AMSTERDAM - SEPTEMBER 2000
I flew Northwest Airlines from Phoenix to Amsterdam (via Detroit). The trip itself was uneventful and I landed in Amsterdam the following morning. I had a room reserved at the Ibis Hotel near Centraal Station and took a cab to the hotel. The location of the hotel was great, but the hotel itself was bad! To quote Bob Hope from a long time ago, the rooms were so small that I am sure that the rats in the hotel had round shoulders! All this at $120 a night!!
The following morning, I took a short cruise along some of the major canals in Amsterdam. We boarded a little boat across the street from Centraal Station and started our little trip.
It was Saturday morning and the streets were quiet and peaceful. The architecture of the buildings - both old and new - was interesting. Most of the building have hoisting hooks fitted into the roof. The staircases in these buildings are quite narrow and the hooks are used to hoist up or lower large objects from the upper floors of the building.
The large items are hoisted up using the hook outside the building, and then taken into the homes. We saw this operation at one point along the cruise.
As you would expect, there are several bridges that allow pedestrians and vehicles to cross over the numerous canals in the city. This is a picture of seven arch bridges across one of the canals along the cruise. Unfortunately, the picture doesn't quite show all seven bridges....but take my word for it!!
After the cruise, I went down to see the Rijksmusem. An impressive building with an impressive collection. ...including a few Rembrandts! I spent the better part of the afternoon here before heading back to the hotel to pack for the trip to Egypt later that evening.