It is the end of our trip... But the adventures don't stop yet. We've got one city left, and what a city to end on!
We are staying about a 10 minute tram ride from the centre of Amsterdam, on the west end of the city just around the block from the De Gooyer Windmill.
De Gooyer Windmill
The city very old in comparison to the young Munich that we just left behind. The city was untouched by WWII, in comparison to Munich which was entirly rebuit after the war.
Amsterdam by Foot
We started our exploration of the city by an organized walking tour. We saw many of the touristy sites, such as the Oude Kerk, Mieuwe Markt, you know, all the normal tourists things. But the one thing that stood out in the walking tour was a cranky, old woman who lived in a small house right beside the Oude Kerk (Old Church). This church is not located in the quitest district of town, I mean she lives just on the outskirts of the Red Light District. Our tour leader told us about her hatred of all tourists because of their drunken loudness and galavanting that occurs outside her house, and her tendancy to take it out on the tour groups. Our tour group of about 25 people stopped just outside her front door to have a chat, she then came out of her house when we stopped, yelled at us to leave the area, all the while snapping some pictures with her digital camera. Who knows what she'll do with those pictures...
A lone bike in the centre of a university courtyard.
Graeme and I also decided to take in some fine art at the Rijksmuseum, which is displaying many pieces from the Dutch Golden Age. Artists include: Jacob van Ruysdael, Frans Hals, Johannes Vermeer and Rembrant. Some of the highlights that we saw were Rembrant's The Night Watch, The Jewish Bride and The Sampling Officials.
The front of the Rijksmuseum.
Amsterdam by Water
The next on our agenda was a tour of the canel system. We hopped on the Holland International just outside the Central Station for an evening cruise. Highlights from the cruise include:
- Melissa getting bitten by a swan as we were docked. "Stop looking at me swan!"
- Bumping into the side of a canel bridge with our boat that is much too long to navigate through the thin canels.
- And of course, the beautiful houses along the water. It was night time, so everyone had their interior lights on, so we could peer into many houses...
The Holland International tour boat
with Central Station in the background.
The sun reflecting off a building during the cruise.
The exploration of Amsterdam is not yet done, we have another day and more places to see...
1 comment:
MAN, I am without internet for a couple of days and I miss half a continent! I can't help but feel sad now that the big African adventure is over. I loved reading your stories and seeing the pictures- they got me through many boring work days! Thanks so much for all the fun, and remember the fun doesn't have to stop. You can always extend your travels by coming back to Thailand. I have room for two on my couch!
Post a Comment