Firstly I went out on foot to find a supermarket, to get some basics like drinks to stock our fridge. I got lost but eventually found a supermarket, not the one I intended to go to, but mission accomplished. As it happened, I had walked around in a circle and was quite close to home by the time I made my purchases. I passed a nice bakery also, so picked up some fresh bread for our breakfast.
Once fed and watered, we set out to catch a tram along to Dam Square, this is a central point in the city, and a focal point for tourists such as ourselves. After admiring the Royal Palace and Nieuwe Kerk ("New Church" even though its built in the 15th century) from the outside, we set out to wander around some streets and canals.
We were a little early, just before 10am, and many shops didn't open till 10 or 11am, so it was mostly window shopping. What caught our attention was the lack of chain stores. Nearly every shop, cafe and restaurant in this area seemed to be a private owned, one of a kind restaurant.
I had not idea that Amsterdam has so many canals, and how wide many of them are, and how many bridges there are. And the architecture is amazing, so many old houses, all sandwiched together side by side, some leaning or subsiding somehow, but still occupied.
We saw the narrowest house in Amsterdam (according to some) that is no wider then the front door, and I wonder how on earth people get upstairs?
We visited Westerkerk, the tallest church in Amsterdam, where I decided I wanted to partake in the tour to the top of the bell tower, for the view. This required a 45 minute wait, so after a while Helen and Gwen went off to find a quilting shop (which ultimately turned out to be closed). While I waited, I encountered just next door Anne Frank's house, now a major tourist attraction, with massive queues of people forming. We had already decided not to go there, so this is as close we I got. Anyhow, back to the church. My climb up the bell tower was worth it, encountering many levels, two sets of active bells, and older sets from years gone by still on display. Also there are some extremely old and fragile bell organs, where each key is attached to ropes. And of course the view from the top was worth it!
I wandered back to meet a cold Helen and Gwen, waiting on a bridge as agreed, it had been drizzling on and off and really not that warm, so they were glad to get moving.
We wandered some more taking in many sights, and eventually found a small corner cafe to get some lunch. Cosy and friendly, it served our needs perfectly. The highlight was an amazing apple pie, the recipe coming from the owner's mother. No franchise here!
After that, we visited a shop next door that specially caters to small pampered dogs (like our Libby). However even most stuff in the store would be too large or bulky for Libby, however Helen did find a little jumper with a hood, which will keep Libby warm during winter.
We wandered some more along the canals and back streets, by now the sun came out properly, with blue sky, and we sat in a small park for a while to watch the world go by. Very peaceful and pleasant.
After that, we encountered an organic store that reminded us of Moore Wilsons Fresh. We went through there, picked up some bread and snacks, admired the cheese selection, and duly made our purchase. Food is not overly expensive here, compared to other European tourist traps I've visited such as Rome and Paris.
Next we walked to Spui, a central point for many more restaurants and cafes. By now it was mid afternoon, Helen and Gwen decided to hop on a tram back home for a rest. I decided to head off alone for something that didn't interest them...... Bodyworlds.
Bodyworlds is a permanent exhibit here in Amsterdam. Previously it has had exhibits in many major cities, I went to one in the London O2 in 2009. I'll repeat here what I wrote last time: "For those of you who don’t know what Bodyworlds is, a chap called Dr Gunther von Hagens invented a means of essentially turning biological specimens (such as people :-) into a plastic form that looks as real as it did before, but it doesn't perish or smell. The exhibit is incredible, allowing laymen to learn all about the human body by actually seeing it. Different cross-sections, and ways of layering the specimens, allow us to see how every part of the human body is constructed. It’s truly amazing." So it was created by a Dutch person, hence the permanent exhibit here. Photos were allowed so here's the kind of things I saw (remember these are real people who donated their bodies to science).
For dinner, Helen and I wandered out, and got lost in a part of town different to earlier, and found a modest cafe to get a quick meal. We ended up on the tourist route where the many shops and restaurants became repetitive and all looked the same.
Tomorrow, we will head out of the city to look at some flowers. More will be revealed in the next blog post.
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