WORDS + PHOTOGRAPHY MERIJN SOETERS
The Ondine boathouse has been a distinctive feature on the quay of the Amstel River in Amsterdam ever since 1968 (the same year that Jan Wienese became the last Dutch champion in the single sculls at the Mexico Olympics). It was originally a houseboat for Shell, which had a rowing club there. For slightly more than fifty years the city grew up around it, including the 35-storey Rembrandt Tower on the edge of the water. Then, in January, the Ondine was towed away.