So after breakfast they headed out....and the first thing on the list was a romantic cruise....not of the the red light area....but the canals! There at so many to choose from that it's just a matter of picking one and going for it! They didn't want the cocktail cruise or the dinner cruise, well it was only 11am, or the harbour cruise or the red light district cruise! But they chose the '100 sights in an hour' cruise! Mind you, I don't think they counted as they could have been short-changed! Mind you they did see some odd sights on the way so perhaps they count too!
The boat, barge, cruiser or what ever you want to call it left the dock area down by the Centraal Station and navigated along the 'Open Havenfront' which took you through part of the harbour area and past one or two of the more modern, new hotels down at the harbour area like The Doubletree by Hilton! This very modern hotel looked lovely, especially compared to theirs, and friends had stayed their previously.
The cruiser then took us up and along a number of different canals. Some wide, some narrow and some where the captain had to make hand break turns to turn the boat 90 degrees so he could line up the next bridge he wanted to go under!
The boat was quite full and there must have been around 40-50 people on the boat. A commentary played along as you went and of course it was replayed in multiple languages for every one so in reality you only got short snippets in each language every few minutes.
The views were very nice and I managed to get out for a while and get some more photos taken. But, after a while you find it difficult telling one view from another one on a different canal. But, to be fair, some of the buildings along the canals do very....depending on whet here they were originally built as houses or warehouses. However, some were more salubrious than others and you new these by the fact that they had double fronted windows on either side of the door where the majority only had single fronted windows! There were also some from a more classical time when the design was quite different. However, you would have thought that many would have been built at the same time as each other but if they were why were the designs and building materials so different? Even the window levels don't match up as two buildings of the same height could easily have one floor of a difference in them.
The cruiser was totally covered in glass and did have windows that opened but it was difficult to get photos of either side so A did spend some time at the open area at the back of the boat so you had the chance to get photos of either side, only one other guy took the chance to do this.
About half way through we passed Anne's house...and the queues appeared to be just as long....but they were able to queue in the warmth of the sun. Mind you it could be as difficult having to queue for that length of time in the heat as it was in the sun!
Anne's house was on the Prinsen gracht canal, the outer of the three main horseshoe canals and at the end we crossed a little bit of the harbour once again to make it back to where we started. The hour had gone quickly and it was a great way of seeing a lot of the area from a different perspective.
There were a lot of houseboats on the canals and these seem very popular places to live. Some appeared very swish and quite modern while others were decidedly 'oldy worldly' and despite their charm could have been doing with a spruce up and paint!
Once off the cruise they paid a quick visit to the railway station to see how often trains ran to Schipol Airport for tomorrow! There seems to be many and they will easily manage to get any number of choice!
So...now they were heading off for a walk before lunch. The idea was to go round the outer canal and se if they could walk right round and back to the station! They made their way and made it out to the Prinsen Gracht again and followed the canal side. Although they had sailed part of it earlier it was a lot better than being in the city centre where they had spent most time so far. It was quieter and less frenetic...although you still had to watch out for the cyclists as they are mad and think they rule everything! They would not be so bad...but they can apparently go any direction on either side of the road so that crossing roads or moving out of the way of oncoming pedestrians, as NO one seems to move over for you, is a tricky thing as you have to look both ways before moving!
However, being further out meant the streets were a lot nicer and it was a lot cleaner. That is one thing they have noticed since they arrived - the city is not very clean. Litter seems to be a real issue and every where seems to be very untidy. The bin men have large poles of rubbish to collect at road ends or road sides but they only take the bags and boxes and a lot of the loose items are left...presumably for the street sweepers to get. But for a city that depends so much on the tourist to help stimulate it's economy you would think they would try harder to keep it looking nice.
Their idea for lunch was to have a picnic on the canal side....but they came upon a little cafe that had a canal barge where you could sit and eat. It was funny....they said they could not serve on the boat, but if you took your stuff from the cafe to the boat that was fine! So....they orders bread and dip, a brownie and a muffin and cold drinks! The bread took a few minutes to prepare but it was very nice. Sitting on the barge watching the world go by and the numerous barges, boats and pedalos and glide past was lovely. They ordered more drinks so they could continue to sit and enjoy the atmosphere.
So...are these BOTH mine??
Once off again it was not long till they made it to Anne's house....and if you did not know about it you really would not give it a second look. They have built on part of the museum adjoining the house and they must have the neighbouring building also that acted as the part of the museum that you made your way back down for the secret annexe. You could see the windows were blacked out and the queues were still just as long!
They continued on....but eventually decided that as it was very warm they would stop half way and make their way back to the hotel. The distances are deceptive and the walk down to the hotel,was still quite a distance...especially as it meant popping in and out of shops! L even did a Michele and bought something really stupid and A will need to pack it for coming home! Why, oh why, would you buy a garden flower box....even though it is nice....when it will need to be packed in the case??
Anyway, they will head out later to the shops once again and a final meal out! Then it will be time to pack up and head home tomorrow!!
Oh..ha ha....they always do this! This is at the stock exchange! Seems a lot of bull to me!
Now, this is more lime it! Let's go!!
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