HurricaneMaine

I started the day running 5.7 miles through the streets of Amsterdam. I found this great resistance art when I took a different turn and therefore a different route. The art is a dollhouse on a vacant lot as a symbol of resistance to development. A cute kitty came out for some head rubs.The Amsterdam pass is worth it. We saw so much and paid less than half price with all that we saw and did.Here is the oldest building in Amsterdam, dated in the early 1500’s.First on the agenda was the hop on hop off boat tour. We didn’t hop off anywhere but took the whole route around. Afterwards Becca went to the pride parade and I went on an open boat canal tour. Some sights were the same but the stories were different.These stones in the buildings would be how you identified where people lived before there were addresses. They would have symbols of their profession.Many buildings are not straight but what do you expect from houses that are many centuries old and built on land that used to be under water.I also liked looking at all the different gables on the buildings.From this point of view you can see multiple bridges. There are actually 7 in a row.In this area is where flea markets still occur and have been going on for over two centuries. This is near city hall.In many of the canals there are iron rails to stop cars from going over into the canal. However, there are some that do not have the rails and cars drive over often. Unfortunately so do bikes but mostly from mischief. Approx. 15 people a year die in the canal, usually men, usually after drinking and trying to urinate in the canal. It is very difficult to climb out of the canal.Below is Nemo, the children’s museum and science center. There is a sand lot on the top for people to hang out on nice days.There is parking lots for bikes. Thousands of bikes. Some people have two bikes as they may not remember where they parked one!Speaking of bikes, there are more bikes than cars and dedicated bike lanes on every road.This boat passed us and is a literal garden on the canal. Yes, that is actually a boat.After the tours I walked back to the Rijksmuseum where there were pride celebrations already beginning.I walked to Vondel park, the most popular park in Amsterdam. As I walked through I realized the end of the pride parade was here. They had great family games, dancing, information, and empowering everyone. It was fun and peaceful.I walked to the Jordaan area and window shopped. This is the best place to see unique boutique shops. I stopped at Cafe Jordaan for an Amstel.While I was walking, I overheard a your guide say that this shop had the best stroopwaffels. I decided to try it and he was right. It was amazing. They make a thin waffle and split it in half making a sandwich with caramel.Here is how it is made:https://youtu.be/PenYHmMK6gkI stopped for food at foodhallen. It is in De hallen where there are also vendors for crafts.I bought fried vegetables. Green beans, carrots, and artichokes are lightly battered and fried. Very good.Last for the day is the Heineken experience. It walked through how beer is brewed. The original chemist that found the yeast to give the beer it’s unique taste studied under Pasteur.They have their own horses too. I really miss the smell of a farm.They had fun activities along the way learning how the beer is brewed and bottled, and fun and games at the end. We toasted “Proost” with freshly brewed beer and at the end were allowed to have to more glasses of beer. You can also bottle your own beer and have it ready for you at the end.On the way back to the hotel I snapped a few more pictures. A shot of houses along the canal (this would be their back door).This pic is in the museumplein.I never noticed the top of this building as a great hangout for people.Tomorrow we are off to Brussels, Belgium. But before we go, another Dutch pancake at Pancakes Amsterdam.

Including my run, we walked almost 20 miles today. Yes, my feet do feel it.

Here is the last part of our day.

We went from the tour to the A’dam lookout, the tallest point in Amsterdam. It is also a great hang out spot, just too hot today (105 degrees F). Definitely the best view of the city.

I feel a little bit like Cersei from Game of Thrones even though this chair is made from guitars.

A view from the top. In the distance just right of the center is where Zaanse Schans is located.

Overlooking the city center where most attractions are found.

A little apartment building like a doll house on display.

More views from the top.

Amsterdam Centraal and the ferry that brings you to the other side.

Next we took the ferry across and walked to the Amsterdam dungeon. I don’t like haunted houses but this was fun. I didn’t take pictures, they were not allowed but actors talked about Dutch history with a few scary spots throughout. They used people in their acts recreating sentencing people for witchcraft, etc. Lots of funny but that were pretty entertaining and a few scary parts that were well done. Best part: we were out if the heat.

Becca became part of the act and was put in a cage. I had to choose a mystery hole to out my hand in and find a key. Of course the sound and movement of something inside made me jump! Poor Becca, we left, she was still in the cage. But not for long. At the end we had beer or the choice of pop.

We did see some macrons. Perfect snack.

Next was the red light district. Sex workers on display and lots of clubs. As it was late in the afternoon there were a lot of people there but not too racey yet.

Dinner at a Thai restaurant.

Enough walking for today. More adventures tomorrow.

If you have a chance to go outside of Amsterdam, you should! It is beautiful. There are many tours to see parts of the countryside, but if you get the Amsterdam pass, the hop on hop off tour is included. There are 6 stops including the tour office and you can get off in as many or as few as you want. There is about 45 minutes between buses and you can stay in any one location as long as you want. Of course we had it planned out down to how long we would spend in each place.

