Going through my photos of our two days in Amsterdam, and it’s so hard to weed them out! We loved it there, in spite of the rain. I’d been fighting a cold for a week, so the first evening, we had to find me a scarf to wrap around my throat. Although it says “Amsterdam” all over it, the colours are great, and it doesn’t look tacky or touristy… at least I don’t think so.
Most of these photos are of unrelated things – just bits and pieces that we found interesting. First – our hotel, which is a 17th century canal house – here is a shot of the stairs up to our room.
Fortunately, they have good hand rails, and also an electric seat that you can ride up and down if you can’t walk it. And most of the basements are accessed from the outside only – notice the ramp for taking your bicycle down with you.
This sign was not far from our hotel……. and I’d love someone to tell me where they think the moose is coming from.
This little car was only one of many we saw parked along the streets and canals. In a city where there are more bicycles than people, small is best.
Amsterdamers ride bikes all over – with small children on board, 
or in carts on the front of the cycle, and with umbrellas in the rain. 
Near the Central train station, there is a 4-story bike parkade.
When you talk of Amsterdam, most people think of marijuana cafes 
and the red light district. Our hotel host was telling us that while it is legal for the shops to sell you pot, it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to buy it legally – what an interesting way of curtailing the trade!
There are two red-light districts in the central part of Amsterdam – and they are being cut back as well. Of course, you don’t take photos of the lovely, nearly-naked ladies in the open windows… but you can see the red lights along the street……. down to half as many as there were.
And of course, there are also several sex museums in the area.
There are lots of lovely sidewalk cafes and bars – here is one by the canal.
Only ONE of these beers was mine.
And fast food abounds as well. This place sells only french fries in paper cones – a small one was more than enough for us. 
I got mine with cheddar cheese – David got ketchup.
There were a couple of museums very close to our hotel – one I’ve talked about already – the Anne Frank House. Here is maybe half of the line-up waiting to get into it……. the house to the right of the red canopy is the museum…
Photos inside were not allowed – for good reason, as it was so crowded that it would be almost impossible to take anything that really showed the annex anyways. There are some pretty good photos online. by the way, Miep Gies, who was one of the people that helped hide the Frank family, just died last year at the age of 100.
Another museum that we enjoyed was the Tulip Museum which showed the different types of tulips, where they came from, and how they were and are grown. It was Turkey that really prompted the importance and the spread of tulips. These interesting towers and pots are for displaying tulips – one in each of the little openings on the corners. This was a shop of all Delft products – through the window so the trees and sky are a reflection.
I’ll try to get to the museums and scenery tomorrow. Hope these photos remind you of how much you like Amsterdam if you’ve been, or make you want to visit if you haven’t yet.
wanderingquilter 