Jason In England: Mom's Trip, October 2018 Part Two

Mom and I spent two half-days in Amsterdam as well. The weather was great, we got in some good souvenir shopping, and I ate french fries twice (it was a big deal, you'll see why).

Mom and I on Dam Square (the royal palace is in over my shoulder on the left.

There is a rare example of a Beguinage in Amsterdam. A Beguinage is a type of monastery for nuns...kind of. Beguines were an unofficial order of quasi-nuns that began in the 13th century in the Low Countries. They were usually wealthier women who, when widowed, began living communally (though not always), forming a kind of monastery, though one in which no official orders or vows were taken. They were very contentious as they allowed a certain amount of autonomy for women in a period where it was not only uncommon, but discouraged (that's an understatement). Because they were never officially part of the church, their property was privately owned, and so could not be confiscated at the Reformation (as happened to church property). They survived in relatively liberal Amsterdam, and their Beguinage is a tourists attraction today, but it still houses widowed women who devote themselves to charitable causes. The Amsterdam Beguinage is a large enclosed square, surrounded on all sides with terraced houses that are occupied by the women. There is also a large chapel (still used) that is inside a converted house. Strangely, a church dominates the centre of the courtyard, but it is part of the Church of England. The church and chapel have doors that face directly at one another....I love the symbolism.

Beguine houses.

The Church of England Church.

The altar in the Beguine chapel.

The Beguinage.

The door into the Beguine Chapel.

The door to the English church.

The chapel.

There is also a Buddhist temple in Amsterdam, right in the heart of the Red Light District. It looks like someone grabbed a temple in China and plopped it down next to a canal.

And now for some random pictures.

Fries with satay sauce, mayonnaise, and chopped onion. THEY WERE AMAZING!!!!!

A canal, obviously.

There is a very cool (for geeks like me at least) museum in the middle of Amsterdam called The Museum of Our Lord in the Attic. In the 16th century, when Catholicism was officially outlawed, celebrating the Mass was made illegal. In 1663, in order to continue practicing his religion, a merchant named Jan Hartmann converted part of his home into a church. Over the next two centuries the church grew and grew, before becoming disused in the 19th century when Catholicism was no longer legal and a large cathedral was built in the city.

It is amazing! Not only does it have a large, multi-story church in the attic, but also a confessional, sacristy (for storing expensive things like chalices), a priest's quarters, and lady chapel, but the stairs leading up to the church also have little holy water stoops in what looks like normal domestic hallways for parishioners to use.

A model of the house, showing the placement of the church within and above the residential home.

The ground floor looking at the altar.

It is very well hidden, but there is actually a pulpit in the left hand, green column next to the altar. It was built to fold down and fit perfectly in the square base (it is all wood, despite the painting to make it look like stone).