Europe 2016

Our last city on the 46 day tour! Wow, time flies!

I always thought that Amsterdam was a huge city, but it actually only has about 800,000 residents. Cobey is from Australia, but currently living and working in Amsterdam. He described it as having the feel of a smaller city, but the infrastructure and amenities of a huge metropolis. They have a terrific public transportation system (including subway system, even considering that the city was essentially built on water), which locals use in conjunction with the #1 method of transportation: bicycles! I heard a start that there are 6 bicycles for every Amsterdam resident! They have multi-level parking areas for bicycles and I have a photo of one with 5 levels! But people will also lock them up to almost anything!

With only one full day in Amsterdam, it was difficult to explore much of the city, so there are definitely some next times: Anne Frank House (a few tried to book tickets early on in the trip, but they were sold out until August), Rijksmuseum (largest museum in the Netherlands with exhibits spanning 800 years), and the Heineken Experience.

The whole group went for a cheese and clog-making presentation, followed a bike tour in the small town of Edam (famous for the cheese of the same name), which was much safer and relaxed than riding a bike in Amsterdam.

We then made our way into the city and were left to our own devices. Our semi-local guide" took a few of us to one of his favourite restaurants for lunch, which happened to be vegan. None of us fit into that category, but have it a shot anyway. I'll admit, I was skeptical, but it was quite good. We all shared the dishes, which included things like: salads, chickpeas, gyoza, frites, and tofu (I think). The very small restaurant is run by an elderly couple; she's Chinese and he's Jamaican, so the food tends to fall into one of those styles, or a combination of the two.

The rest of the day took us to sites like:
- Sky Bar, which is a lounge at the top of a hotel that doesn't have an issue with people taking the elevator up just to look and take pictures; a secret the locals know.
- The Beginhof, which is a small courtyard area with ancient roots that only women are permitted to reside in. I took a photo of the sign at the entrance for reference.
- The narrowest house in Europe, which has a tea house on the main level and living quarters upstairs. The spiral staircase seemed barely wider than a fire pole.
- The Old Church (1000 years old, or so) and the New Church (500 years old, or so).
- The Red Light District... Sailors would arrive at the port of Amsterdam; visit the church, confess their sins, and for a little extra could confess the sins they were about to commit.
- The Nines is a shopping area that essentially surrounds the Red Light District. It's quite enjoyable to walk around that area because you're not allowed to ride bikes, so you don't need to deal with the fact that bicycles always have the right of way.
- The older buildings all have hooks on the outside of the building at the top and the building itself is built slightly angled out towards the street... This allows for pulleys to be used to host furniture into apartments and offices because elevators aren't usually available and the stairwells are far too narrow!
- I came across a local artist and found a great painting to add to my other souvenir artwork!Read more