May 5
~ Amsterdam
[The Aegir has landed in Amsterdam. For the first time in weeks, we will have to pack our bags and abandon ship.]
[So now it’s time for the long Minnesota good-bye. John and Helen would be returning to the friendly confines of Ashby, while the Final Four would spend a couple of days kicking around in the Netherlands capital city.]
[Pam arranged passage to our new home . . . ]
[A window shot of a canal along the way . . . ]
[And this would be our resting place until we headed home. It was out on the edge of the city, but very convenient with a metro stop right there. And it was much closer to the airport than being in the middle of the city.]
[So we checked into our rooms . . . and then hopped on the train, heading for town.]
[A “new friend” in the booth.]
[Another canal – who’da thunk?]
[And we have arrived at the Central Station – where all city excursions by boat and train seem to begin and end.]
[Across the canal from Central Station . . . a big building, part, if not all, is the Victoria Hotel.]
[Central Station]
[We are aboat! Having boarded a green line boat at Central Station.]
[Ain’t we got fun?]
[And we’re off, pulling away from Central Station.]
[Finally on the famous canals of Amsterdam.]
[Basilica of St. Nicholas]
[A fine looking building of unknown title.]
[Sea Palace Chin Restaurant – because that’s what it says on the roof. A floating 3-story pagoda. Reviews from very good to terrible. We did not eat there. The boat guide noted it’s famous for the number of exterior light bulbs . . . but try to find it anywhere?]
[I searched “canal spans in Amsterdam.” This was not among them. Maybe I’m the first guy to take its picture?]
[NEMO Science Museum is located at the Oosterdok in Amsterdam-Centrum, situated between the Oosterdokseiland and Kattenburg. The museum has its origins in 1923, and is housed in a building designed by Renzo Piano since 1997. It contains five floors of hands-on science exhibitions and is the largest science center in the Netherlands. It attracts annually over 500,000 visitors, which makes it the fifth most visited museum in the Netherlands. (From Wikipedia, and no, we didn’t partake.)]
[You now know the basilica in the center of the photo.]
[And who wouldn’t want a condo lurking over a floating Chinese restaurant?]
[Interesting houseboats exist all along the canals. . .]
[With interesting “characters” on them.]
[How Amsterdam-ish!]
[The Montelbaanstoren clock tower (on the the Canal Oudeschans near Prins-Hedrichkade), which was originally part of Amsterdam’s defensive city walls. (From Amsterdam photo guide.)
[One of the 15 things Not to Do in Amsterdam – photograph women in the windows . . . ]
[That, of course, is for when you’re strolling the red light district – here it’s just reflecting what a lovely day it was.]
[There’s our clock tower contracting in the distance.]
[Looks important?]
[National Opera and Ballet]
[I’d like to have a boat to call my own . . . Since they are hop-on, hop-off at all stops, there can be various degrees of crowdedness.]
[Contrails over the Opera House.]
[Duck!]
[A park, with a statue.]
[And a better look at the statue.]
[Still have the boat mostly to ourselves. Pam has gone into full sunblock mode.]
[Skinny houses]
[Nicely framed, you old photographer you.]
[Airin’ out the dogs.]
[I used have some of his attire.]
[The Professor is oblivious to the foot and bike traffic above.]
[More “fine” houseboat denizens.]
[Coming around to our clock tower again.]
[Is that a mosaic or a mural?]
[It’s a bike city.]
[The Ann Frank House – Pam and Tom would pay a visit on the following day.]
[What it is . . . I have no idea.]
[Noorderkerk (1620-1623)]
[EYE Film Museum]
[Pam shooting the EYE.]
[Big water . . . ]
[The hills are alive with the. . . ]
[Coming back to our starting point . . . ]
[Known as “a golden angel on a roof of a building.”]
[The parking garage for bikes . . . for 5,000 bikes!]
[Coming in for a landing at Central Station.]
[Heck, it’s such a great day let’s keep going!]
[And the Basilica of St. Nicholas again.]
[And again in the “rear view mirror.”]
[Let the basilica always be your guide.]
[And we’ve been here before, too!]
[Classic Amsterdam]
[Amsterdam lift bridge]
[And the Opera House again.]
[Unknown, but cool.]
[A photographer shooting casual sofa-ing on a pontoon.]
Like all great travellers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen. ~ Benjamin Disraeli
Up Next: Amsterdam, until we’re done.
alexandriacardinals 