Rembrandtplein

Today the weather is supposed to be dry all day with a fair amount of sun. So we decided we would spend the day seeing some of the sites of the city and just wandering at our own pace. We started a bit later today as Brigitte is fighting off a bit of a cold.

As we were having our breakfast we were entertained by a couple taking a plunge in the freezing water and then taking a sauna. We then noticed a number of other people taking a dip in the freezing water, swimming about for a while but no sauna.

We headed off to the city centre on a self guided tour to check out the sites and just meandered around the streets, discovering picturesque little canals, old houses and interesting architecture and stores. It was nice to have a vague plan but one we could reroute if something took our fancy.

I had spied a lot of “coffee shops” and places to buy hash but resisted all temptation. I saw a lovely cafe off the beaten track that looked like it was popular with the locals so we went there for lunch and we weren’t disappointed. The owner was lovely (quite handsome and I think Brigitte took a bit of a fancy to him! ) The staff were all great and the food, wine and coffee delicious. We spent a couple of hours there recharging our batteries. After lunch we headed to the Bloemenmark to check out all the beautiful flowers. The biggest seller at the moment were tulip bulbs - I haven’t seen so many in such quantities, colours and types and very reasonably priced. Brigitte was able to purchase 50 bulbs for 15 Euros.

We also visited Rembrandt square, Munt Plein, a square in the middle of Amsterdam, which in fact is the widest bridge in Amsterdam. We also walked past the royal palace, which was very heavily guarded as there was some type of function or reception about to start. We also went to the Dam and visited a couple of stunning covered passageways. We of course saw many canals as they are everywhere and hard to miss and we walked through some upmarket shopping districts.

What surprised us as we walked around the city was the unruliness of the bike riders, of which there are many. No-one stops for pedestrians and the cyclists ride so fast, don’t wear helmets, hardly ring bells to warn they are approaching, don’t follow traffic signals ( we saw several cut off trams, busses and cars without hesitating), ride on the few footpaths that exist and ride so very fast. I was to be advised later that bicyclists are the top of the food chain in Amsterdam, followed by trams and busses, the vans and cars and last are pedestrians.

After a full day of hitting the pavement and clocking up over 15,000 steps we headed back to our hotel to have dinner. It was on this evening that I met Rufus, the hotel manager’s whippet who was an absolute delight.Read more