Saturday, October 3, 2026

Blog # 14: Amsterdam

 Blog # 14: Amsterdam

Our Adventure Continues After The Cruise


Older Buildings Are Settling/Leaning

 Buildings Are Constructed In A Way So That They Lean Forward Enabling People To Hoist Items Up To Higher Floors. 
See Pole Pultruding From Top Floor 

We Know "Everyone" Rides A Bike. However It Appears 
Many Are Abandoned.

Local Artists Capturing The Moment

Each Artist Spends "Minutes" Determining Color And Brush Stroke
Notice Left Side Of Building Is Leaning
Focusing On Hues In Water
Messy Business!
We Were Told Canal Water Is Safe To Drink. These Men Cast Heavy Magnets Into The Water. Magnets Attach To Metal. Items Hauled Up Have A Putrid Odor. Ugh!

Canal Junk
Flower Market Sells Plenty of Bulbs - All Possible Colors And Designs

We Purchased Blubs On A Previous Trip. Planted At Home. 
Didn't Grow Due To Wrong Climate.

Do You Have a Smaller Size?
Shutters Are Definitely A European Feature In Homes


Best Fries In The Netherlands
We Like To Talk To Strangers. Met A Lovely (Local) Couple Over Eating Fries








We're Getting Confident Enough To Take Inexpensive Trams Rather Than Using Ubers And Taxis

Our Hotel Is Near One Of The Major Canals
Great Views And Ambiance






Spectacular Night Time Views


Vaping, Pot And Smoking Cigarettes Is Rampant.
City Needs To Be More Aggressive In Cleaning Up Trash, Debris

Juxtaposition Of Light and Dark - Hope and Despair
Many References Of Rembrandt In Our Hotel
Had Dinner Near Hotel - A Small Italian Restaurant - Great Food. 
Sat Next To A Young Man - Lives In Sherman Oaks. When On The Road He Is A Sound Engineer For Rock Groups And Other Types Of Entertainers. After Dinner He Would Be Working At A "Rock Show" Across The Street From Our Hotel.
This Is The Entertainer. Very Popular For Some Folks. 500 People (Mostly in the 20's to 40's Age Group) Stood In Line To Get In For Over And Hour. Then, With No Seating, They Must Stand For The Entire Show. The Venue Manager Let Us Peak At The Show.

Went To The Van Gogh Museum - Saw Paintings Unknown To Us. 


                                                  Other Than Van Gogh's Flower Or Nature-Type Paintings, Most Works Were Serious.




Jerry, Not Serious, Is Happy Standing Next To A Famous Painting!

Theo's Cabinet (Vincent's Brother) 

Model To Be Used For a Full-Size Statue Of The Two Brothers: Vincent And Theo. Letters Written By Vincent To His Brother Were Well Thought Out - Well Written - Loving - Sensitive





Fall Is On The Way




Two Person Car Parks In Bicycle Area

We Had a Fun Time Strolling Through An Open-Air Market






Local Color

Vendor's Mother Made The Halvah We Bought
Ahhhh....

We Planned To Take A Tram Back To The Hotel. Two Young Women Suggested We Take The Metro - It Would Be More Direct.

We Didn't Know How To Use The System. A Young Mother With A Baby Helped Us Navigate The System

                       The Underground Metro Was Clean And Beautiful
After A Full Day Of Exploring, We Happened To Turn The TV On And Captured The Moment Of Lift Off.
 Some Of The Cables And Power Strip We Use Nightly
Steven, Our New Friend From The Cruise, Suggested We Eat At This Restaurant. Once Again, We Felt Confident Enough To Venture Out At Night And Walk Across The Canal To The Restaurant; Which Happened To Be In The Red Light District.

The Restaurant Is In an Old Building. There Is A Lot Of Ambiance In This Establishment.

This Building Is So Old The Water In The Pipes Cannot Be Used For Drinking.

The "Rustic Look" Offers A Bit Of Charm
The Building Is Probably 150 Years Old; Or More
We Sat Next To a Young Woman - A Travel Writer And Interesting Person To Discuss Travel And Compare Experiences.


There Was So Much delicious Food We Ate The Leftovers The Following Night. 

Store At One Of The Alleyways Leading To The Red Light District




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