Streetcar Sunday - Amsterdam, The Netherlands

This postcard dates from about 1915. It shows trams crossing a canal in Amsterdam at Plantage Middenlaan. Amsterdam's tram or streetcar system was operated by several private companies until the City took them over and consolidated them into one system in 1900. In that same year, they introduced the first electric trams. They also took over the Amsterdam Omnibus Company, creating  a new corporation called the Gemeentetram (Municipal Tram Corporation.) Decades later, the corporation  merged with the ferry services, creating  a new organization called the Gemeentevervoerbedrijf (GVB) or Municipal Transport Corporation. Today it is simply known as GVB.

Here's a Google Maps view of the same area today. Allow me to add that I have never had so much fun looking for a place on Google maps as I did with this one. I wanted to just keep going down the streets. If you can't afford a vacation this year, you may want to consider visiting Amsterdam via Google maps. The only catch is that it will make you want to hop on a plane for a real visit.

View Amsterdam in a larger map
Here's another view of a streetcar in Amsterdam. Truus, who lives in Amsterdam sent me this card through Postcrossing. Truus also has a postcard blog, called Truus Postcrossing, with all of the cards she has received through Postcrossing. There's another opportunity to travel around the world without leaving your desk. This card is a reproduction of an old one in the Amsterdam City Archives.

 This horse-drawn streetcar is on the Rembrandtplein, viewed from near the Reguliersbreestraat. That's in case you want to see if you can find it on Google maps and see what it looks like today!

Knokke, Belgium

Knokke, Belgium has been a beach resort for over a  hundred years. The town is located near the Dutch border, and still attracts wealthy visitors. Knokke looks very quaint and charming in these pictures. I can't say the same for the modern pictures I've seen.  But then again, I have never been there, so maybe there is some attraction besides Knokke's casino that I am missing. The entire beachfront is lined with buildings, which are unattractive to me, but indicate that there are indeed a lot of visitors. I do know that there are some lovely nature areas between Knokke and the Dutch border.

In the last postcard you can see the bathing machines, changing rooms on wheels that were used to preserve the modesty of bathers. Click here to see a previous post that shows the bathing machines in the water.

Fish and Flowers

Am I the only one who loves these French fish postcards? I hope not.  For an explanation of the tradition of the April Fish or Poisson d'Avril, click here.
The message on the front of the card reads: At the bottom of the sea I found a pleasant surprise.