Amsterdam

We continued the morning sail on the river Rhine, then through the last two locks for the journey. The last lock allowed us to enter a 70 kilometer canal that took us into Amsterdam at 1400 hours. The weather was overcast which dampered our first impressions of the city.

The afternoon was spent viewing the city on a canal boat. Amsterdam is known as 'the Venice of the north' due to all the water canals weaving their way through the city. We were amazed at all the tall and narrow row of houses that were standing on a slant. The foundations are set in a very sandy base that does not offer any stability. How these houses are still standing I don't know.

The canals also feature many boat houses along the edges. They are connected to power and sewage and many have their own little gardens. These houses are not pretty site and in effect create a cluttered mess for the canal system. However the system itself and the quaint little stone bridges could be quite a picture if not for the state of some of the house boats.

One could not discuss Amsterdam without mention of the 'coffee houses' where it is legal to choose your variety of marijuana to partake in a little joint to soothe the mood. No we did not partake but it was interesting to see all that was on offer....purple head, silver flower etc....

The other famous feature of Amsterdam is the red light district, suffice to say limited time prevented a visit to this area. We really only had a few hours in the afternoon and once back on the ship needed to pack, have the last dinner with our new found friends and to bed for an early morning rise. We leave the ship at 0800....off to Paris, via Belgium on a bus.

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