It is impossible to start your acquaintance with Amsterdam not from the central station. Much has been written and said about this building, its architect presented the city with the famous museum, but few people know that the station was built on the site of the lake and relies on more than eight thousand piles. By the way, from the B2 platform you can look at the beautifully designed waiting room, built for the queen. Today it is closed, and only five such waiting rooms were built in the Netherlands. And if you are hungry, you can go to the famous Grand Cafe-Restaurant 1e klas, which has retained its unique interior. We will delve into the city along one of its most important streets - Damrak Street. This street was formed in the first half of the nineteenth century, when the central channel from the station building to Dam Square was bombarded. The most important building on the street is the first stock exchange in Europe - Berlage. Therefore, Amsterdamians often uttering the name of Damrak Street, use it in the meaning of trade and money transactions, as New Yorkers use Wall Street. On the way, pay attention to the famous Amsterdam houses. Do not forget, like the station building, they are also built on stilts. Due to the old age of wooden piles, sometimes houses are tilted, which makes them even more unique and colorful.

Photo: Author: Vasyatka1 - own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52300088 Translated with Google Translate