Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Friday, 11th May 2018
After yesterday's brilliant and hectic day, we were to take it easy today. The plan was to wander the city of canals - Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands. Got out of bed at 06:30. Took time shedding the tiredness of yesterday; and getting ready. The day seems bright and cloudless. Observed a flea market being set up in the square below - how come on a Friday? Ate a sumptuous breakfast at the spacious restaurant of our hotel Hampton by Hilton, located bang opposite the Biljmer ArenA, station, approx. 17 kms. from Amsterdam Centraal station and easily approachable by train no. M54.
Set off under a very bright and a very welcome sun. Spent a few minutes at the flea market and then on to the platform of Biljmer ArenA station, for the M54. Rode the train to Centraal station. The city looked lovely! The centraal station building had a different, impressive architecture. We were seeing a city unlike any other in Europe!
Lined up for the one hour canal cruise (complimentary with yesterday's tour to Keukenhof, Zaans Scans and Marken). This 1-hour boat ride exposed us to the delights of this city. At the end of the cruise, Amsterdam had displaced Budapest and Prague as my favourite European capital! The boat took us through the city along canals - interconnected, with small, arch-like bridges over them along which passed the regular traffic. On either side of
each canal were lined buildings with exquisite design, housing residences, shopping centres, offices and cafes. Most of the edifices were made of red bricks - typical 17th century Renaissance architecture - a speciality of the Netherlands. A very informative audio commentary updated us with the city's history. We passed by Rembrandt's house and the current mayor's office-cum-residence. It was interesting to observe that the front door of each building was elevated and approached by a short flight of stairs from the left and right. At one spot we saw seven arched bridges, parallel to one another, over one stretch of a canal. It seems that the entire city has 250 bridges over the waters! This city is completely
unlike any we have seen in Europe, or elsewhere!! A fantastic experience!! And yes, I missed mentioning that Amsterdam is not only the city of canals but also of bicycles. Yes, bicycles are widely used here and the city has paths earmarked for bicyclers. If you stray onto one of these paths and get knocked down by a fast cyclist, the fault is yours, not the cyclist's ! Imagine the situation back in India were a pedestrian to be knocked down by a cyclist ! At
one point during the cruise we passed a cycle stand that could accommodate 2000 bicycles!! At the end of the cruise, we walked around a very crowded Damrak in the city centre, in the direction of Dam square, stopping at souvenir shops on the way. Purchased refrigerator magnets at one. Dam square was huge, surrounded by wonderful edifices. Walked in the direction of a canal and were soon standing at its edge. It was lovely watching the waters from the road, exactly the opposite of what we had experienced a short while ago. had Amstel tap beer, chicken fillet and cappuccino at one of the roadside eateries at the edge of a bridge spanning the canal. Later, guided by Google maps, we walked along a wonderful
street flanked by charming buildings on either side, cyclists hurrying along the track demarcated for them; people eating, drinking, laughing and talking at the roadside restaurants. We were headed for the bus stop at Spiu. Duly boarded a tram (no. 2) for Reijkmuseum, 4 to 5 stops away. The city views continued to amaze! The museum building itself was terribly impressive but what was more impressive was the setting opposite it:
the famous 'I amsterdam' sign, which was being attacked by people of all ages to get themselves photographed; and opposite it stretched a large expanse of land, complete with a rectangular water body at its centre behind which lay an extensive lawn. To the right lay the big structure of the Van Gogh museum