Our Amsterdam Adventure

You may remember that we were on a boat cruise of canals around and through Amsterdam.

This was our captain, a strange character, who argued with some of the passengers, and was crisp and curt with others.

Not a poster boy for charm, I'll tell you that.

This is a bridge.
No, it's not under construction, it's just the left half of it.

The right half is on the other side of the canal, and it moves into place when it's needed.

Great architecture side by side with waterways...

We saw several houseboats on the canals.

Yes, people live in them, full-time.

I guess they get used to the constant rocking and swaying.

More beautiful architecture.

This is the famous "Westerkerk" (Western Church).

A closer look at the Westerkerk and its ornate topper.

This was a kind of crossroads, the junction of multiple canals.

Our canal tour took us out into the harbor, from which we looked back on the city.

The oval-roofed building on the right is the Centraal Station.

More of the architecture of the city.

Amsterdam is a busy city.

In some areas, there are huge numbers of pedestrians.

You can see the Centraal Station in the background.

More historic architecture.

Even the stores are ornate.

Yup. That's the entrance to a hotel, tucked in right along with stores.

They even make it plain that they have showers and a water closet, as well as phones and TV.

Outside one the stores we came across this car.

Or maybe it's actually half a car?

Gorgeous tulips.

Guess what? They're all made of wood.

That's right--wood. From a distance they might fool you.

One of the three main canals...

We met a guy named Daniel, who worked for the Anne Frank foundation. Nice guy.

He gave us some local history and explained how Amsterdam grew as a trading port.

Meanwhile, someone had parked her car where she shouldn't have.

In Amsterdam they're very tough on parking violators.

The people you see here aren't cops, they just get a cut of the fine when they help to bust someone.

It's actually a pretty effective approach, extending the reach of the cops tremendously.

Trams are a major means of transportation.

There are old and new versions.

This is one of the newer ones.

Here's one of the main stations where the trams hang out, right near the Centraal Station.

The trumpeter on the right was playing songs like "Onward Christian Soldiers."

By the time we started back on the train, Erlinda was truly weary.

She wasn't the only one.

I'd heard only about half of what the guide told us while we were on the canal tour.

I just hope I didn't snore while he was talking.

Then we got back to Schiphol, which, as I mentioned, is more than just an airport.

It's a plaza in its own right.

You can buy just about anything there, as you'll see shortly.

This supermarket was located in--believe it or not--the airport!

We got some supplies here.

There were stores for clothing, books, gifts, model planes, shoes, and so on, and so on.

It seemed endless.

Finally, the shuttle deposited us back at the hotel, for a well-earned rest.

Considering how tired we were when we got to the city, we'd had a great time.

Erlinda had an opportunity to go downtown again one day while I was teaching, and she had a slightly jarring experience.

She was shocked to see several scantily-clad ladies presenting themselves in the windows of their houses. Of course, they were practicing the world's oldest profession, which is legal in the Netherlands.

Erlinda turned red and hurried on.

Oh, well... Next we'll show you a little of the teaching day.