Been away awhile...

It has been quite a long time since my last entry, but I am trying to get back on track. We've done so much in the last few months: traveling and me starting a new job, so I want to go back to where I left off and catch everyone up.

AMSTERDAM

Our trip to Belgium last spring also included Amsterdam. I already did an entry on the beautiful Keukenhof Gardens, but Amsterdam itself is quite an attractive city. Tracy counts Amsterdam as one of her favorites and I had no problem seeing why. Everybody knows about the canals and the architecture...and the red light district, but there's also Anne Frank, frites (french fries), windmills, art and more.

The obligatory sign that you must pose with outside the Rijksmuseum.

The canals, bridges and architecture really are very attractive. They do attract lots of tourists, so living in what's called the 'canal ring' must be a bit of a trade-off.

I could posts dozens more of these, but you get the idea.

Whenever Tracy and I take too many pictures of one thing, we refer to that thing as 'cheese'. The reason is that when Tracy and her mother made this trip years ago, they went to the Alkmaar cheese market. Tracy took many, many, many pictures; hence, everything else that we take many pictures of is referred to as 'cheese'. Well, we went to the same market, and the same thing happened. Here's a very 'small' sample of the evidence:

He was wearing wooden shoes.

It was windy...OK

 

Oh yes, there had to be one of these shots!

Traveling back and forth to the market took us through some classic Dutch countryside with windmills, canals, and tulip fields.

Back in town, on a completely different topic, we went to the shady side of town and did the red light district tour. There is much I shouldn't post pictures of, and wasn't allowed to take pictures of, but Amsterdam is world-renowned for this part of its culture. And it isn't just the prostitution and sex, but the drug culture as well.

Moving on...while the Dutch are known to embrace bicycles, I don't think I'd ride a bike through the canal ring area. Too many people makes for frequent bike vs. pedestrian collisions.

Bike parking deck by main train station

Wider view...thousands of bikes

Amsterdam's biggest cultural institution may be the world famous Rijksmuseum, home to many of the Dutch Masters. The museum just re-opened after a renovation. I have to say though, the layout was not well thought out and getting from place to place within the museum was a hassle. It's a great museum, but the crowds were immense and the lines long.

 

Rembrandt's Night Watch, it took up an entire wall

The Anne Frank house was very moving and it felt surreal to be walking through their rooms while trying to imagine how they lived there. No photos were allowed inside, so I have nothing to show you, but the museum is very well done and it really put a face on religious persecution. Even 70 years after the holocaust, religious persecution happens around the world every day. The Nazis are infamous for the genocide they committed, but seeing Anne Frank's house made it feel so much more personal. I felt very much the same when we went to the Dachau concentration camp outside Munich.

An easy trip from London (no expensive trans-Atlantic flight), culture, art, scenery...yep, that's one big reason we moved here. And at this point we hadn't been to France yet...it would be our July trip with a blog entry to come soon.