Thursday, October 11, 2012

DAY 50: THU 11 OCT - AMSTERDAM

Fine 3-13deg

Slept in till 7:00am, did my morning exercise routine then went for a walk around the local canals, taking some nice photos in the early morning light.  Amsterdam is certainly a photographer's paradise due to all the different landscapes, canals and old buildings.  As it was a cool 4deg after about an hour I was back in the warm motel room having my breakfast of banana, yoghurt and croissant.  

I tossed up whether to go for a long walk or a ride and as it was a cool 3deg outside I decided to do some walking to use the different mussels.   Wandered into the city via the back blocks, watched an old bridge opening up on a canal to let a barge and tug through; great engineering for its time.  Could not find a date on the bridge but it had to be 17-18th century.

Ended up at McDonalds for lunch, Caesar salad as usual; don't eat anything else that they serve up.  Even their chicken in the salad is dodgy, caked in fatty breadcrumbs and guaranteed to contain no real chicken.  However the salad is ok and it's a cheap lunch for A$6.  

Just received an SMS from Wendy who made it to Singapore.  At that time it was not long before takeoff to home.      

I'm still enjoying Amsterdam but also glad to be going home tomorrow.  It will be great to get prepared for the Asian cycle tour next month.  Really looking forward to some more company on that ride.   

Walked and walked some today just enjoying being in a quieter Amsterdam due to a significant drop in the tourist numbers.  I guess the season slows down as the temperature drops.  Didn't see anything in particular, just soaking up the sights and sounds.  Listened to some good busking music in Rembrandt Square.  Bought some fresh figs and a small goat’s yoghurt at the supermarket.   

Got back at the motel about 3pm just in time for a nice cup of green tea and a read of my book.


Converted working barge for housing



Geese near our hotel

Floating house in Amsterdam


Three icons of Amsterdam - bikes, tulips, and canals

Central Station



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