Amsterdam

We spent the last couple days of our Europe Expedition in Amsterdam. Take a common idea like a city. Replace a third of the roads with curving canals. Make most roads one way. None going east. Add bicycle lanes to all roads and sidewalks. Minimize all pedestrian routes to 10 inches wide or less. Populate the city with 25% more bicycles than people. Allow parking everywhere, including sidewalks, but charge five Euros an hour. Add tram and bus routes rooming bye. Mix in a bazillion scooters zig zagging here and there on roads, walks and lanes between tables at outdoor cafes. Legalize the sale and public consumption of hashish, marijuana and mushrooms. Fill the center of the city with a world famous red light district. Allow street vendors to sell beer to anyone old enough to count change. Rent bicycles to wandering, intoxicated tourists. And you have one challenging city for getting about, if you ask me. 

Below, Claire is keeping cautious distance from a local "consumer," while standing in front of Rembrandt's house. 

Claire with Mr. Bubbles in front of Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, which is the national museum. Most of the museum was closed for renovation. Thirteen rooms, however, were open, and they showcased the greatest national treasurers, including a bunch of Rembrandts, and about a third of Vermeer's paintings. Vermeer only produced 34 paintings in his lifetime, and of the 32 surviving, all are world class. Amazing, eh?!? And Rembrandt? Well, he's the only painter I have seen paint like Rembrandt. Belly up to "Night Watch" and you will know what that means. Claire and I also visited the Van Gogh Museum, which was fantabulistic. If you do nothing else in Amsterdam, visit the Van Gogh Museum. Twice, if you have time.

This is the waitress that prepared authentic Dutch cuisine at our table side. She was great. The food was great.

Pat with Jan van Driel. Jan lives about 30 kilometers from Amsterdam in Gouda. Pat and Jan have been writing a research paper this past year, so Jan bopped over to Amsterdam to give us a guided tour. The next time you visit Amsterdam, I highly recommend a guided tour by Jan. 

The canals in Amsterdam are busy all day long with boats going this way and that. 

Claire is in seventh heaven shopping for cheese.

We were in Amsterdam during a holiday. The town did not start waking up until noon.

Like his personae, Rembrandt, himself, was bigger than life and quite shiny. 

Of course, we said "cheese." We were in Amsterdam. 

This is the illusive Hotel Nes, where we stayed in Amsterdam. It took a half tank of gas, a stack of Google maps, four locals, a circumnavigation of the city and a car load of police to help us find this hotel. I guess that's why the rooms were so expensive. Still, if you can get there, it is worth a stay.
After we wore out our welcome in Amsterdam, Claire took a train back to Belgium, and Pat and I got a flat tire. I put on the spare tire. We drove to the airport and flew home. The end.