Alaskan Travel Critter

A friend of mine from the US asked if I could do her a favor and help out her niece on a school project.  Her niece is in the second grade, and each student in her class sent a stuffed animal critter on an educational trip to see friends, family or acquaintances around the world.

The critter, called Elim, found his way to Amsterdam last week.  Here's the letter we sent back to the second-grade class in Alaska with some fun facts about the Netherlands (even if geared for an eight-year old!):

Dear [   ] Second Grade Class:

Elim arrived in Amsterdam on a warm, sunny March day.  It rains a lot in Holland, so everyone was taking advantage of the great weather by playing in the park, eating and talking at outdoor cafes, and riding their bikes.

Did you know that there are more bikes in Amsterdam than cars?  It’s like no other city in the world because of the number of bikes. Once, someone counted them all up and figured out there are over 600,000 bicycles in the city.  Wow!

Elim was so amazed by all the bikes, the first thing he wanted to do was jump on a bike to visit the canals.  Here’s Elim with Abby and Reese, his hosts for the week, in a bike called a “bakfiets.” It has two wheels and a cart for carrying kids all around town.

It’s easy to bike around Amsterdam because it’s so flat.  In fact, the Netherlands is the world’s flattest country, and much of the country is actually below sea level.

If the land is lower than the sea, what happens to all of the water? 

To prevent the country from flooding all of the time, there are lots of dams and dykes to hold the water back and divert it away from the farms and towns where people live.  And sometimes the water is carefully sent through the cities via canals, like in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam has the oldest and some of the most beautiful canals in the country.

 

 

Here’s Elim, jumping up for a snapshot of himself, on Prinsengracht (Prince’s Canal), one the first three canals dug in Amsterdam a long time ago during the seventeenth-century. Along the canal you can see some of Amsterdam’s famous gabled houses.

For his next stop, Elim really wanted to check out the world-renowned Rijks Museum.  

The Dutch (that’s what you call people who come from Holland, and the language they speak) were really good at painting during the seventeenth century, and many painters from around the world tried to copy the technique of these “Dutch Masters.”

Rembrandt is the most well known of the Dutch Masters, and at the Rijks Museum you can see his amazing painting called, “Night Watch.”

All of Amsterdam’s art museums, like Rijks and Van Gogh, are located around a big green park. In the summer, kids can wade in a grand pool; and in winter, there’s an ice skating rink.

Do you know the story and paintings of Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh?  He painted with bold colors and created striking paintings like “Starry Night” and “Sunfolowers.”

 

Elim also really wanted to see the tulip fields, another thing for which Holland is famous.  However, the tulips usually don’t bloom until mid-April, so Abby and Reese drew this picture for Elim to take home with him. 

Can you spot the windmill?  Windmills are everywhere in Holland because they were used to help drain water away from farmland many centuries ago.

Thank you for visiting us, Elim!  We had a grand time showing you the sights of Amsterdam.  Hello to your entire second grade class!  

Sincerely, Abby & Reese