Amsterdam 2003

Hotel Mercury in Amsterdam (where we stayed) and the night-time view out my window.

The downtown area and some major landmarks we used to get our bearings as we roamed around.

Typical side-streets.

These birds are making a floating nest.

Canals and water everywhere.

One of hundreds of drawbridges.

Rob and Jeff.

A Brick Houseboat

A "Furniture Hook" which is used to move people into and out of the houses since the doorways and stairs are too small for furniture to fit through.

Bikes are a prime method of transportation. The bike paths are everywhere and look better maintained than some of the streets.

Cycling in the Dutch Countryside

I rented a "Yellow Bike" and went on a 35-40km bike tour of the Dutch countryside.

The ferries connect Amsterdam with the other side of the harbor. This one is designed for bicycles and is free.

Cycling along one of the many dikes and canals as we head out into the country.

This is the last old style "Mill" in Amsterdam. These mills were used to grind grain and pump water out of the fields. They were also used by the resistance during WWII to send messages. The messages were conveyed by the angle of the blades when the Mill was stopped.

A modern drawbridge.

This might look like a bike path but it is also the road to the country houses in this area.

Taking a ferry across a small canal (this one could handle bicycles and small cars).

The land here is more than 15' below sea-level and requires constant pumping to keep it relatively dry. Some of these fields have been pumped for hundreds of years.

This village with its lake and small streets was famous for making cheese.

The small house in the foreground is where Napoleon stayed when he was in this area.

The "Yellow Bikes" we were riding identified us as a group of inexperienced tourists and people everywhere yelled the following in many different languages
"Watch Out! Yellow Bikes!!!"

Most of the cycling paths were well marked but the pronunciation was a mouthful.

About a third of the way into the ride we stopped for a snack at the "Pancake House" which dated back over 300 years.

Another draw-bridge we crossed as we left the village.

One of many cattle farms we rode past.

A boat was coming down the canal so we hopped off our bikes and raised the bridge so they could pass underneath.

The young boy in our group hit another cyclist head-on. Unfortunately, the lady who was hit went down hard injuring her elbow and knee.

We crossed a number of Peat Bogs and bicycle bridges. These bicycle bridges had a plank to walk on and a channel to put your bike tires into.

This bicycle ferry was just big enough for a few bikes and sometimes took water over the bow.

We rode all the way out to what they called the Inland Sea. It was an area which used to be connected to the ocean before a big dike was built. Now it's full of fresh water runoff from the surrounding countries.