After another great breakfast at our amazing hotel we hopped a train for a one hour ride to The Netherland’s capital, Amsterdam. We all agreed that the two things we wanted to do in Amsterdam were a canal boat tour and visit the Van Gogh’s Museum. The first part was easy, we walked across the street from the train station, bought our tickets and climbed aboard. 
Amsterdam is laid out with concentric rings of canals and the best way to see it is by boat. One thing you notice is that all of the houses have beams with hooks on them protruding from their gables.
I thought this might be a carryover from the days when most of the canal side buildings were warehouses. However, we were told that because Dutch staircases are so steep and narrow it is far easier to hoist things up on the outside and pass them through a window opening. Canal traffic is quite busy mostly with various sizes of tour boats. Our boat was involved in a small bumping incident, which is apparently quite common. We noticed that there were no tall buildings in Amsterdam. We found this was due to the soft ground conditions. There are rows upon rows of nice looking older canal homes and very little apparent new construction. 
Leaving our boat at the Rijk’s Museum stop we headed in search of the Van Gogh Museum. We were told you had to pass through the tunnel in the Rijk’s Museum. This turned out to be a nice diversion. First there were groups of buskers playing classical music and second was the Rijk’s Museum gift shop. 
Exiting the tunnel we came to a large open area with crowds milling about. We crossed the area to find that access to the Van Gogh Museum was sold out until early that evening. A little dejected we headed off in search of lunch. Reboarding the canal boat we proceeded through more of the city. Getting off at the City Hall we decided to do some touring on foot. More canals, more old buildings, more crowds and millions of homicidal bicycles. 
BICYCLES. It’s time we talked about bicycles. The Netherlands is a land of bicycles. What it isn’t is a land of bicycle helmets. If you don’t count over ear headphones as personal protective equipment we have only seen one native wearing a helmet. In Delft the bike is a primary form of transportation but the riders there are quite aware of pedestrians. In Amsterdam you have to be on your toes and keep an eye out in every direction. There are, without any exaggeration, millions of bicycles in Amsterdam. If bicycles in Delft are a heat rash, in Amsterdam they are leprosy. 
After a delicious designer chocolate we reboarded the tour boat for the last lap. Arriving back in Delft Kelly decided she wanted a shower and a rest so Judy and I went in search of dinner. We discovered a new neighbourhood with about a dozen restaurants surrounding a treed central square. Choosing the Belgian Beer Cafe (that should surprise no one) we settled in for a very nice meal.
Home and to bed.
Decaigny Abroad 