21/05: Amsterdam
Category: General
Posted by: The Agnew Family
The weather forecasters in Holland are just as good as the ones in Canada. We were suppose to get a mix of sun and clouds today, we got an evenly grey sky all day, with drizzle as we were heading back to the hotel. So, unfortunately that means the photos will look a little flat.
We started the day with a very good buffet breakfast at the hotel. Next was purchasing transit passes that were in the candy vending machine. We found the trolley stop and boarded without incident --- but we missed our exit stop by one which actually worked out for the best.
Not sure how many kilometers we walked today but it was a lot and we ticked off a lot of our "to do" boxes.
- ate a chocolate from Puccini Bomboni ----- excellent
- ate a honey stroop waffle from Confectionery Lanskroog ---- very good but a little too sweet for me
- took a canal boat tour --- very interesting and well worth doing
- ate some wonderful dutch food, real pea soup and krokets with mustard and french fries with special mayonnaise.
- found a geocache for Ed
On top of all of the above we also saw many of the major sites. And then we managed to use the transit system to get back to the hotel with no problem.
Lots of canals and lots of boats in Amsterdam.
First this fellow and vehicle appeared and they began hosing down the road. Then a man with a broom and a street sweeper appear. Interesting way to keep the streets clean.
Dam Square with the palace and the New Church on the right.
The De Bijenkorf is the oldest department store in Amsterdam. Wandering through the store we found a floor with a restaurant and these fresh herbs growing on the shelves.
Het Houten Haus built in 1528 and the inside of De Drijtberg Kerk, a Roman Catholic Church..
One of the floating stalls at the Bloemermarkt (bloom market).
Given the weather today we opted for a closed in canal tour boat which meant the photos weren't as good as the could have been but then weather wasn't conducive to good photos.
In one spot on the canal you could a number of bridges all in a row.
The inside of the tour boat. The windowed roof allowed you to see the tall building as you drove by.
I'm guessing it was a tug pushing the small barges.
On the tour boat we were told about a 5 star hotel (De Hotel L'Europe), so we decided to take a look. The public bathroom was really, really nice.
The Dancing Canal Houses. Rotting wooden support poles caused the houses to tilt.
The top of a clock tower and a view down a canal looking at a different tower.
Some of the tour boats help on a drab day by adding colour to the photo.
So do flowers. Years ago Amsterdam was having a housing shortage so people started living in house boats. The "legal one" have water and electric connections.
The house boats are all different sizes and shapes. Many have plants on them and some have grass growing on the roof.
Yet one more canal view.
We started the day with a very good buffet breakfast at the hotel. Next was purchasing transit passes that were in the candy vending machine. We found the trolley stop and boarded without incident --- but we missed our exit stop by one which actually worked out for the best.
Not sure how many kilometers we walked today but it was a lot and we ticked off a lot of our "to do" boxes.
- ate a chocolate from Puccini Bomboni ----- excellent
- ate a honey stroop waffle from Confectionery Lanskroog ---- very good but a little too sweet for me
- took a canal boat tour --- very interesting and well worth doing
- ate some wonderful dutch food, real pea soup and krokets with mustard and french fries with special mayonnaise.
- found a geocache for Ed
On top of all of the above we also saw many of the major sites. And then we managed to use the transit system to get back to the hotel with no problem.
Lots of canals and lots of boats in Amsterdam.
First this fellow and vehicle appeared and they began hosing down the road. Then a man with a broom and a street sweeper appear. Interesting way to keep the streets clean.
Dam Square with the palace and the New Church on the right.
The De Bijenkorf is the oldest department store in Amsterdam. Wandering through the store we found a floor with a restaurant and these fresh herbs growing on the shelves.
Het Houten Haus built in 1528 and the inside of De Drijtberg Kerk, a Roman Catholic Church..
One of the floating stalls at the Bloemermarkt (bloom market).
Given the weather today we opted for a closed in canal tour boat which meant the photos weren't as good as the could have been but then weather wasn't conducive to good photos.
In one spot on the canal you could a number of bridges all in a row.
The inside of the tour boat. The windowed roof allowed you to see the tall building as you drove by.
I'm guessing it was a tug pushing the small barges.
On the tour boat we were told about a 5 star hotel (De Hotel L'Europe), so we decided to take a look. The public bathroom was really, really nice.
The Dancing Canal Houses. Rotting wooden support poles caused the houses to tilt.
The top of a clock tower and a view down a canal looking at a different tower.
Some of the tour boats help on a drab day by adding colour to the photo.
So do flowers. Years ago Amsterdam was having a housing shortage so people started living in house boats. The "legal one" have water and electric connections.
The house boats are all different sizes and shapes. Many have plants on them and some have grass growing on the roof.
Yet one more canal view.