Amsterdam, Part Two

My first full day in Amsterdam is over. As I begin to write this it's 11:04 PM local time, meaning 5:04 PM Eastern. I'm tired, but I think I've put myself in a good position to beat the jet lag quickly.

You can't take pictures inside the Anne Frank House, even without flash. I saw one group of South Americans take a picture of the hinged bookcase that hid the entrance to the secret annex and a security guy appeared out of nowhere and promptly escorted them out. The exhibit itself was stark and dark, with blackout curtains drawn over the windows, just as they were when the Franks and company were in hiding. It it truly weird to be in the actual place where actual events happened in a book you read in high school. Worth seeing, despite the half-hour wait in line to get in - it's the most popular attraction in Amsterdam. I was able to walk there from my hotel in ten minutes or so.

Let me tell you about walking. It's Dangerous with a capital D. There really are bicycles everywhere, and they, not pedestrians, appear to have the right of way. There are approximately 800,000 inhabitants of Amsterdam, and over a million bicycles.

Parked bikes often block the pedestrian walkways, which are half the size of the bike lanes which are EVERYWHERE in the city. I even saw several times a mother carrying a small child in front of her on a bike while careening around other bikes, pedestrians, trams and cars. No seat - baby's just on Mommy's lap.

Speaking of bikes, I also took the three hour city bike tour I told some of you about. We must have travelled 10 miles in the course of the tour, but it wasn't particularly strenuous. It was mentally taxing, though, because we had to swerve through other bikers, pedestrians and traffic, too.

This is a picture of my tour guide, Pip, and some of the other members of my tour group. Pip is a Brit, and we had a Scot, four other Americans and a German in our tour. We went everywhere - The old church, the new church that replaced it (neither are churches now, they're exhibition venues. We went to the big park in central Amsterdam (Vogel Park) and saw one of only two outdoor sculptures produced by Picasso.

We went to the Rijksmuseum (with the "I amsterdam" statuary out front, and which I had planned to visit tomorrow. Unfortunately, most of the exhibits are apparently closed right now due to a new renovation project.

I may still go and see what's still left to see, but I might have to call an audible and figure out something different. I had also planned on checking out the science museum, Nemo, but Pip indicated as we rode by it that it was really a museum for children. Well, there's still the Heineken Experience!

I also got to see one of the 7 remaining windmills in Amsterdam-proper. This was also a pit stop on the tour, since there is a small all-natural beer huis there where we each tried a pint before continuing. I had a wheat beer and it was very good.

Oh, and to answer a question I know some of you are thinking -- not a single person wears a bike helmet, and they weren't even available from the tour operator if you requested one. And here's another unsolicited answer - people of all ages and sexes ride their bikes everywhere. And no, for those of you still mulling over my first answer, I DIDN'T request a helmet.

Tomorrow I'll give you some general impressions about the Hollanders themselves as well as answer the burning questions I've left you with -- namely, what's Ken to do with two of his three itinerary items off the table?

Tune in tomorrow, same Bat time, same Bat channel.

Location:Binnen Wieringerstraat,Amsterdam,The Netherlands