Amsterdam
Amsterdam was a fun place. While I was there, it was bitterly cold (yes, I know, laugh all you want, fellow Canadians), but it really was. A few nights that I was there, it snowed. Anyway, I stayed in Amsterdam for about a week, and my good high school friend Sarah Anderson joined me from Germany. She is studying optometry and is doing her practicum at a military base there. Anyway, on to the pictures!
Here is one of the main canals of Amsterdam, close to the center of the city. With reflected sun, of course.
Built islands and parks. Did you know that all of Amsterdam is not an actual natural land mass, but was created completely by humans? The whole area had the water drained from it and wooden posts driven into the ground support the buildings that sit on top of them.
Interesting housing, down by the port.
Dutch architecture.
A boat along one of the canals.
More canals.
Amsterdam, as you probably know, has a bit of a sketchy reputation. I thought that it was interesting, therefore, that this and many other road dividers have "XXX" written all over them. In fact, the three X's are crosses and represent the three historical disasters that befell Amsterdam regularly in the past - fire, plague, and flooding.
A plaque on the exterior of a building.
The Anne Frank house. I didn't go in, but did take a picture. Doesn't look that special, does it?
Sarah and an American fellow that we met who spent some time with us. This is in front of the Rijksmuseum. The museum is a repository of Dutch art, including the famous works by Rembrandt.
Sarah on a biking tour that we took around the city. Bikes are very popular in Amsterdam, and there are special bike lanes where you can get run over by bikers if you aren't careful.
Me, on the bike tour.
A statue of Rembrandt.
A 3-D reproduction of Rembrandt's most famous painting, The Night Watch.
On our bike tour we went to a clog (wooden shoe) factory / cheese factory. Here are finished but unpainted shoes. Look comfy?
These fancy decorated clogs cost more than the rest and are worn specially for your wedding. They were a tad expensive, so a picture sufficed.
Me, with wedding clogs.
Another statue of Rembrandt in front of a real live windmill! Actually, the windmill wasn't used anymore, and few of the old windmills are anymore, but it was a good picture. This was on our bike tour. Did you know that aside from grinding grain into flour, windmills were also used as pumps to draw drain the water around Amsterdam?
No tulips, because it was still a little bit too early, but we did see some daffodills.
White daffodills.
The older area of the city is full of soviet-style sculptures. I liked this one.
An inscription on this arch gives some useful advice: "Homo Sapiens Non Urinat In Ventum" (Humans, don't piss in the wind).
More of the Rijksmuseum.
A sculpture outside the museum.
A street in Amsterdam.
Clever... soo clever.
A cool theatre with semi-gothic exterior.
More architecture.
A bell / clock tower.
Ahhh! No, wait, they aren't real. Bronze / brass iguanas in a park.
A riverboat along one of the canals.
Here is one of the main canals of Amsterdam, close to the center of the city. With reflected sun, of course.
Built islands and parks. Did you know that all of Amsterdam is not an actual natural land mass, but was created completely by humans? The whole area had the water drained from it and wooden posts driven into the ground support the buildings that sit on top of them.
Interesting housing, down by the port.
Dutch architecture.
A boat along one of the canals.
More canals.
Amsterdam, as you probably know, has a bit of a sketchy reputation. I thought that it was interesting, therefore, that this and many other road dividers have "XXX" written all over them. In fact, the three X's are crosses and represent the three historical disasters that befell Amsterdam regularly in the past - fire, plague, and flooding.
A plaque on the exterior of a building.
The Anne Frank house. I didn't go in, but did take a picture. Doesn't look that special, does it?
Sarah and an American fellow that we met who spent some time with us. This is in front of the Rijksmuseum. The museum is a repository of Dutch art, including the famous works by Rembrandt.
Sarah on a biking tour that we took around the city. Bikes are very popular in Amsterdam, and there are special bike lanes where you can get run over by bikers if you aren't careful.
Me, on the bike tour.
A statue of Rembrandt. 
A 3-D reproduction of Rembrandt's most famous painting, The Night Watch. 
On our bike tour we went to a clog (wooden shoe) factory / cheese factory. Here are finished but unpainted shoes. Look comfy?
These fancy decorated clogs cost more than the rest and are worn specially for your wedding. They were a tad expensive, so a picture sufficed.
Me, with wedding clogs.
Another statue of Rembrandt in front of a real live windmill! Actually, the windmill wasn't used anymore, and few of the old windmills are anymore, but it was a good picture. This was on our bike tour. Did you know that aside from grinding grain into flour, windmills were also used as pumps to draw drain the water around Amsterdam?
No tulips, because it was still a little bit too early, but we did see some daffodills.
White daffodills.
The older area of the city is full of soviet-style sculptures. I liked this one.
An inscription on this arch gives some useful advice: "Homo Sapiens Non Urinat In Ventum" (Humans, don't piss in the wind).
More of the Rijksmuseum.
A sculpture outside the museum.
A street in Amsterdam.
Clever... soo clever.
A cool theatre with semi-gothic exterior.
More architecture.
A bell / clock tower.
Ahhh! No, wait, they aren't real. Bronze / brass iguanas in a park.
A riverboat along one of the canals.
A friendly game of MEGACHESS!!!
Well, that sums up Amsterdam. Next up: Turkey!
posted by Ben Norris at
2:31 p.m.
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