Amsterdam

Amsterdam The Vasilik family visit Amsterdam!

The first thing you notice in Amterdam is there are bicycles everywhere!		There are parking structures dedicated to bicycles.


We frequently saw a mom or dad with two kids on their bike, with a setup like this:		A whole family can ride this one!


Bikes tended to be very "old school". No gears (the terrain is flat). Usually no hand brakes. And, we were told that "nice" bikes stood out and would be a target of theft.		The building with the awnings was our hotel: Hotel de Munck. Expensive, old, primitive. Very nice receptionist. He even lent us his personal power adaptor the first night after we discovered none of ours would work.


Everywhere there are special bike lanes. You have to be careful not to wander into them.		In the nearby park, we found what looked like an old felled tree, but it really was made out of metal!


A special track for walking your bike up the steps.		A "coffeeshop". We never actually went in one but they were everywhere.


Plus lots of places selling paraphernalia.		Healthy snacks.


Dam Square.		There were a lot of "performers" in the square. These weren't the standard "living statues", they were very low rent and low skill.


Later there was a protest against China concerning an "East Turkistan".		Here, the cops seem to be checking their credentials.


We took a the standard canal tour. Nice to sit for a while.		A canal boat turning around.


We saw Booking.com alongside one of the canals. They're a big competitor of Expedia.		The old locks to the inner city. Now obsolete because of another set of locks covering a wider area.


There were ships like these which are floating hotels.		New construction. The one second from the right is the new library. Very nice.


When we visited the library, we saw this Mouse Mansion		From the top floor of the library


Floating Chinese restaurant.		Houseboats everywhere.


		Evidently, the city limits the number of houseboats to about 2,500.


On the Amstel river		Famous view where up to as many as 7 bridges can be seen at once.


Distinctive architecture.		Many buildings have a hoist to bring goods up and down ...


		... because the stairs in these buildings are not great for hauling things up and down.


We went to a park where we saw a number of groups working out.		A cool swing desinged for as many as three swingers.


The kids liked getting pushed in this as well.		There must have been a super heros convention in town.


We visited NEMO, a childrens science museum.		One of the demostrations was a giant Rube Goldberg setup.


What is a science museum without bubbles?		The Easter Bunny also visited!


The kids had fun searching for their Easter treasures around the hotel room. Kenny wasn't buying that the Easter Bunny actually brought the presents, until I told him he had to at least pretend to believe, in order to get some loot.		On Easter Sunday, we went to the Zoo. The line was huge. While waiting on line we saw this unusal urinal.


		Fun playgrounds at the zoo.


The elusive Patagonian Cavy.		A news crew filming zoo stuff.


In this case, kids were invited to turn over eggs with their noses, simulating what birds need to do.		Prairie dogs.


Good climbing on this!


		Peter discovered how to make wings out of his jacket


There was an aquarium at the zoo as well. Here they have a simulation of an Amsterdam canal and the things and fish you might find there.


The piranas were a big hit.		Lion Fish.


Creepy fish things.		Nemo!


Kenny and Peter try to tempt butterflys onto their hands. In the background, this poor three year old fell into a pond.		I'm sure glad cows don't fly! A bird dropped a present on me.


Eric spins Kenny and another child at the playground.		A walkway for chimps to go from their exibit to their sleeping quarters.


It turns out that a newborn chimp died very recently.		It took several days for the mother to mourn the loss of the baby, here on the floor of the enclosure.


I thought there were really small cars in Geneva. They get even smaller in Amsterdam!		The weather wasn't that great, so on Saturday we went to TunFun, a play space which was built underneath an overpass.


There was a slide with about a 5 foot free fall at the beginning		Looks like there is some cleanup needing to be done.


Trams pass right over the playspace.		A bowling alley.


Bouncy house.		Indoor soccer court


The before picture.		We went on a pancake cruise around the harbor. This is a 50's soviet submarine.


Windmills all over the place.		We met Nora and her two children on the Cruise. Very friendly. She answered a lot of our questions about Holland.


Peter and mom on the pancake cruise		Family portrait a la mirror.


This is how recycling is picked up.		Kenny and Peter "reading" comics while we are at a coffee shop (not that kind of coffee shop!).


Pretty picture.		There was a long line for the Anne Frank House - too long for us.


		This is the actual house.


Herring is popular.		We visited the "Cat Boat" where there are some permanent residents, and others who are up for adoption.


		On the flight back, we met a father and his four children (!) traveling back to Switzerland. We let the kids sit together.