Bikes, bikes, more bikes and boats

After a much needed rest yesterday we awoke to blue sky and sunshine today for our first trip into Amsterdam. Our house is a 10 min walk to the train and then a 30 minute ride to Amsterdam Central.

Unfortunately we didn't get away until late as we're still going to bed late and sleeping in!

We had trouble paying for our train tickets from the airport the other day and had to use our credit card as the Visa debit cards wouldn't work. We've had this problem at other places here as well. We weren't quite sure what to do today therefore as the station at Bussum is un-staffed, we tried the cards again but no luck and the machines only took coins. We decided to wait and see the guard on the train, we never saw them and there was no ticket gate at Amsterdam so unfortunately we had a free ride.

We decided to start with the sightseeing bus again as it had been good in Dublin. Amsterdam offered a combined canal and bus tour so we opted for that. The canal trip was fantastic, it's the best way to see Amsterdam as that is how the city started. There are so many old canal houses lining the shore, the oldest we saw today was 1570! They all still have the cargo hooks on top as they need them to get furniture in and out, we even saw a family doing that today.

Along with our sightseeing we visited Rembrandt's house and saw the studio where he painted many of his great works. He actually made a living as an art dealer, in his and other's work, but lived beyond his means and went bankrupt.

The other highlight was the Anne Frank house where she wrote her diary while hidden with her family and others from the Nazi's. It was a very sobering experience and makes you very thankful for the religious and political freedom we enjoy in Australia today. May it always be that way.

I know it is a bit of a cliche but the number of bikes about is really quite amazing, they even have a multi level bike park at the central train station. You see the oddest bike sights though, a couple holding hands, people on mobiles, men in suits, ladies in skirts and high heels. Old bikes, new bikes, half a bike still chained up, bikes hanging over the canals, off bridges. We're looking forward to some bike rides ourselves soon, just not into Amsterdam.

Netherlands Day 3