We took a tour of the Anne Frank House. It was a great tour, but unfortunately they would not let us take any photos. Very disappointing. It's dimly lit to set the mood for what it was really like for the family to spend two years in hiding there. However, there are a lot of labels and placards to read and the lack of good lighting makes that difficult. Nonetheless, it's a sobering experience and ought to be on anyone's list going to Amsterdam.
This was the first canal view we encountered, so naturally we had to stop and take photos of each other. We had just stashed our stuff at the hotel and were beat from the flight over. Nonetheless, we had to get out for our first view of Amsterdam. The canals were peaceful and quite, adding a serenity to the city along with the absence of snarling car traffic.
Oh by the way, if you go to the left in the pictures about two blocks, you will find yourself in Amsterdam's red light district. They are quite open and even proud about the red light district and even offer guided bus tours through it.
The guide we had the next day told a little joke about the district. It seems there was this lady and her little boy riding in a taxi. The cab driver happened to cut through the district and the little boy glanced out to see the skimpily attired lady standing in the window displaying her appeal.
"Mommy, Mommy," he cried out. "What is that lady doing?"
Struggling for a way to explain without making a big deal out of it, the mother casually replied, "Oh, that's just a mommy waiting for her children to come home from school."
"But why doesn't she have her clothes on?" the little boy asked.
"Oh, that's just because their air conditioning must have failed and she's very hot standing in the window."
About that time the taxi driver turned around and pronounced loudly, "Madame, you do realize that is a prostitute, don't you?"
"Mommy, Mommy, what's a prostitute?" the little boy asked.
The mother glared at the taxi driver and replied, "A prostitute is the mother of a little boy who grew up to be a taxi driver!"
I quickly became infatuated with side streets. In each of the cities we visited, particularly in Germany, Austria and Hungary, you would be walking along on the busy main street, and as you passed you would glance down a side street and see an entirely different world, usually quiet with just bicycle and pedestrian foot traffic. The next side street, another world, a different world beckoning you to take a peek.
This was an all female compound. In the Middle Ages when the gentry went galloping off to fight their noble wars, they need a place where their ladies and their treasure would be safe. Thus this gated, walled compound. The concept never went away. Today, only single women live in the apartments in the compound and they police the rules. All visiting gentlemen must be out by eleven or the other residents will come knocking.
One of two surviving all wood buildings in Amsterdam.
A canal tour is a must when you're in Amsterdam. You get a totally different perspective of the city full of contrasts. There are magnificent buildings containing very expensive apartments along the canals. Yet right in front on the canal you might see a somewhat scruffy barge tied up. You see peaceful trees, but then an elaborate mechanical drawbridge.
It's amazing to see these grand building sitting right on the water's edge. Although the water level in the rivers was high due to massive rains, they can control the water level in the city by opening and closing locks.
This is suppose to be a unique view. At this instance you are looking through the arches of seven identical bridges, or so the canal boat driver claimed.
This was a common scene which really gave me the heeby-jeebies. Parking is a premium in Amsterdam and is the main reason bicycles are so prevalent. Here is a car parked right on the edge of a canal, so close there is no way the driver could have gotten out on that side of the car. And in many cases you would see a line of cars parked like this, which means the cars had to have been parallel parked! Inches away from a catastrophe.
We had dinner at Haesje Claes, a nice little restaurant a pleasant four block walk from our hotel. We selected from their three course dinners. I started mine with split pea soup, undoubtedly the best split pea soup I've ever had. Dessert was apple pie. As American as apple pie might be a nice expression, but the Dutch invented it. It's a different version, but very, very tasty.