Impressions of Amsterdam

Impressions of Amsterdam

What an interesting city. You stroll the canals and the small streets with charming cafes and peeks into residences, Suddenly you come across a surprise, a tucked in courtyard for religious women, the flower market, an old wall from the 1600's. We were charmed. Boats of all varieties pass by quietly on the canals, some tourist boats, some private rentable yachts, some with two friends heading home from the office. THe bikes are innumerable and sensible for a city of this size and character. In turn they provide a character of their own with thousands of people getting from here to there in a healthy, quiet way. Electric trams share the brick streets and it helps to be on your toes as to whether you are in a bike lane, a tram lane or a road. At times it's hard to tell as the bricks may be laid a different way but there is no in-your-face delineation of area. We did almost get hit several times by bikes! The cars park perilously close to the non-barriered canals. We read/heard that a car a week goes in the water. No surprise there. Don't think I will drive- or park in Amsterdam.

The sidewalk cafes are good for people watching. The beer is fresh and good  and the food nicely presented for the most part.
We ticked off our roaming box to have the canal tour- very pleasant, walked through the Red Light district (all true!) and went to the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh museum. The museums are outstanding and of course it is great to see art in the flesh, not in a book. We were pretty pleased with being able to get around as much as we did. We took the train from the airport 10.50 euros and then a taxi to the Hotel from City Centre.
We stayed at a well reviewed hotel called the Hotel Hegra

on the edge of the Jordaan, a charming residential neighborhood with tree lined canals. The hotel is very small, only 10 rooms and in turn, they are small but sufficient and clean. Robert and Paolo the receptionists were pleasant. Robert rather reserved, Paolo rather flamboyant. A cat named Othello

oversees the operation. Up the ship steep stairs we went to room number 6, overlooking the canal. Fun! But you make a commitment to either climb up or stay down. Definitely not for the handicapped.

We took the efficient tram for a couple of stops to give some relief to my feet. I bought the wrong Clark shoes. ;-(
The taxi to the airport this morning was an easy way to go, albeit 45 euros. There was hardly any traffic which made me realize that people didn't need to go to work early to "beat" the traffic. They took their bikes. How nice! Less noise, less pollution, healthier citizens. Not many people overweight here. Food for thought..
We are enroute to Kilimanjaro airport via KLM air. Next settle- Arusha!