On My Own…

Ok people, here’s the thing. I’m a bit of a wimp. I don’t like to drive on a road with more than two lanes. If Jeff were broken down in Boston, I would gladly call him cab home. I’m not driving in there! I’ve never navigated a city on my own, and here I am in Amsterdam with eight hours to kill until Jeff comes back from the office. Thankfully, one can get about the city without a car, actually it’s preferred. You can rent a bike (nope still too scary), take public transit (Do I get off at Scheepstimmermanstraat or Kloveniersburgwal?) or you can walk. I chose to walk.

Walking in Amsterdam is an interesting challenge. There are four lanes to contend with. The side walk, the bike lane, the car lane and the trolleys.

Go ahead, try and guess which lane is for pedestrians.

The bikes are the main form of transportation here. Everyone rides bikes from the hipster urbanites to the octogenarian granny, and they mean business. When you hear the little “ring, ring” of the handlebar bell you’d better get the heck out of the way. The cars might slow down, bikes won’t.

There are no helmets or little tight black shorts either. You’ll see men in suits and ladies in skirts and heels riding.

People whizzing by in bikes.

Biking through the ages

The craziest thing is that people pile the whole family on the bike. This behavior would get your kids snatched up by child services here!

Baby in peril

Let papa know if a car is coming, dear.

This child is in a bag, people. A bag!

My first stop was the flower market near our hotel, tons of bulbs and Delft pottery in booths lining an entire canal.

Free samples = breakfast

I don't drink tea but I still wanted these

Then on to the Rijksmeuseum.

Rijksmuseum

The bummer about visiting these amazing museums is that you can’t take pictures to share what you’ve seen. At least you’re not supposed to. I’ll let someone else break the rules and take this off the internets.

Contraband photo of Rembrandt's "Night Watch"

Next stop was a canal tour. This was a great take. Well over an hour. It took you all around the city and then out to the open water.

Canal view from the cruise

These people got the good seats.

This guy is cool.

Shark!!!! Oh, wait, it's just the Nemo Science Center.

Back to the canal.

Something that made this trip so much better for me was the I Amsterdam Card.

"I Amsterdam Card"

This prepaid card allows you entrance to dozens of museum and sights. It also allows unlimited use of the public transit. There were some discounts and freebies too. This not only saved money (it paid for itself the first day) but it gave me a guide as to what to see next. I highly recommend it.

I tried to get an iced coffee (apparently that’s heresy here) then moved on to another museum when suddenly my crocs attacked me. My feet started to blister, so it was definitely was time to head back.

Just a couple of hours to rest, then out on the town with Jeff …