well-known trade marks. Maison de Bonneterie is situated within walking distance of the hotel, on Kalverstraat, one of the city's oldest shopping streets. www.maisondebonneterie.nl


Metz & Co
Metz & Co is quite a special department store that sells items of clothing, gifts and household articles as well as furniture. Its lunch restaurant is on the top floor and offers a beautiful view of the historic centre of the city.
www.metzco.nl

Claire Felicie

Battle Lines Etched on Marines’ Faces

A twinkle in the eye, gone. A smirk, less cocky. An alert gaze, averted.

These triptychs — portraits of Dutch marines before, during and after deployment in Afghanistan — tell their stories quietly. They’re not especially shocking at first glance. A few show little outward change in the young men. Others, however, seem to disclose profound transformation.

“Two of the boys, I was very worried about,” said the photographer, Claire Felicie, 45, who has a son in the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps. “But they don’t tell me. They say all goes well.”

When her son, Tristan Feij, joined the Marines, Ms. Felicie recalled thinking: “Oh, my God. He has to go Afghanistan and they’re coming to my door and they will say, ‘Your son has been killed.’”

As it turned out, Mr. Feij was assigned to the Caribbean. It was his mother who wound up in Afghanistan.

The more Ms. Felicie imagined her son at war, the more she wondered about other marines and whether the experience of war would change them.

So she set out to photograph 20 young marines of the 1st Battalion, 13th Infantry Company (a different unit than her son’s). She caught them five months before they left for their mission in Afghanistan. At about three months into their deployment, she visited them at Combat Outpost Tabar in Uruzgan Province. They posed for their final portraits in September 2010, a few months after they arrived back home in the Netherlands.

“You see all those pictures of men in action,” she said. “I wanted to let the people see they are boys. Brave boys.”

Ms. Felicie, who lives in Amsterdam, has been taking photos since she was 18, but began her professional career in 2003, working out of a darkroom in the family kitchen. “I locked all the doors and all the children weren’t allowed to disturb me,” she recalled.

Last year, Mr. Feij tried to assure Ms. Felicie of his invincibility. “Mom, don’t worry,” he told her. “Marines are the best.” The same day, in an incident witnessed by most of the men whom she had photographed, two marines from the 13th Infantry Company were killed in an I.E.D. blast.

 You can click on the following link for Claire her photos in Afghanistan

Photo's of Claire Felicie in Afghanistan 

 Click on the following link for Claire her own website. You can find the rest of her collection here