I started off by forgetting some stuff that I wanted to take with me, like some granola bars, a power bar for my 'puter, and my binder where I write stuff down.
D'oh!
Our flight from Calgary was delayed an hour, because there was fear of a lightning strike. We waited all that time, and then it was a matter of five minutes for the ground crew to finish what they were doing when they were interrupted.
The flight to Amsterdam was long and boring. I wish that I could sleep on planes, but nothing I have tried so far has made that possible. I read and watched some video. I saw an episode of Anthony Bourdain's "The Layover," which dealt with his stop in Amsterdam. So I was able to get an idea of what to see while I was there.
We were stopping about twelve hours, and it was about midnight Alberta time when we got there, but it was early Sunday morning when we took the train into the city to do some sightseeing.
I and a couple others in our party started by taking a canal boat from the central train station to the Rijksmuseum.
Amsterdam Harbour
On the way, we passed Anne Frank's House, which has been turned into a museum. We decided not to try and get in because of the long lines waiting. It was still early in the morning Amsterdam time, but there were a lot of tourists already lining up to see what the city had to offer.
Central Station
Riding down the canals was interesting. There a many houseboats tied up to the water's edge, and a lot of smaller boats of the self-propelled kind with tourists paddling away to watch out for.
Canal Boats
The museum had some interesting thingsto see, such as old ship models, arms and ammunition, dollhouses (such intricate detail!), clothing, jewellry, dishes, and on and on and on.
The Rijksmuseum
From the museum, we walked back towards the central station. It got more and more touristy the closer we go to our destination. The crowds were incredible. The city does have some interesting sights to see, but there are many people elbowing their way into see them.
We passed by the flower market, which had a lot of bulbs on display. It was past the time of tulips blooming, so I guess the roots were the best they could do.
Metal lizards everywhere!
And, of course, there are the notorious coffee bars, where people can freely smoke marijuana (but not for free). Bourdain dealt with these very humourously on his show, and if you ever get a chance to see it, it's hilarious.
If I hadn't been so tired, I might have appreciated what I was seeing a little better, but eventually it was time to head back to the airport and board our flight to Kenya, which would take about eight hours. I was so tired, I would actually sleep on the plane for a good bit, but there was still a lot of travelling to do once we got there.
More about that next time.
Note: I had planned to add more photos, but it's not happening. I'll try later, maybe when I get back to Canada.
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