Amsterdam

After another lovely breakfast of cheese and meat on bread (and chocolate hail, and fruit stroop :-) our kind host Lida took us to Amsterdam.  The first thing we saw when we got off the bus at central station was a three story parking building for bikes where you could chain your bike up for the day.  It seems funny now that we took photos of just 7 or 8 bikes on our first day!  Amsterdam is just full of them.

Just next to central station

The three story bike park building is in the background

People are camping outside the stock exchange to protest against greed.

protest signs

cakes at the Biejskorf (oops need to check the spelling on this)

Dam square

a hurdy gurdy trailer plays music in the street

We walked along all the famous streets to Dam square and saw the protest outside the Dutch stock exchange.  As per usual we were gawping like tourists and taking pictures of everything.


After a delicious croquette from Febo we caught a canal boat tour for a new perspective on the city.  It was so pleasant to sit on the back of the boat in the sun and see it all from water level.  Many of the tall narrow buildings date from  the 1600's some of them with beautiful detailing and some with a dodgy lean from their piles moving in the sand and water underneath the city.

In the afternoon we went to the Rijksmuseum to see Rembrandt's masterpiece "The Nightwatch".  It certainly is a very impressive painting, taking up a whole wall in it's own room.  The way the paint is layered and his use of light within the painting really shows why he is one of the Dutch Masters.  Unfortunately most of the museum is closed for renovations but we were able to see some of the best paintings that are housed there in the small section that was open.

After all that culture it was time for a wander down Amsterdam's best shopping street where we stopped for a delicious hot chocolate in a lovely cafe just opposite Chanel and Versace.  After that we were ready for more shopping but we couldn't find exactly what we wanted so we made our way back through the delightful narrow streets to the bus and then to our car.  It was an absolutely magic day - Big thanks to our tour guide Lida!

Lida and Walter's house in Bilthoven

The Dutch have a different idea about how to make reading popular as you can see in this poster from the library

Lida and Walter

Maarlies

Saacha

you can buy mushrooms and different kinds of cannabis including seeds in this shop

houseboat in Amsterdam

I loved the juxtaposition with the old church in the background, the relatively new floating 3 story Chinese restaurant and the characterless office buildings next door, all right on the harbour in Amsterdam

This wee boat sells ice-creams in summer to unwary tourists