Hi Everyone,
Amsterdam what an amazing place. There is a feeling that you get as soon as you arrive and you can't quite put your finger on it but the more you explore this city you come to the realisation that it is a feeling of freedom, of acceptance and of pride.
We drove here from Dinslaken, in Germany, a drive of about 2hours. You cannot easily find parking in Amsterdam and if you do you cannot afford it so they, the powers to be, have come up with a new scheme that is called park and ride(P&R). What you do is park your car in one of about 7 designated parking stations outside the city depending from what direction that you approach and then take the metro, bus or train to the city. It is really the only alternative at a cost of 8 euro a day and free public transport it is a viable alternative to a city that doesn't tolerate cars where bikes rule the roost.
We were told that bikes are everywhere here but you have no idea just how many bikes there are in one city. Pedestrians, cars, trams, buses you name it have to look out for and give way to BIKES. I have never in my life seen so many bikes and the attachments that they have so that they can perform daily chores like grocery shopping, taking the family out, carrying produce you name it a bike in this city does it. Today we watched a heavily pregnant woman ride down the road in the middle of people, trams etc with not a worry in the world another mother strapped the baby capsule to the back of the bike while the father sat the toddler on a special seat over the handle bars- no need for a car here and the weather does not deter them at all.
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Wherever there is a pole or a railing you will find a bike attached |
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Even under bridges to keep them a bit dry but they don't mind them being out in the rain. Think they are made of sturdier stuff than ours- and they are nearly all black no need for fancy. |
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There are even parking stations just for bikes-just amazing. |
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close up view |
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View from the balcony of the apartment where we had the occasional glass of wine before venturing out to dinner
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When deciding what days we wanted to visit Amsterdam we found it very difficult to find accommodation but were lucky enough to find an apartment(a little more than the budget but worth every cent) in a great location. The caretakers are the owners of a very popular B&B next door and they were so helpful in letting us know where and when it happens in Amsterdam.
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The apartment building with Mez on the balcony.
The orange brick on the first floor where balcony is was the size of the apartment-quite large |
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Dining room of apartment with beautiful very high ceilings |
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Lounge area leading out to balcony |
We have been here for 4 days and it has rained and thunderstormed off and on the entire time but that has not stopped us,except for hiring bikes, from enjoying and seeing lots of this city.
The special coffee shops with their very special aroma(not coffee) are everywhere and you might be interested to know that we did have coffee in one and yes it was only coffee.
We also did the very touristy thing- always got to do at least one- of taking a canal boat ride. Even though it was raining it was great to get a different perspective of the many canals and waterways of Amsterdam. There are something like 252 bridges, 160 canals, 8000 heritage listed buildings and 2500 houseboats. What a way to spend your days on a house boat moored to a canal in Amsterdam.
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one of the many house boats on the canals with their own garden and outdoor living area |
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This house boat was on a special section of the canals that once was the area of the old breweries and thus the plant decoration with green beer bottles on the deck if you look closely. |
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No parking signs in the waterways no need for them on land more traffic on the waterways and by bikes. |
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Even though it was very wet hopefully you can still see the number of house boats that line the canals. |
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Mez enjoying a little bit of sun on the canal cruise |
Took ourselves to the red light district last evening and it was sad to see women degrade themselves by standing behind windows inviting the needy into their den - very animalistic - disturbing. But an area that is buzzing and is part of the "freedom" of Amsterdam.
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On our way and just near the red light district we came across this scene of urinals out in the open on the footpath of one of the main roads.
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One of the many sights in the red light district |
Another amazing thing about Amsterdam is the architecture. The buildings are beautiful and it is very hard to find any that are square. They are mostly leaning on each other or very noticeably forward, the windows in some are square but the sills and surrounds are completely out of plum. We were told today that the reason that the buildings are so tall and not very wide is the fact that way back the people were taxed not on the height of the building but on the actual land space that it occupied.
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some of the many buildings that are not square |
When we arrived we were introduced to an Amsterdam stairwell but we were the lucky ones only having to go to the first floor, even still it was extremely steep and don't forget we have been on the road for 2 months and have collected all sorts of stuff so the suitcases are getting heavier by the day.
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Mez at the first floor landing just outside the door to the apartment
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Although we were not there in tulip season the flowers are beautiful and they have a special flower market each day, where you can buy the most exotic species. We had a quick look on one occasion.
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This stall had every imaginable species of tulip bulbs and much more- a gardeners paradise |
We of course looked through all the trendy shops in the Jordaan area and Mez was told by a friend that used to live in Amsterdam that we must go to a special place and eat the apple pie the best in Amsterdam and of course we had to do this- weeks and weeks of intense gym work awaits us on our return.
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If your ever in Amsterdam you have to go to this restaurant-Winkel, famous for the apple pie |
We enjoyed our stay here and if you ever get the chance even for a few days it is a must see on your European travels.
Still cant get over the number of bikes.
After leaving Amsterdam we wanted to head to a rural area in Holland to see windmills and how the normal folk live so we headed to Heusden a small town about 1 hour south of Amsterdam.
We booked into a lovely little B&B that is owned by Ina who has lived here all her life.
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Outside Ina's B&B |
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Typical of the Netherlands are the steep staircases but we were lucky this time we were on the ground floor no carrying heavy bags up flights of stairs. |
We decided to hire some bikes and have a look around the area so Ina gave us a few maps and suggested that we go and see a castle a little way from here. So off we rode with maps, water and rain jackets for what we thought was going to be a short ride through the countryside. We left about 10.30 had to cross two rivers by ferry but somehow it took us a lot longer than was expected(as usual) to get to this castle.
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One of the ferry crossings on the way out |
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The crossing on the way back. this time you had to ring a bell from the side of the river and this guy comes and picks you up. Mez tried to get him to take us back to Heusden in his boat as it was so far to ride-but no luck. |
Three and a quarter hours later of riding nonstop through rain and herds of sheep we sited the castle. We had a bite to eat- starving and raced around the castle because we knew that we had the big trek back. Return trip much shorter went a different route and this time did not make any wrong turns and arrived back at 5pm.
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The castle |
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As you do- if there is one of these around some silly idiot is going to stick their head in it |
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Every castle has one |
We spent five and a half hours riding bikes on dykes! all through the countryside covering about 65 ks so needless to say that certain parts of the anatomy are a little tender and sore this evening. The dykes are amazing they are of course all along the river banks and are mainly paths for bikes and walkers with the occasional one where cars can drive but only at very slow speeds, they are very safe. Thank god for the flat terrain otherwise we would have sent out an SOS and maybe still be out there.
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The little bar on the right where we had to have a drink on our return |
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one of the many quaint homes that we passed on our travels on bikes |
A great day but delirious with tiredness tonight.
Well we wanted to see windmills and we saw heaps- some of them below
We have had a lovely time in Holland and now we are driving to Belgium today to Brugges (everywhere we look this place is spelt differently)
Take care
love Ann
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