Amsterdam is a laboratory of progressive living and tolerance, bottled inside Europe's most 17th-century city. Like Venice, this city is a patchwork quilt of canal-bordered islands, anchored upon millions of wooden pilings. But unlike its dwelling-in-the-past cousin, Amsterdam sees itself as a city of the future. And after years of reshuffling and rebuilding, Amsterdam is coming together - 2013 is shaping up to be a big year for finally completing several ambitious projects.
People who love Dutch art are thrilled that next April, the new, much-improved Rijksmuseum will open - 10 years after it closed for a radical renovation. Built in 1885 to house the nation's great art, the Rijksmuseum owns an incomparable collection of 17th-century Dutch masters: Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals and Steen. But earlier renovations chopped up the original space into narrow, sparse galleries. So officials moved the masterpieces into its smaller Philips Wing and tore apart the main structure.
When it reopens, the Rijksmuseum will match the vision of its original architect, Pierre Cuypers. Natural light will flood large rooms with high ceilings. These viewing galleries surround two massive courtyards that were walled up for half a century. Visitors will wander through neo-gothic halls with Romantic murals that were painted over in the postwar era. On the bottom floor, there'll be a bright, new level for visitors that includes information desks, a café and gift shop. The collection will be completely rearranged. Only Rembrandt's masterpiece - The Night Watch - will stay in its original position at the centre of the building.
Another top draw - the Van Gogh Museum - is also closed while workers upgrade its infrastructure. Fortunately, 75 of Vincent's masterpieces are on display in the Hermitage Amsterdam museum. Shortly after the Rijksmuseum opens next spring, the Van Gogh Museum will reopen to kick off its 40th birthday celebration.
Those industrious Dutch have already finished upgrading a third Amsterdam art museum. The Stedelijk - the Netherlands' top modern-art museum - reopened its doors in September. Its original building now flaunts an architecturally daring new entry to its fun, far-out and refreshing exhibits.
While Amsterdam spiffs up its museum quarter, the skyline across the water from its train station has a new focal point - the Film Museum on the IJ, nicknamed The Eye. This striking, sleek modern building heralds the coming gentrification of the north side of the IJ (a body of water that separates Amsterdam from its northern suburbs). The building is a complex of four theatres and a trendy café with great riverside seating. Even getting there is fun: From behind the train station catch the free ferry (labelled "Buiksloterweg"), take it across the water, and turn left.
Along with its new and refurbished museums, Amsterdam's many characteristic canals will get in on the action next year when they celebrate their 400th birthday (construction started on the canal ring in 1613). In honour of the anniversary, there'll be concerts, swimming, skating, and even fashion catwalks.
But there's one major project that won't be ready next year - or the year after that: a new subway line. The North-South line (to open in 2017) will greatly expand Amsterdam's limited system. And though it sounded like a fine idea back in the "golden '90s" when the project was started, better economic times are gone, it's been riddled with delays, and today many think it is bleeding the city economically. The challenge is digging a subway tunnel under ancient buildings that stand on pilings driven centuries ago into the mud. In the Middle Ages, buildings were made of wood, but devastating fires repeatedly wiped out entire neighbourhoods, so stone became the building material of choice.
Stone was too heavy for a foundation set in mud, so pilings were driven nine metres through the mud and into more stable sand. (The wood survives if kept wet and out of the air.)
Today's biggest buildings have concrete foundations that go down as much as 36.5 metres. The new subway has to go under all this without damaging historic structures - one reason it's behind schedule and way over budget. Still, when the new line is finished, it'll accommodate the Amsterdam of the future. The 100,000 people living across the river in northern Amsterdam will suddenly be just minutes from the centre.
During its Golden Age in the 1600s, Amsterdam was the world's richest city, an international sea-trading port and the cradle of capitalism. Amsterdam today - with its tolerant social mores and huge investment in culture and transportation - is still a bold experiment in modern living.
Rick Steves (ricksteves.com) writes European travel guidebooks and hosts a travel show on KCTS Seattle. Email him at rick@ricksteves.com and follow his blog on Facebook.
