Everywhere you look in Amsterdam, you see bikes. That's bicycles, not the kind that are associated with the levees that keep the water out of the city - dykes.
The other striking feature of Amsterdam is water. Water, water everywhere. The canals are omnipresent and very attractive, for the most part. This photo shows some of the houseboats moored in some of the canals, which are not vey attractive as some are very run-down and grotty.
The harbour at Amsterdam is very busy, with ships and barges going in and out all day. This is aview of the river cruise berth from a bridge over a canal at the port. \the bridge opens for larger barges to pass.
This is a SMALL sample of the bikes at the railway station. How do you find your own bike? At night? After a few beers?
This was our favourite eating and watering place in Amsterdam. It's an Irish pub in Rembrandt Square. Good food and the Guiness was great. They pulled a great pint.
I had to keep reminding Maureen to look out for bikes as well as cars in Amsterdam. The bikes are deadly, as they make no noise and think that they own the road, and footpath, and bikeways...............
These bikes with the large containers on the front were very popular with Mums carrying kids and their junk. Strictly speaking, they are trikes, with the front two wheels steering.
A pint of Guiness witha shamrock in the head. You have to squint a little............................
Another trike. Sorry about the quality.
This is one of the first grand buildings in Amsterdam that we saw on a canal cruise. It's a church, but I can't remember its name.
Many of the houses and apartments in Amsterdam started life as a wharehouse in the 16th and 17th century, when Amsterdam was the focus of European trade in the world. The buildings all have a hoisting point built into the front to lift goods into the wharehouse. These days, they are used to hoist furniture up to the upper floors, thus avoiding the narrow staircases.
This barge was aboslutley filled with bikes! Think about it, where would you be taking a barge load of bikes - without riders! (there was no room for riders o the barge). How does that work? What is it for?
This is one of the river cruise ships in the port of Amsterdam, berthed at the river cruise terminal. I don't know which line it is from, but it was a nice looking ship. Ours was better, so there.
This unusual looking building down by the port is the Maritime Museum. There is a replica tall ship moored nearby. Fabulous architecture.
The tall ship.
Blunt end of the tall ship with carvings.
A Chinese Restaurant in the harbour.
This is a shot of our hotel from the canal out the front, during our canal cruise.
This bike will carry the rider, two kids and junk at the front. Mums frequently have three kids and their junk on their bikes.
More bike configurations.
We visited the Red Light District (RLD) of Amsterdam.
Here we are on a little bridge over a canal in the RLD. The area is quite attractive, when you are not in the brothel area. It' a very old area of Amsterdam, not far from the port and Centraal Station (that's not a mispelling, that's how she is spelt and writ).
This is my only attempt to take a piccie of the "ladies" promoting their wares in the windows of the brothels. They all grabbed the curtains and closed them as soon as they spotted me with a camera. No loss.
The aforementioned Centraal Station. This is the taxi rank out the front. Gee, I take interesting photos. Next it will be grass growing in the park!
