A Bicycle and Me

First thing is first.  There are an estimated one million bicycles in Amsterdam.  There are more bikes than people!  Here cyclists believe they are the king of the road not just with pedestrians but buses, cars, trucks and trams.  They weave in and out of people walking, etc.  It doesn't matter that you're in a cross walk and have the green light to go.  I know this because an older woman didn't slow down and ran into me.  She tried to swerve to miss me but I was walking, didn't see her on my blind side (left eye only has a small amount of vision) and as a result I ended up going into the side of her bike.  Talk about a shock to the system?  When she finally stopped and I used the end of her bike to stop myself from falling, I couldn't believe what had happened.  She apologised profusely and said she should have slowed down.  Ya think?  I had looked both ways before crossing the cross walk too.  Didn't see her for the people next to me who were fast walkers.  Those darned bike riders fly on the road at 30 km an hour if not more.  The only injury to me is on the pad under the right thumb of my hand.  It could have been so much worse.  For the rest of the time I was out, I was so scared to cross the bike paths.  Was like that the next day too.  I will get over it.  I don't travel out of the Province or country without buying extended medical insurance.  I always think I might have to use it for something other than getting hit by a bike.  Fortunately, I didn't have to use it.  Keep that in mind when you travel.

The following images give you can idea of the number of bikes parked across the street from the Amsterdam Centraal train station.  Parking is very hard to find even with bike parkades.  The area on the ground had 1200 parking spaces.  The parkade had enough spaces for 2,500 bikes.  By 10 am every space was filled.  For parking spots run by the Municipaltiy, on week days the cost before 10 am is 8 Euros ($10.54 CAD) for the first 24 hours. Ouch!  Enter on the weekend:  1 Euro for 24 hours.  

Overall, yesterday was a good day.  I left my room early because I had a canal cruise (the 2nd one) scheduled for 10:15 in the morning.  A few days earlier, as I was roaming around trying to find the I Amsterdam store, I passed a canal cruise called Lovers.  I thought it must be a romantic cruise for couples.  I was wrong.  It ended up being the boat that is used by the sightseeing company I booked my cruise on.  I joked to the people on the boat about it.  I said I feel like Princess Diana when she was sitting by herself at the Taj Mahal.  The cruise was fun because I was sitting with a great group of English speaking people. 

We floated through a few canals.  We had headsets to listen to an audio program that described the different sights we saw.  Amsterdam is sometimes referred to as the "Venice of the North."  That's because the city is criss crossed by 165 canals creating hundreds of small "islands" that are connected by well over 1,900 bridges.

This is one of the city's most popular photo spots:  Seven bridges Amsterdam, where you can see the seven bridges of Reguliersgracht lined up (zoom in and you'll see the bridge).  If you're on stilts or in a boat, that is.

On the overhead bridge of several canals, we saw bikes that were decorated.  They remain there as decorations.

After the hour long cruise was finished, I was booked to go to Madam Tussauds Wax Museum.  It was a lot of fun.  Some figures looked more like the star/important person than others.  There were even life sized pieces in the stairway that lead to the exit.  The one of J Lo's bum made me laugh especially when I watched a young guy get his friend to take a picture of him rubbing it!

I then decided to use my hop on hop off bus ticket.  I thought it would be a great way to get the lay of the land for sights I wanted to see and give my feet a rest.  That was the theory.  The bus has a route it takes to get to nine different stops.  You get off at the stop that has the sights you want to see.  So good so far.  The problem is that when you're walking, you would never take the bus route.  So I didn't learn how to actually walk to the places.  It was still nice to sit and rest my feet.

I decided to get off at stop number three.  I heard the words "Gassan Diamonds" tour.  I was hooked.  I went inside the factory.  Man, do I use that term loosely.  There is a guard at the gate.  The entire building except for where the tour takes places has its doors locked.  Even the rooms where customers buy their jewellery while sipping champagne are locked.  The factory is located in a beautifully restored diamond factory built in 1879.  Except for the area for the tours, that place is locked up tighter than a drum.  Rich and I mean rich people make appointments to buy jewellery and watches there.  This class of people don't shop at Michael Hill!  The staff are impeccably dressed.  Our tour guide told us about the different grades and cuts, etc.  We then got to watch a Master Diamond cutter cutting the points into a diamond.  (see picture below).  I asked him how long it took him to be a Master.  He said he went to school for a year and then apprenticed for 13!!!  He said that with smaller stones 3 karats and under, he can cut them without thinking.  It's the larger stones that are much more difficult and make his heart race.

Of course as with all tours, they end with a sales pitch.  Our guide took us into a room and proceeded to show us different grades and sizes of diamonds.  I learned that with diamonds size doesn't matter!  haha  She brought out a tiny diamond that was a brilliant cut.  The diamond was so little that I had to bend down to see it.  She then said it was a good price of 1,500.00 Euros.  I wanted to say in whose world?  She was even nice enough to tell us how much the diamond and setting would cost in US dollars.  She brought out trays of jewellery.  I was in the room with two other couples.  One couple was celebrating their 17th anniversary and was interested in buying a specific ring.  The other couple appeared to be interested in buying something too.  Me?  NON!  It was at this point, I bowed out and left the building.

