We are really finding our groove with getting in to the swing of traveling on a long basis. We launder our clothes on almost a daily basis so it never gets to be a horrible chore. What is really nice is that most of our clothes are designed for travel where washing them at night and hanging them up and most are dry for wear or packing the next day. Turns out that even though we brought a minimum amount of clothing, we probably should have cut that down by half - live and learn.
We are packed the night before and after breakfast, walk over to the train station and are soon heading North. Initially, lots of graffiti and inner city neighborhoods which thin out and give way to pastoral settings of farmland surrounded by small villages whose names are filled with too many consonants and not enough vowels so I will be unable to list some of the spots we passed - let's just say it was picturesque.
We got in to Amsterdam before 1:00 and asked directions from some train conductor types. He pointed out where our street was and commented how the hotel was not far. Well it made sense as the address was 282 and the numbers started at one. Going on my rational thinking and American experience, the hotel should be about 3 blocks away. Well, American know-how is not a good fit in Amsterdam as the numbers went 1, 3, 5 and I know you see where this is going. Well it's only 28 degrees but unfortunately, that's Celsius, not Fahrenheit which means it is in the 80's. Our luggage is light but dragging it a mile and a half begins to fray the steadiest of nerves. We do pass through shall we say some colorful neighborhoods and finally make our way over to the NH and find our room more than adequate for our needs.
We are in a neighborhood where the word "alive" is an understatement. Restaurants of every cuisine imaginable are just outside our door. Shops selling every kind of ware, coffee shops, great architecture with houses boasting lineage back to 1677. There are more bike riders than we have ever seen. There are also motorcycles but most cars we see are taxi's. The people are amazing. They all seem content and happy - they all have an easy laugh and smile and the word "stress" is not found in their lexicon.
We had a wonderful lunch of delicious meatballs in a thick rich brown gravy sitting on a hearty wheat bread that could have been a meal, just by itself. We chatted with two Chinese students that came from far away Chicago and are studying at the University of Georgia. We got some valuable insight on where to go and then headed out.
The whole city is divided by working canals that are constantly filled with boats of every description. It is an amazing stroll, dodging bikes, watching people that are very willing to show their bodies off in a very unconscious manner, old Churches, buildings which lean into one another due to being 600 years old and built on water or land reclaimed from water. The sights, smells, colors and sound become a sweet symphony for the senses. The people we meet are all very real, very interesting and also very interested in us as Americans (They really like Obama!) wanting to know where we are from, what we think and believe. And most of them speak flawless English which is good because Dutch is incomprehensible!
After a nap, we got some dinner and took a walk around our neighborhood canals, stopping at the local church.
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| Canals ring the city and bikes are everywhere |
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| Water everywhere |
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| Menu in the "coffee" shop |
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| Panorama of our resting spot. |
And as the evening settled in, and the city quieted down, we enjoyed dessert and some lovely scenery.
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| None of the buildings are straight. All lean to some extent. |
The next two days we walked all around the city, exploring almost every nook and cranny.
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| Jewish Historical Museum |
I was so glad to visit the Museum gift shop where I found a Yahrzeit candle. My father's yahrzeit is coming up - (the anniversary of his passing) and it is a Jewish custom to light a candle that burns for 24 hours in their honor. I find it a nice custom as it gives me pause throughout the day to see my Dad's candle and think back on some warm memories. I am now prepared.
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| Painting in the museum |
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| The Synagogue |
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| Panorama of the Royal Palace and square |
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| The main shopping street packed with people |
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| The Royal Palace |
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| Inside the Cathedral next to the Palace--the organist was playing. |
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| National Monument in the square--notice the pigeons outlining the sculpture |
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| Jeff (always) talks to strangers |
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| A building called the "Waag" (whatever that means) |
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| Boys outside the "coffee" shop |
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| The stairs are too narrow to rescue someone--this is how they get them out and to the ambulance. |
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| Checking the map. We only got lost about a dozen times. |
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| We bought some bulbs |
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| At the flower market |
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| A pub where we had lunch |
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| The pub's cat |
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| We caught a tour boat to see more of the canals |
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| The largest canal--used to be the Amstel River |
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| Our last dinner in Amsterdam |
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| Goodbye and we will be back.....what a great place to hang out! |
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