Kevin & Petra's travels: Amsterdam

Wednesday 3 July 2013

Rain stopped play and curtailed our venture into Amsterdam. And, when I say rain I mean it prolonged, set in and persistent. Nothing for it but to stay in and do van stuff. Brilliant, do all those jobs we don't normally get time for.

Thursday 4 July 2013

So today started off with rather a rude awakening. At 05.30 two blokes and a girl with rather a bad cough (she really ought to see a doctor) woke everybody up shouting at each other coughing, calling out, coughing and basically swearing and coughing. On the up side it woke us up and we got straight on the Internet which is lightning fast at that time in the morning.

By the time we had a full breakfast, showers and made ready for the day (sarnies, drinks and shortbread) it was 09.00 and we were off on our bikes. Now, it was our intention to make our way to the Metro, fold the bikes up and travel the 10km or so on the tram. It didn't quite turn out like that as only a few yards into the journey, Kev said do you fancy cycling all the way? So we did!

The ride in was a joy, every inch of it (in fact of the whole day) was spent on cycle lanes and it was totally flat and easy to coast along. We went down canal sides and busy main roads, through suburbs and tree lined shopping centres it was a great snapshot of Amsterdam. Eventually we arrived in the absolute centre of Amsterdam at the memorial at Dam Square to the fallen in WW2 and the start of our planned cycle tour of the city.

Radiating out from the centre are a succession of canal rings lined on both sides with impressive tall town houses 3, 4 or even 5 stories high with huge windows and impressive doors and surrounds. Apparently, they had to build them as light as possible due to ground subsidence. This can be seen on some houses that lean forward or back in relation to their neighbours. One house was simply wrong and crooked beyond reason.

The tour we did showed us the different architecture and in particular the ornate collection of gables, cornices and wall plaques. The weather was lovely and sunny and we stopped at the many bridges that cross the canals to watch the low sleek tour boats motor by. Another boat was having a BBQ it smelt lovely. We saw houses belonging to ambassadors, painters, wealthy Merchants and alike.

As we slowly made our way around the canals you can't help but notice the amount of people on cycles. We saw some of the most amazing contraptions one was made out of wood, teak I think, another had a steering wheel instead of handle bars and a third was a 3 wheeler with the front of a Noddy Car! Brilliant. Despite it being so busy in the city with cars, trams, buses and bikes at no time did we feel threatened or in any danger.

We stopped off at a Starbucks for a well deserved cup of coffee in front of a market selling nothing but tulip bulbs, it was very colourful and very interesting to people watch for half an hour. After, we set off again on our travels and by lunch time we were sat on a park bench watching a bunch of lads playing football. It was great to watch them as they really enjoyed themselves. The score was 2-0 to the better team.

After lunch we found ourselves on the river Amstal (I thought this was in Stourport?) sitting on a bench looking at a series of locks and and watching the launches go through along with larger vessels. About 200m down from the locks is the Magere Brug bridge which is made up of two counter weighted beams which raise the deck. We were fortunate to see this in action as as we sat there a huge barge came through the lock and waited for the road to lift. As it crept closer to the bridge it looked like it would never lift in time but, just in the nick of time the bridge lifted and the barge powered up its engines and it dragged itself through the opened gate.

After all the excitement of the day, it was time to make our way back. We crossed the bridge and to our surprise we had to wait for another one to close for the same barge. A swift look around a market, a purchase of a new bell for Petra's bike and a half of lager in a local watering hole saw us head off in the direction of the camp site.

Now, going to Amsterdam is one thing with all the sign posts telling us where to go, but coming back was quite another as we ricochet from one road to another looking for the right roads to take. We certainly didn't go back anything like the way we went but eventually we got there tired from a good 40km cycling.

Great news, when we looked on the Internet emails, we had had an email from Greta and Luc, a couple we met in St.Tropez. They have invited us to visit them in Antwerpen. Yes, it's a back track but not that much of a detour. Our next stop following the weekend will be Maastricht. So a good weekend to look forward to with some nice friends.

Another brilliant day.....