I'd seen something more in line with my pocket book as we crossed a bridge about one block away - a flea market!!!!  It is called the Waterlooplein Market.  It is one of the oldest outdoor bazaars in Amsterdam and the Netherlands, operating since 1885.   It has 300 stands.  The great thing is that some of them sell the same new items so they are competitive with each other.  You need to shop around before you buy so you can get it at the lowest price.  I found what I was looking for for Leila.  I got her slippers that look like wooden shoes.  I already knew how much they cost on Damrak (main street) where all the tourists go.  At the market, they were half the price.  Yup, I snapped them up.  It's open six days a week.   It is  best known for the second hand clothing and full of general bric-a-brac.  If you're really brave, you can get a tattoo!  It's located very near to where Rembrandt used to live.  Of course, he was long dead by 1885.

It was time to head back to Gassan where the bus would be to take me back to where I caught it.  I packed my camera away because I wouldn't need it again that day.  Oh wait!  A flower covered bicycle outside of a flower shop.  I need a picture of that!  Actually I need two!

As per usual and because I keep forgetting to take a picture of my starting point, I got myself turned around.  I came up with the brilliant idea to go into a grocery store where I knew a young person who worked there spoke English.  I asked her if she knew where the Gasson Diamond factory was.  She said "Gassan diamond factory?  Never heard of it.".  I thanked her and walked out the door just as the bus turned the corner right in front of me.  The store I was in is directly around the corner from the factory.  I laughed.

By this time, I had some energy so decided to find one of the places Instagram and Facebook consider great spots for great pictures of Amsterdam.

Here's spot number one.  There are four more that I will look for.  This picture is taken from a bridge looking toward the Zuidkerk (Church).  Funny story, an extremely well dressed Asian woman was trying to take a selfie.  I asked her if she'd like me to take a picture of her with the church in the background.  Of course, she said yes.  She said wait a minute.  She walked to the end of the short bridge and took off her long coat.  Under it she was wearing a lovely pinky beige dress.  Her high heels matched it.  She walked back to the middle of the bridge for me to take her picture.  She suddenly started posing even so far as to turn her back to me and look over her shoulder.  In the end, I felt like I'd done a fashion photo shoot.  She then asked me if I wanted a picture.  I said sure!  In my mind though came the thought "God, do I just stand there or should I pose too?".  Can you imagine????  I decided I'd pose but not as much as she did.  Well, compared to her pictures, I looked like I just stood there!  You be the judge!  Well, not really!  haha

This was the night of the Red Light District.  I was walking along turned a corner and saw a window outlined in red neon lights.  Huh?  I kept walking and as I came along side of the door and red neon lights, a very pretty girl in a bra and panties looked at me and smiled.  I smiled back.  I went to wave but managed to keep from doing that!  What the heck, Cindy!

The crowds started getting bigger and bigger.  I knew something was going on.  Uh yeah, it was the main part of the red light district that is on both sides of the canal.  Like a trooper I walked up one side and down the other all the while keeping my eyes from straying to the windows where the girls sit.  I didn't want them to think I was staring.  OMG, how silly was that.  Everyone looks at them.  An unwritten rule, is to respect the woman who are working and not take their picture.  I didn't see a single person take a picture.  One of the working women opened her door when several people stopped in front of it.  I heard her talking to them.  The only part I heard was her say she works for as long or as short of a time as she chooses.  She rents her window and is her own boss so if she wants to call it a night, she does.

By now, it's really dark outside.  Amsterdam takes on a whole new look when all the signs are lit up.  It's quite beautiful.  I'm not usually out when it's dark when I'm on holidays.  The feeling I had was like it was Christmas morning.  It was a brand new experience.  Here are some random pictures:

Two really neat things happened.  I was walking along as opposed to skipping and I notice this guy.  He looked familiar but then again, they say everyone has a doppleganger.  I thought that must be the case but then if I didn't ask, I'd always wonder if it was.  So I did stop and ask!  If you have Netflix, you may have watched the show called Love on the Spectrum.  The show follows people on the autism spectrum as they navigate the world of dating and relationships.  In Season 2, one of the cast members was Subodh Garg.  It was Subodh that I spoke to.  He was just like in the show and so were his parents.  Wonderful people.  I got up the nerve to ask Subodh if I could take a picture with him.  He said "Of course!" and the proceeded to ask me what I did for work and how long have I been in Amsterdam.  Here's Subodh and me. 

When I reached Amsterdam Centraal, I could hear a piano playing and someone singing.  As much as my feet were killing me, I had to investigate.  Remember me talking about having to climb up and downs stairs?  That's exactly where the music was coming from - up a flight of stairs that lead to a small area.  There was a grand piano and a fellow singing.

My body had had it.  I needed to use the last of my energy to get to the bus and walk to my room.  While it was supposed to be an easy day to recuperate, it ended up being longer than expected.  That's the great thing about travelling on your own.  Your schedule is your schedule.  If you see something interesting, you can stop.  There isn't anyone else to think about.

Steps yesterday = 25,513