Aug 27 2013

Glimpses of Amsterdam, and then home to Florida.


Today I’m at Heathrow airport, as we are flying back to our home in Florida. We’ve had a wonderful month, what with Mom-in-law’s 100th birthday celebrations, a week’s visit to beautiful Cornwall, and the fabulous Rhine cruise last week. On Sunday, we docked in Amsterdam, and had a couple of hours before our flight to England, so took a short walk around some of the streets of Amsterdam. I bet you can’t possibly guess what I saw there. 🙂

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Whilst dodging the ‘flying’ cyclists who don’t slow down or stop for anyone, I saw even more bikes. Can you see the hundreds more stacked up across the canal?

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Can you just hazard a guess as to what is the most popular mode of transport in Amsterdam?

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Ah, here’s one guy who doesn’t seem to have a bike.

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The owner of this one obviously likes to pretty things up a bit, judging by all the colourful flowers on the spokes.

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I think this one must also belongs to a female. 😕

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Many workers travel to work by train, but as you can see, they leave their bikes outside the station. I wonder how they identify their own bike out of this lot.

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You want a coffee? Just ride your bike over to Starbucks.

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Every canal is lined with bicycles.

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Now I have to ‘get on my bike’ and head down to the boarding gate. See you all on the other side. 🙂

 

70 comments on “Glimpses of Amsterdam, and then home to Florida.”

  1. Hi AD, glad your enjoyed Amsterdam. My last visit there quite some time ago, they had a problem of thousands of unclaimed bikes rusting just outside the station. Seems that people would just chain their bike to a bike that was already there and when they came back they couldnt get to their bike as someone had chained their bike with another! So they just left it and went off a bought another bike. The city council finally had to remove thousands of bikes which were never claimed.
    Hope you enjoy Florida.
    Just got back from a great break down in Mtunzini. Saw plenty of birds while camping there.

  4. That’s another thing I like about Holland AD. The fact that mostly everyone rides around on bikes. So much better for the environment, don’t you think? And it’s healthy as well. I won’t mind at all to go and stay there. 😀
    Great shots hon. Have fun and thanks for sharing. *big hugs*

  10. Wish our streets were safer for bikes. Great way to stay in shape. We do have bike lanes along the coast highway and a lot of folks travel that way. Great way to feel the total experience of our wonderful scenics, but there are still the idiots who show no consideration for those traveling in a more sensible fashion. 😦

  17. Yes, that sums up Amsterdam and Holland for me ! Loved seeing parents with little ones in trailers or in ‘boxes’ on the front along the cycleways off to kindergarten 🙂
    Bikes rule the roads we found .. BB got knocked over by one and ended up with his head breaking a plate glass window -yes really- of a Persian Carpet shop in The Hague . No long term damage Lol
    Enjoy your return home AD 🙂

    • Oh, that doesn’t sound very pleasant at all, but if you have to do something like that, best do it in style. 😀 I’m so glad he wasn’t injured, as it would be such a shame to get blood on those expensive carpets.

  18. Amsterdam was is truly a one-of-a-kind city. Such a beautiful city and its people are very kind. Seeing those bicycles on the move for the first time is an eye opener, that’s for sure, but they do add to the city’s charm. Too bad you could only spend a few hours there. I hope you can get back there one day.

  21. Haha!
    🙂
    Hello Sylvia, now that is a heap of bikes. Lol Your holiday is sounding fabulous!!
    Have fun and I’m sending you a huge hug! Paula xxxx

  22. so inspiring to see the cyclists of Amsterdam … imagine the good for the planet if all cities were like that (flat and full of bikes, not cars!) … we loved it when we were there …. great fun post ad!

  25. LOL. It’s impossible to visit Amsterdam without taking lots of pictures of bicycles, isn’t it? I’ll tell you one thing: you won’t see a tangle of bikes like that in Cincinnati! You’d be lucky to spot even one.

  29. Amazing how different cultures are. Can you envision bicycles on Jo’burg or LA, AD? Not a chance!
    This reminded me of a Top Gear Special where the guys went to Vietnam. Because of the war cars have only been introduced their a relative short time ago and the costs are astronomical, thus the most popular mode of transport is the motorbike. Small 50 -125 cc things. The country is choka! Like Holland and its bicycles but noisier and a bizillion times more polluted.
    One brand of bike (Honda?) has sold more units that the top five motor car brands altogether, around 60 million.
    Have a safe flight.

  30. And if your bike is gone from the place you last left it you just take the next one down the line. And so, obviously, does everyone else. Is that what the mean by Recycling?

  31. The fastest mode of transport in the city. More bikes than tulips, I think.
    When I arrived in Holland in 1972 I bought two things on my first day: a bicycle and a raincoat 😉
    See you on the other side.

  32. The problem with all the bicycles is that you can’t hear them coming up behind you. Friends of our from the UK just spent the weekend in Amsterdam and now after seeing all your pics I would really like to visit this fabulous city again – sigh!

      • It’ll be nice to have you back home in Florida but I’m sure you enjoyed your holiday tremendously! I enjoyed your post today and wanted to add that with all those bikes, you have to get creative and make yours stand out from the crowd so you can identify it easily. The girl with the flowered basket on the handlebars and flowered carrying pouch on the back has it down to a science! Safe travels home girl!

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