Upon arriving in Amsterdam, you can’t help noticing that the Dutch like bikes. Just about everyone here rides a bike – young and old happily bike along. Some people walk their dogs by bike. Others use it to bring home groceries, flowers, furniture, children or anything else one can think of. 68% of traffic to/from work or school is by bike, and bikes account for 36% of all traffic movements in Amsterdam. In fact, it was long said that the 811,000 people who live in Amsterdam own an estimated 881,000 bicycles. In other words, there are more bikes than residents. And four times more bikes than cars.
Over 50% of Amsterdammers use their bicycle on a daily basis. Yes, even when it snows! You need to be on the lookout constantly for other cyclists, pedestrians, scooters, trolleys and cars. Accidents happen! But still – hardly anyone wears a helmet.
Between 12,000 and 15,000 bicycles are pulled out of Amsterdam’s canals each year.
Off to museum row. Amsterdam has the only museum in the world you can cycle through – Rijksmuseum. Lots of Rembrandts here including his famous Night Watch. It was so much larger than we expected. Next door the Van Gogh Museum was also impressive.
Happy to have biked there safely.
One thing we noticed was lots of “New York” style pizza spots. We decided to share pizza and pasta at an Italian restaurant hoping it would be better than pizza in Ireland. Nope!
If you try one Dutch sweet treat, make it a stroopwafel. Two thin waffles stuck together with a layer of sweet syrup; these delectable delicacies are best enjoyed hot and gooey from a street market or bakery.
Head into any FEBO and you’ll see an array of hot snacks including hamburgers, kroketten and frinkandellen displayed behind glass doors. Put some coins into the slot and voila; dinner is served. Definitely not Michelin standard cuisine.
There are 165 Amsterdam canals that combine for a length of about 60 miles.
Houses built for wealthy bankers and merchants did double-duty as both houses and work spaces. The soil was so swampy that they had to build on stilts and that caused them to wobble and sink into the river, so now they are each a little off kilter! Earning them the name “Dancing Houses”.
There are 2,500 houseboats in Amsterdam.
I was able to get a last minute ticket to the Anne Frank house located on a canal called the Prinsengracht, close to the Westerkerk.
An afternoon bike tour took us exploring outside the city. Just north of Buiksloot, d’Admiraal Windmill stands next to the Noordhollandsch Canal. This octagonal windmill was built in 1792. (Why are these names so hard to pronounce?)
Adventures in Ireland 