Day 24 Amsterdam

 Went back to the bike shop twice today.  On the second visit I took my last bike ride around the city before dropping the bike off to be packed up.  Bike riding in Amsterdam, I think, is safer than walking.  When you are walking around and you get to an intersection you have to watch for cars, trams, and bikes.  But on a bike you just follow the paths and look for the red or green lights to tell you if you have the right of way or not.  Especially once you know where you are going, riding the bike in the city was fun - and the fastest way to get around.

The Rijksmuseum.

I still amazed how many bikes are here.  I've read there are over 900,000 bikes in the city while only 820,000 people live here.

I stopped at this open air market. (and yes, you can see the first picture was sunny but this picture 15 minutes later shows it has just rained.)

I had some poffertjes - basically little pancakes.  These were covered in butter, powdered sugar, with a lemon wedge.  Really good.

Later in the day, on my second trip to the bike shop, I stopped again at the market and had a fresh made Stroopwafel.  What a treat.

Always dramatic clouds overhead.  The weather changes on a dime.

Day 25 Amsterdam

 Woke up to a beautiful Fall morning and went on a canal cruise.

You can see the Elm trees lining the canal starting to turn yellow and drop their leaves.

Typical Amsterdam architecture.

Just a pretty shot.

A picture showing steel beams sticking out from the top of each residence.  These beams were originally used by merchants to raise goods into or out of their business.  But today the beams are still used to get heavy and bulky items into these homes - because the homes are so narrow and the stair cases are too steep to carry big items up the steps.  (originally the home owner paid taxes based on the width of the front facade of the house - so they kept the front narrow and often had the back of the home flare out wider.)

Fall colors.

Then went for a walk in Vondel Park.  Many people were out enjoying the nice weather on a Sunday afternoon.

A few more things to see tomorrow and then time to pack up and head home.

 

Day 23 Amsterdam

 Rode 32 miles into Amsterdam

Due to such wet weather I have decided to end this ride in Amsterdam.  Of course I have mixed feelings on not completing the planned ride.  I don't like the idea of not finishing, but even my friend Paul from the Netherlands said he would have stopped long before me due to the weather.  I could keep riding but it would be more like a repetitive exercise of pedaling to get somewhere rather than enjoying the ride and stopping here and there to explore a new place.  

But I have to view the trip as a success.  I got to spend time in Prague, Dresden, Wittenberg, Berlin, Hamburg, Groningen, and Amsterdam.  I also met many wonderful, very kind people who extended hospitality to me and informed me about the place in which they live.  And I got to spend time with a cycling friend I made a few years ago while on a ride along the Danube river.  It's hard to complain about that.

Today started out well with cool temperatures and sunshine.

Friday must be market day because several towns I rode through had open air markets set up.

Waiting for the last ferry ride of the trip.

These short ferry rides across rivers and canals have been free of charge.

Fall is clearly in the air.  Approaching Haarlem, Netherlands.

 

De Grote of St. Bavokerk te Haarlem.  Constructed in 1479.  Both Mozart and Handel played here.

Once I got to Amsterdam I started to walk around to bike shops looking for a box to put my bike in to ship home.  Finally at the 7th shop they had a box.  Yeah!!.  Now just a few loose ends to tie up before I'll be ready to come home.