Quick two & a bit hour flight from Helsinki to Amsterdam. Bit of a panic at the arrivals area of Schiphol as could not see my Tauck tours ride, but he was just running a bit late & found him on my second round through the throngs. Twenty minutes to my B&B in the Jordaan area of Amsterdam, the Jordaan area was built at the large expansion of Amsterdam in early 17th century. B&B in little street just off a canal, host very nice & welcoming, pot of tea etc. Host C is an American expat (widowed 5 years ago) who has lived in Amsterdam for 26 years & teaches english at the uni. Apartment is on the 2nd floor, room is fine, not huge but enough, the inside rooms look out onto a large courtyard, heavily vegetated, a square of joined buildings seem to share this area. Certainly the Jordaan is very convenient & within walking distance of everything I want to see.
I went for a walk to the supermarket to get some fruit, yet again found it a challenge to shop in a foreign country, but v interesting looking at the different stuff, same as I noticed in England, large space devoted to prepackaged foods, eg salads,readycooked stuff now I know we have these in Australia, but we still have a way to go til we get to this degree. Went the long way home along canal, almost made it to the docks where I join the riverboat cruise.
When I returned home, had a bit more of a chat to host C, mostly on her view of the Dutch - not flattering - & useful tips on what to do & where to go.
Monday 30 July 2011
Not too bad a sleep considering innercity noises, rain & jetlag. Had a long talk with C over breakfast, she appears to have very definite views on political issues re GFC, government financial debacles, big business conspiracies to keep the masses down where they belong , etc, and sounds as though she knows what she is talking about.....at least to me!
Out for breakfast & had french toast made from Dutch sweet bread, cross between a brioche & apple cake with mashed banana running through it....needless to say it made superb french toast, served with delicious raspberry jam. Yum.
Walked all the way to the Van Gogh museum only to see HUGE lineup, realised would not even get in before my allotted ticket time for Anne Frank house, 12.20, so did AF house first. Very moving experience, especially the rooms where the families hid.. to no avail in the end. The rooms have blackout curtains etc still, but are devoid of furniture.
Back to Van Gogh Museum & brilliant, the full story telling each stage in his painting life & many paintings from each period , more than in in any other collection, which makes sense as it was that his brothers family's collection which has been permanently lent to the Dutch Gov, who then built the museum to house them...... Of course I had to get the book......already starting to add to the weight in the bag!
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| Typical barge-lined canal view |
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| Tall skinny houses different top facades |
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| Tree-lined canal, presume they don't live on these little boats |
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| Note the hook to pull furniture up to the top floor, won't fit up the skinny staircases |
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