Tag Archives: Amsterdam

Venice of the North

September 20, 2017 chaput@live.com

We went to Amsterdam for a few days and explored this amazing city.

Amsterdam is also known as the “Venice of the North” because of all the canals. There are 165 canals covering over 100 kilometers in Amsterdam.

We decided to take a dinner cruise and enjoy the canals in the evening. We arrived at around 7 p.m. and lined up to get onboard our cruise boat.

Each table was reserved and we had a nice table near the rear of the boat.

We set off and shortly after the waiter served us with wine and cava. The cruise was a very calm and the slow ride down some of the less traveled canals made it enjoyable. We enjoyed the wine and relaxed as we passed by some of the amazing homes.

Beautiful homes along the canals in Amsterdam

We came across some interesting things on our cruise. There were restaurants and other businesses located on boats anchored on the canals. There was the largest Chinese restaurant in Amsterdam which happens to be a floating barge.

We also saw some unique buildings and boats located at the canals.

During the cruise, we were served an amazing meal. There was a kitchen on board and the chef made the meal while we toured the canals.

During the evening cruise, it became dark and we were able to see the canals at night. The canals take on a new appearance and feel after dark.

The buildings, canals, and bridges take on a new look at night. The bridges have lights on the arches and light shimmers across the water of the canals.

The cruise was very relaxing and enjoyable. We had a delicious meal and was able to see Amsterdam on the water. It is definitely a great way to see the city and the canals.

“tot ziens en een goede dag”

Belgium

5 flies recommended by two horses and a cariageman

September 14, 2017 chaput@live.com

We came across a horse carriage during our walk in Amsterdam and decided to go for a horse carriage ride.

The name our carriage man was Gerald and he was very pleasant and helpful.

Gerard helping us into the horse drawn carriage

We climbed aboard and enjoyed the slow ride through the streets of Amsterdam.

Gerard took us along some less traveled areas and would stop at times and explain the history of the area.

Gerard explaining some history of Amsterdam on our route.

We came across some beautiful views along our travels.

View from the horse drawn carriage when we stopped on one of the canal bridges.

We asked Gerard if he could recommend a good restaurant for us. He recommended a Restaurant called “Five Flies”. We asked him to drop us off at the restaurant when we were done and he was happy to accommodate us.

The hallway in the Five Flies Restaurant

We entered the restaurant and were immediately amazed by the uniqueness of the restaurant. The building was full of character and had five different separate areas. We were brought down a small hallway and to our table.

View from our Table in the Five Flies Restaurant

Our meal was extremely delicious and tasty. We enjoyed a great meal, fabulous atmosphere and a great bottle of wine at the Five Flies Restaurant.

“God dag en heb een geweldige dag”

Netherlands

A visit to Amsterdam

August 17, 2017 chaput@live.com

We went to Amsterdam for a few days and toured this wonderful city. We walked through the streets of Amsterdam and were amazed to see the number of bicycles being used. There were separate bike lanes on every sidewalk and if you were not careful you could easily be struck by a cyclist.

There were bicycles parked and locked everywhere in the city.

Bikes parked and locked along the streets of Amsterdam

There is a saying in Amsterdam that there are more bicycles than people in Amsterdam. Bike theft is also a major problem, the police estimate that each year approximately 80,000 bikes are stolen.

We walked along the historic red district of Amsterdam. There were many coffee shops which sold Marijuana, sex related shops, and a few prostitutes displaying their wares along the way.

We went through the older section of Amsterdam where there were beautiful architectural buildings.

We came across a beautiful building that was converted into a high-end mall.

Historic building converted into a Mall in Amsterdam

We decided to go in and look around. The inside of the mall was very elegant and there was a large chandelier hanging in the center.

We then came to an area of Amsterdam where there were old traditional style homes.

Old style building in Downtown Amsterdam

Some of the buildings were slanted from years of settlement on their foundations. It was interesting to see how slanted some of the buildings were.

Buildings settled over time and leaning on another building in Amsterdam

At the top of most of the older style buildings, there were cantilevered pulleys. These were used to hoist furniture and other items up to upper-level floors.

Pulley used for hoisting furniture to the top floor.

Ray, Anne, and Shelley in downtown Amsterdam

Amsterdam was a very interesting and unique city. We enjoyed our time there and look forward to another visit in the future.

Netherlands

Amsterdam waterway cruise

August 15, 2017 chaput@live.com

We had a great time taking a waterway cruise when we were in Amsterdam. There are approximately 1,500 bridges and over 100 kilometers of waterways, which made it a great way to see the city.

We boarded the tour boat and we were met by a very colorful Captain called “Rudy”. He welcomed us on board and explained the history of Amsterdam.

Captain Rudy explaining the history of Amsterdam during the cruise.

Captain Rudy was very funny and entertaining with some interesting stories.

Shelley and Ray on a Boat cruise in Amsterdam

We began our boat tour in the main canal and saw some of the iconic buildings.

View of the modern art building in Amsterdam

The tour then headed down some of the smaller canals in Amsterdam.

A small bridge over a canal in Amsterdam

There is lots of boat traffic on the canals and it is used as another form of a roadway. It was interesting to see the system they had for when going under a narrow bridge opening. The Captain radios on a common channel to say what bridge and direction they are heading. If someone is coming the other way they would arrange for what boat had priority.

Some of the canals we went through were very narrow and the bridges were quite low.

View of a low bridge the cruise boat went under during the tour

Sometimes the cruise boat would hit the side of the canal wall when making a turn to go under a bridge.

Narrow canal that the cruise boat took during the tour

We enjoyed the two-hour cruise looking at the unique building throughout Amsterdam. Some of the buildings are built on pylons and have shifted and sunk over the years, making the buildings lean sideways.

Building shifted and leaning on another building in Amsterdam

There were some buildings built on the very edge of the canal making access to the building easy by boat.

Access from the canal to apartments and buildings.

We enjoyed the boat cruise and saw some interesting buildings from the canals. Our Captain was very entertaining and made the cruise even more enjoyable.

“Tot ziens en een goede dag”