Blogs from Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands, Europe - page 5

A flight into Amsterdam is nice, everything is so green. The customs go quickly and were so easy. And after the hassles with the PLF forms in Chicago, the customs agents didn’t even want to see them. Of course, there must be a malcontent somewhere. There was a man and woman a few people behind us in line, so that we were within earshot every few minutes. The guy was talking about immigrants when he saw some women obviously of another religion. He started talking about Biden and our immigrants and these immigrants. Then it was Covid, it wasn’t real, couldn’t trust the CDC, wondering if the Netherlands was a free country. The US is a free country. On and on. The other people around him started rolling their eyes. We just laughed at him with ... read more

Good morning Amsterdam Mark started the tour this morning overlooking the National Maritime Museum and the Nemo Science Museum before hopping onto his little electric bike and making his way to the centre, as he cycled we passed houseboats and a beautiful building The Shipping House, richly decorated with sculptures and wrought iron, which refer to the history of shipping in Holland. Symbols include seahorses, dolphins, waves and anchors. The entrance sculptures depicted the four oceans (the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean, the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean). As Mark quietly glided alongside the canals there were plenty of opportunities for capturing the reflections in the water. Arriving in the Red Light District it was the 3D Print steel Bridge that was so unusual to see in such a setting against the ancient backdrop of houses and ... read more

Amsterdam has a vast array of water canals over 100km in length, around 60 miles. These 165 canals divide the city into a series of small islands connected by over 1200 bridges, with the oldest completed in 1648; the Torensluis. The majority of canals can be accessed by private boats, group tours, or rental boats with many moored on the canal edges next to houseboats. The city’s bridges were built to withstand horse and cart weight of the time, which have since been affected by the trucks and small amount of cars that pass through the canal ring. Complex maintenance work is underway to strengthen certain canal walls and bridges throughout the city. During the 17th century Amsterdam experienced a massive economic boom, which led to the creation of its concentric canal belt. Four massive ditches ... read more

When was the last time you stayed in a youth hostel, or even a senior hostel? On my last trip to Dublin about 5 years ago, I stayed in a hostel. While I had a private room and bath, most of the rooms consisted of numerous bunks, crazy loud music, and the smell of a certain weed. Breakfast was a rather haphazard affair, with guests grabbing food, and plopping down anywhere in the dining area and lobby. I was shocked, upon seeing each day's guests waiting for the bus outside. I would say the average age was definitely over 30!! But the place was clean, and safe, with a great location, walking distance to the Templebar area. Prior to that, Mike and I stayed in some rather spartan hotels and motels on our journey through Chile. ... read more

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