Amsterdam Pics

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I hope you enjoy our pics of Amsterdam as much as I enjoyed being there. Uh...wait a minute... I don't think that's gonna happen! I had such a great time. I stayed in Leidseplein which I believe means Leiders Square. The atmosphere is very laid back. The people are very friendly and of course, speak fluent English.

Dam Square

There seems to be a place to get yourself a bier (beer) every few feet. The people here REALLY like their bier. Heineken, Amstel, and Grolsch seem to be the favorites on tap. You can buy wine, beer, and liquor just about anywhere, including the local newstand!

A local pub with thousands of tiny liquor bottles above you.

Interesting note: Everyone looks so healthy over there. You just don't see the overweight problem we see here in the U.S. Hmmm.... Could it be the bier? Or, could it be the fact that everyone rides a bike or walks to work. (And, when they ride their bikes, they are serious. They have bike paths with their own traffic signals and they get pissed when the tourists get in their way.) Yes, they do have McDonalds and Burger King, which I made a point not to enter for principle, but I don't think the Dutch eat there very often. Which brings me to the restaurants.

A look down the street towards Dam Square.

The food. Well, they have just about any type of food on the planet. They are known for good Indonesian food, but we didn't find a really good restaurant to prove it. We did go to one that looked really nice but the food was just a step above your local Chinese restaurant. But, cost MUCH more. Did I mention the food is REALLY expensive? Well it is. I'm sure it's possible to find a really great restaurant but I can't say that we did. We ate at many good restaurants but not any great ones. The Pancake House in Leidseplein serves these huge thin pancakes with as many toppings as your imagination can handle. Boy were they good. And, of course, you can have a bier with your breakfast. Yep, we saw the locals doing just that. Did I mention the locals REALLY like their bier?

It's funny at night when you walk the streets looking for a restaurant. There is a fair amount of people walking and riding around but not too many. So you take a look at the menu posted on the outside of the restaurant and decide this one looks good. So, you go into the place and it's packed with people! Sometimes there's not a seat in the house. The places may look small on the outside, but many are very large on the inside and most have several floors.

The public transportation. Amazing. They are so efficient. The trains run from about 6 am until midnight every day. You never have to wait more than 15 minutes for one. They are also very clean as are all of the stops. The seats are very comfortable and it's nice and warm. They also have buses, taxis and canal buses everywhere. It costs only 1.60 Euros to ride the train, which is about 2 dollars US.

Canal buses take you around the entire city.

The money. Euros. As easy to use as US dollars. But, it's currently worth more than our dollar, which means that we spent about $1.30 for every Euro. Which also meant that, once you do the math, the already inflated prices for food were REALLY inflated! Who cares! We were on holiday!

A few of the many house boats that line the canals. These particular homes go for $250,000 and up.

The weather. It was the end of September which is typically very cold, wet, and gloomy. Well, the first 2 days were just that. But, for the next 4 days it was exceptionally beautiful for this time of year. The sun came out and it was in the mid to high 60's during the day and in the low 50's at night. Not too bad...we got very lucky.

The Red Light District. Ah, so many women and so little time. Did I say that? Wow. No matter what you fancy, you can find it here. There are short ones, fat ones, skinny ones, and tall ones. Black ones, white ones, Asian ones, and Arabic ones. They even had old ones! Yep, I mean senior citizens for sale! There's live sex shows, peep shows, sex museums, S&M shops, sex stores and some very interesting toys. Whew! Lots of sex stuff here. If you're into that sort of thang. Ahem. Sorry guys, I wasn't able to get any pictures here. I did try but as soon as I pulled out the camera, curtains started closing and heads started turning. Not a good thing to do here. So, I put the camera away for the rest of our time here.

We found these in the corner of a local wine store.

The Weed. This wouldn't be complete if I didn't mention the weed. Yep, there's a lot of it here, too. And, though not technically legal, is tolerated. We went to the Hash and Hemp Museum and the Cannibus College to educate ourselves on the mysterious devil weed. It's actually quite interesting how far back it dates and how many of our founding fathers were smokers. They really have growing the stuff down to a science now and can breed different types for different applications. By this I mean they have stuff that will make you want to go out and walk and talk to people and get into doing things. And, they also make stuff that will make you stare at a wall for 3 hours. Now, they have places called CoffeeShops. These are places that sell weed, hash, and magic mushrooms along with all of the accessories, advice and tips you'll need. There are probably a few hundred of them in the city and they are everywhere. Some of them sell alchohol and most sell some sort of magic tea and/or space cakes which are muffins with an extra tasty ingredient.

Inside a local coffeeshop a sign directs you to where you need to go.

The basement of the Cannibus College.

More pics. Ok, I'm done babbling for now. Below are more pictures for you.

Old ship viewed from the canal bus.

One of our favorite coffeeshops.

Inside a coffeeshop. The guy in far back is buying weed and the guys sitting at the tables are smoking it.

Looking down a street. Notice the sign on the far left. Their new slogan.

Oh yeah, they have casinos too! But, look at that building!

A view of our hotel from the park across the street.

Another look from the dock.

These types of cafes are everywhere. You can sit inside or outside.

A close up of the clock tower.

Some homes that sit along the water.

This is the hotel I stayed at the first time I visited the city.

And more detail. We just don't build 'em like that anymore!

Inside of a shopping mall in Dam Square.

One of those cool little alley ways to investigate.

What a beautiful theater.

A street corner mime and his dog.

A view from our hotel room window overlooking Leidseplein, (Leiders Square).

Another view from our hotel room window.

That's me drinking a rum and Coke and people watching.

Entry way to a church. Look at those doors!

Inside of a beautiful church.

More of the same church. This picture really doesn't do it justice.

The pipe organ inside the same church.

What the hell is that!?

Vondel Park was just around the corner. It's a place to go when you want to get away from it all.

A bandshell inside Vondel Park.

A cafe inside Vondel Park. Yep, you can even get a bier inside the park.

I thought this was a nice shot of the church steeple from inside of Vondel Park.

Roller skater extraordinaire.

Gotta love those European cars.

These guys rocked Leiders Square. A fiddle, accordian, bass and drum. And wow could that guy sing!

Top of a church. Notice the detail.

A view of one of the canals.

Famous for their tulips. They have plenty available at the Flower Market.

More flowers at the Flower Market.

Another coffeeshop.

Poster on the outside of the theater in Leidseplein. The poster says, "een samenzwering van idioten". It means "a conspiracy of idiots".

In closing. I'd like to say that Amsterdam is a wonderful place to visit and probably an even nicer place to live. I think us Americans need to follow at least some of their example.