My morning started out at the Noordemarkt in Jordaan, a very "artsy" neighborhood of Amsterdam. There were stalls and stalls of fruit, veggies, cheese, baked goods, antiques, books, etc. It wasn't too busy, which was nice because I was able to freely wander up and down observing my favorite place in all cities.
I went on a little jaunt around Jordaan before crossing over to the Southern Canal area and going to the Archives (after a quick stop at a branch of the Modern Arts Museum). The archives were in the vault of an old bank, now converted into one of the thirty-five (I think although probably more) vaults with Dutch archives. The bank had these incredible tiled floors with beautiful blue and yellow tiles and of course, some great little snippets from the archives, including a police log noting Anne Frank's stolen bike (hers was stolen, she didn't steal anything).
I picked up some Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, which just perked up my day entirely. I wandered around the eastern part of the Southern Canal Belt and saw the crazy mayor's house where he used to scribble graffiti in blood, a fancy old bridge that is popular for wedding pictures, the Hermitage and of course did some more people watching. I eventually found a seat in a wilted tulip garden near the Plaza where I was going to catch the canal boat ride.
The canal ride was great- it was free (donations requested), there were some great people- a couple from Chicago and about seven people all from Saskatoon. I've never met so many people from Saskatoon before in my life, especially not together. They were very nice although the dad had the thickest Canadian accent I had ever heard. Every accent stereotype was reflected in his voice. I had to hold myself back to stop giggling when he talked. There was also a nice couple from Chicago who had just started a long European trip. We just meandered through the canals, seeing the sights, listening to the only Amsterdam native tell us about the buildings and basking in the sunshine. We saw the narrowest building in Amsterdam, a crazy musical man who hangs a clog on the end of a fishing pole to collect tips, avoided being hit by large canal boats that were too big for the narrow canals and biker boats and had a great time. St. Nicolaas Boat Tour comes highly recommended by everyone- just make sure to come early and book before they fill up!
I was wandering around aimlessly after the canal ride trying to find the right tram to take to get to Oosterpark. I stumbled across an English bookstore where I borrowed for a bit but since I still had half of a book left, I opted out buying a new one- because I have great self-control. After leaving the bookstore, I stumbled across the biggest flower market in Amsterdam. It was tulips, tulips, tulips galore. Flowers were hung from the ceiling, there were buckets of huge bulbs, ripe for planting and it smelled delicious. The only thing that marred it was "Holland's Best Cheese Shop" which didn't smell good. I cannot handle the strong smell of Dutch cheese.
The rest of my day was spent reading in the Oosterpark. I finished up the rest of my food, had some chocolate spread on bread for dessert, read, tanned, relaxed in the long grass and people watched. Such an enjoyable evening in the sunshine. So glad that I had such great weather!
I went on a little jaunt around Jordaan before crossing over to the Southern Canal area and going to the Archives (after a quick stop at a branch of the Modern Arts Museum). The archives were in the vault of an old bank, now converted into one of the thirty-five (I think although probably more) vaults with Dutch archives. The bank had these incredible tiled floors with beautiful blue and yellow tiles and of course, some great little snippets from the archives, including a police log noting Anne Frank's stolen bike (hers was stolen, she didn't steal anything).
I picked up some Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, which just perked up my day entirely. I wandered around the eastern part of the Southern Canal Belt and saw the crazy mayor's house where he used to scribble graffiti in blood, a fancy old bridge that is popular for wedding pictures, the Hermitage and of course did some more people watching. I eventually found a seat in a wilted tulip garden near the Plaza where I was going to catch the canal boat ride.
The canal ride was great- it was free (donations requested), there were some great people- a couple from Chicago and about seven people all from Saskatoon. I've never met so many people from Saskatoon before in my life, especially not together. They were very nice although the dad had the thickest Canadian accent I had ever heard. Every accent stereotype was reflected in his voice. I had to hold myself back to stop giggling when he talked. There was also a nice couple from Chicago who had just started a long European trip. We just meandered through the canals, seeing the sights, listening to the only Amsterdam native tell us about the buildings and basking in the sunshine. We saw the narrowest building in Amsterdam, a crazy musical man who hangs a clog on the end of a fishing pole to collect tips, avoided being hit by large canal boats that were too big for the narrow canals and biker boats and had a great time. St. Nicolaas Boat Tour comes highly recommended by everyone- just make sure to come early and book before they fill up!
I was wandering around aimlessly after the canal ride trying to find the right tram to take to get to Oosterpark. I stumbled across an English bookstore where I borrowed for a bit but since I still had half of a book left, I opted out buying a new one- because I have great self-control. After leaving the bookstore, I stumbled across the biggest flower market in Amsterdam. It was tulips, tulips, tulips galore. Flowers were hung from the ceiling, there were buckets of huge bulbs, ripe for planting and it smelled delicious. The only thing that marred it was "Holland's Best Cheese Shop" which didn't smell good. I cannot handle the strong smell of Dutch cheese.
The rest of my day was spent reading in the Oosterpark. I finished up the rest of my food, had some chocolate spread on bread for dessert, read, tanned, relaxed in the long grass and people watched. Such an enjoyable evening in the sunshine. So glad that I had such great weather!
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