The tour office is called This is Holland and is just after you get off the free ferry from behind Amsterdam Centraal. A’dam lookout is there (which wasn’t open when we got there but we visited afterwards) as well as the Eye, which is an art museum.

First stop is Zaanse Schans. It is a neighborhood in the Dutch town of Zaandam, near Amsterdam. Historic windmills and distinctive green wooden houses were relocated here to recreate the look of an 18th/19th century village. There are houses that showcase different aspects of Dutch life from cocoa to cheese making.

The windmill that is used as a mill was also a gift shop.

We visited a Henri Willig farm where there is also a cheese shop.

We tasted some awesome cheese! Not the plastic stuff shown here but really awesome cheese like the baby sheep (Becca’s favorite) and original sheep cheese (my favorite).

I had been hungry for ice cream and for licorice and was lucky to find…

You guessed it…

Licorice ice cream. Very tasty. The ice cream had a hint of licorice and only the pieces of licorice mixed in provided enough taste. I loved it. I always look for a unique ice cream or potato chip wherever I go to try.

Areas of Zaanse Schans smells like chocolate. There is a chocolate boutique there that sells exquisite confections. I resisted.

We skipped the Edam stop and instead started on the bus until the next stop, Volendam. This is a very quaint fishing village.

We walked down to the water. Originally this water was salt water from the Zuiderzee inlet of the North Sea. A series of dykes reclaimed land and created a fresh water lake called Markermeer instead.

More cheese tasting.

We visited a wooden clog museum which is very interesting why they were used as shoes for so long (they insulate and can withstand many weather conditions with the bonus of knowing where your kids are) and how they are made both by hand and by machine.

Back along the waterfront.

We stopped at a street vendor selling salted herring. We split a sandwich of herring. I am up for trying anything new.

We skipped the Henri Willig cheese stop. I know, but we had enough cheese for the day.

Last stop was Monnickendam. It is a classic ancient Dutch town and you can tell by looking at how some walls lean differently from adjoining walls.

The stone on the roads and sidewalks are amazing.

The old church.

We stopped at a couple boutique cheese and chocolate shops.

I found beer made from salt water. It was very mellow and mild. Being dehydrated I drank it pretty fast.

The town was beautiful.

Now to head back to Amsterdam for more sight seeing. All in all we spent about 4 to 5 hours on the tour.

This will be probably more than one part as there is a lot to share.

Early morning run outside the city center through Artzuid, sculptures scattered throughout connected parks. I stopped to snap a few pics of ones I thought were very interesting.

Next on the agenda was food but it was a long walk to Amsterdam Centraal where the mass transit is centered. Behind the station is Pancakes Amsterdam. They have Dutch and American pancakes and they were delicious. In the back of the picture is berry and in the front is a savory smoked salmon.

A quick ferry ride across the section of water between North Amsterdam from the old city is all that separated us from the countryside tour.

Some sights around Amsterdam as we were walking to breakfast:

The royal residence.

Inside the tunnel to get to the back of Amsterdam Centraal.

Next post is the countryside tour.

July 25. After getting in a little later than expected (our original flight was cancelled as the airport had refueling problems and limited the number of planes that could arrive. We were lucky to get a different flight quickly as the flight was cancelled mere hours before take off.) With our rooms not ready, we left the bags and started sight seeing.

At the airport.

Before we left we planned what we wanted to see and mapped out our days to see what we could fit in. Becca is going with me and we are obviously alike. We purchased the Amsterdam pass for two days (you can get a mobile download instead of a card.) It gets you a lot. Many of the things we wanted were covered in this pass.

The first thing we used the pass for was a free trip on bus 397 from the airport. It makes many stops near hotels and attractions. The closest to the Apollo Marriott was the museumplein stop. We walked the rest of the way to the hotel.

After dropping off our luggage we walked back up to the museums. The first in the list was the Moco museum that had contemporary art like Banksy and Andy Warhol.

This is in front of the museums. The van Gogh museum is in the background.

Mickey snake. Or is it Mickey swallowed by a snake?

The museum is in an old house and loved this above the fireplace in one of the rooms.

Another artist created interesting art eroding areas of the art for effect.

Next was the Rijksmuseum, the national museum of Netherlands.

Lots of drinking horns…

Ships as this was a shopping powerhouse back in the day…

Originally Belgium and Netherlands were one land. When unrest let to a split, artists fled North to what is now Netherlands. It was always known that Belgium was known as a land of heavy drinkers and drinking games and ornate vessels for drinking games. The second from the right is a vessel that looks like a book.

Many paintings including those from Rembrandt. This painting shows the good from Jerusalem burning in the muted background.

Beautiful tapestries.

The ceilings and stained glass were gorgeous.

The museum is actually in two halves, split at the street level. A bikeway cuts through it.

Next we are walking to the Jewish quarter. Amsterdam is beautiful.

The Holocaust museum. What were we thinking? What are we thinking today labeling people and making them less than human?

The Jewish quarter.

The holocaust memorial.

On the walk back to the hotel. This was outside the Rijksmuseum.

Musicians outside the Rijksmuseum.

Early night as we are exhausted.