Amsterdam, The Netherlands Photo Gallery
When we got to the locks that we need to go through to get to Amsterdam, there were protesters who would not allow us through.
The eco-activists were from a group called Extinction Rebellion and are protesting the use of fossil fuels by cruise ships. At this point we backed up and waited out at sea for most of the day.
A big beach we saw right before we entered the canal to Amsterdam. The wind must be nice for kite and wind surfing, and also land surfing called blow-carting, because there is a lot of them out there.
There were 3 rows of these tiny houses on the beach. Maybe people live there, maybe they are vacation homes, or maybe you can rent them for the day when you come to the beach.
When we finally went through the locks, this guy was power washing away the painted words of the protesters.
Clock of the IJmuiden water tower.
These were so unusual that we had to find out what they were. Google told us they were ventilation shafts of the Velser tunnel constructed in 1957.
As we came through the canal we saw traffic backed up for a very long way. As we passed this Latinvillage Festival we found out the why.
Amsterdam Central Station clock tower.
The canals of Amsterdam were very pretty.
Rijksmuseum is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history.
Fountains in the Rijksmuseum garden-They came and went in different formations, so that you stand inside the fountain.
A beautiful place on the canal!
Captain James, our captain and guide through our canal boat trip.
Our selfie on the canal ride. My hair is getting so long! It's time for a haircut.
A stroopwafel is a thin, round cookie made from two layers of sweet baked dough held together by syrup filling. They were recommended by Jaime, so I tried them on our boat tour and they were good.
Photo from the boat on the canal.
How would you like a houseboat like this to live in?
Just a few of the more than 1,700 bridges in Amsterdam.
Another houseboat, but look at all the flower boxes on the building behind it! Very pretty!
The central section of the Magere Brug is a bascule bridge made of white-painted wood. Because this bridge was very narrow, the locals called it magere brug, which literally means "skinny bridge".
Bases of the Blauwbrug (English: Blue bridge)-The bridge owes its name to a wooden "blue bridge" that was there from around 1600. These are very ornate and topped with a copy of the Imperial Crown of Austria.
All houses here sit on wooden piles, drilled deep into the wet soil. If they weren't built on poles, the houses would simply sink into the swampy ground. The old age and quality of the wooden piles make the buildings sink unevenly, making the houses appear skewed. Nowadays they fill up the pile with cement to make them extra sturdy.
Details on the Tivoli Doelen Amsterdam Hotel-This grand dame is Amsterdam’s oldest hotel, with a canal-front setting and Rembrandt history.
These houses, which are built on wooden poles are often referred to as the drunken houses, dancing houses or crooked houses because the lack of a good foundation has caused them to lean into each other.
The Munttoren (mint tower) was once part of the Regulierspoort which consisted of a gate with a tower on each side. Back in the 17th century, the tower was used to mint coins.
We didn't think this boat was going to make it under this bridge without scraping the top, but it made it.
We were told that this marked the butcher's house.
Can you see the hooks sticking out at the top of each building? In the old days they were used to lift goods to the higher floors which were storing areas. These days they are still used with mechanical lifts when moving in or out.
On the front left is the Schreierstoren, the second oldest building of Amsterdam. Established in 1485 and was part of the old city wall. The other towers belong to the Basilica of Saint Nicholas. St.Nicholas is the patron saint of both the church and the city of Amsterdam
Another row of some leaning buildings, including Amsterdam Jewel Apartments
This building looked like it was leaning so much!
The Montelbaanstoren is an old city defence tower located on the beautiful Oudeschans canal. It was built in 2 different styles: the lower part was built in the 16th century; the spire was added as a decoration later on.
Café de Sluyswacht is in the historical Sluyswachterhuisje (lockhouse): an adorably wonky little house dating from 1695 in the Jodenbreestraat.
The Stopera Building, a modern building that opened in 1986 and the present home base of the Dutch National Opera & Ballet. Our guide did not care for this modern building in the middle of the historic area.
In the Herengracht (Gentleman's Canal) we saw this rich merchant's home, shown by the many window panes, which would make you pay extra taxes.
Our canal trip was in this boat, another tour had already taken off.
Inside the flower market, which was fun and beautiful to explore. They had all kinds of bulbs to buy, especially tulips.
Founded in 1862, Bloemenmarkt is a beautiful and touristy flower market floating on the Singel canal in central Amsterdam. Also, notice all the bikes across the canal. Bikes have the right of way in this city, so you have to be careful where you walk.
Rietveld created his famous cupola on the roof of the Metz-building, with the galleria overlooking the city.
The official coat of arms symbol of the city of Amsterdam-At its core is the 'XXX' symbol, which is actually three vertical St. Andrew’s Crosses, not (as some people assume) shorthand for the Red Light District.
This is part of a beautiful mural on the wall of a tunnel at the Central Station to go to the ferries.
More of the beautiful tunnel mural.
This is A'DAM Lookout where we went to the top to take photos. We also rode on the free ferries to get there.
Knitted street art-It looks like a bunch of bicycle tires or bubbles.
A view of Amsterdam from A'DAM Lookout, in which you can see 2 riverboats.
Our selfie on top of the A'DAM Lookout with Amsterdam in the background.
Looking down at Central Station.
Another view of Amsterdam-I like these views from high.
The tall steeple in this photo is the Old Church. Also, the Anne Frank house is close to there, but there were no tickets available when I tried to purchase them.
Looking at our beautiful ship and some more riverboats.
The white building is the Palace of Justice and IJDock car park, but a pretty neat design.
We didn't have a warm welcome from the protesters, but this family made me feel good with their friendly waves as the ship left the city.
What we saw as our ship sailed back through the canal. 240 m² "Let me be myself" Mural of Anne Frank by Kobra for STRAAT on the NDSM wharf.
This was interesting architecture I saw on the way out of Amsterdam on the canal.
I saw these very colorful buildings, which looked cartoonish in this photo. Later I found out it was Inntel Hotels Amsterdam Zaandam when I searched on Google. It's a very interesting building.
I did see a few windmills and this was my best photo of one.
Just the pretty countryside of The Netherlands.
When we were in the locks coming out from Amsterdam we had an emergency. They used this crane to get the passenger off the ship. We never knew what kind of new thing we'd see each day.
An interesting sun that evening.