April 2001 › Mom and Sue Visit Holland › April in Paris › Easter at the Keukenhof › A Few Hours in Amsterdam › Saturday in Haarlem › Haarlem - More Places › Flower Parade - Haarlem Other Months › Index page

A Few Hours in Amsterdam Sunday, April 22, 2001; posted by Lisa On Easter Monday, many shops and businesses in The Hague were closed, so it was a good time to explore Amsterdam. Rosemary, Lisa, and Paris took the train to the city. We went by covered boat for a tour of the canals and saw Amsterdam from a unique perspective. There were many houseboats along the canals offering a view of a rather odd lifestyle. It was hard to miss them, especially because the little girl behind me kept poking me in the shoulder saying, "boot, boot!" (Remember "Das Boot"?) As you may be able to tell from the photos, the weather, within the few hours of our visit, ranged from pouring down rain to bright sunshine. Amsterdam was bustling with holiday tourists; between the crowds and the rain, it was sometimes difficult to have a look at anything but the patch of ground in front of us, but when it cleared up and we found some less crowded streets, the city was as fascinating as always. Mom and I on the street of the 310 year old Inn de Wildeman. Not sure what the old red brick building is in the center of the street behind us, but it looks as though it was part of the old defense of the city. Very nifty looking. Bright spring sunshine illuminates the still waters of a canal, a boat much like the one we were on, and the old crooked and newer straighter buildings all mashed together. More sunshine and canal boat views. Notice the dangerously crooked buildings near the middle of this photo. So many of the buildings in Amsterdam share this precarious state, it's a wonder that more of them don't go sliding into the canals. More lovely old buildings in Amsterdam in the typically Dutch style. A view of a beautiful gilded bridge which has some historical importance that escapes memory. The narration on the boat cruise was rather difficult to understand over all of the racket created by the children and noisy tourists on board. Anyway, it's old and pretty and that's the sort of thing we're looking for in Europe. Another view of pretty old buildings along the canals in Amsterdam.