Today was my first day exploring the city solo. Mr. Stannix is in his course for the next couple of days which means he leaves the hotel early in the morning and doesn't get back until late in the evening. It was overcast and foggy this morning, so I ate breakfast at the hotel (drank icky carbonated water for the first time) and then snuck in a morning nap. By the time I woke up the skies were blue and the fog had cleared. I bought another two day train pass and hopped the tram into the city to go exploring.
I checked our trusty map and grabbed a connecting tram that brought me to the famous flower market. Apparently this is where everybody in Amsterdam buys their flowers from. It smelled incredible as I walked through the market.
They had flowers of every kind, bulbs, seeds, plants, and souvenirs. I
stumbled upon a Christmas store filled with Dutch hand painted ornaments
and spent some time wandering around inside.
When I had seen all that I came to see I turned and walked down another street past bakeries, and bikes, and bridges.
The architecture here is so unique and wonderful! I could stare at the buildings all day. Many of them have date stamps back to the 1600's. It's remarkable!
Before I knew it, I had found myself back in the museum quarter. This time it was filled with locals wading in the water and jumping in and out of the fountains. Tourists climbed all over the sign and the place was filled with photographers. I didn't realize how far I had actually walked until I ended up here. My feet were hot and achy, so I slipped off my shoes and soaked my feet in the cold water for quite a while. It was so nice not having anywhere to be.
Once my feet had recovered I put my shoes back on and wandered up another street towards centraal station. I made sure to stick to well peopled areas and kept a close eye out for crazies. At one point, in a busy courtyard full of eateries and tourists, I was approached by a tall pepper-haired man. I stopped abruptly and took a step back as he reached his hand out to touch my shoulder. "Don't worry, you are not my next victim," he said with a thick accent. "We are just a couple of Scandinavian guys looking for someone to share a drink and a meal with us," he added as he pointed to his buddy at the table. I, in no uncertain terms, told him no, and walked away as fast as I could.
I kept to the streets with trams and bikes for the rest of my walk back. Walking almost seems dangerous here and I have had a few close encounters with bikes. Sometimes I have to close my eyes at busy corners as bikers are turning, cars are honking and trains are dinging. One biker rain his bell and then shouted at the elderly couple in front of me, "Are you DEAF!" It's crazy here. I am surprised there aren't more accidents honestly, but somehow the chaos works for them.
I found myself wondering how big the families are here, and then saw a mom bike by me with three kids in the bucket on the front of her bike and her daughter sitting behind with her arms wrapped around her. They use bikes to get everywhere here! It's no neat!
I also admired these delicacies from the street.
I made it back to my hotel by early evening, and my feet were tingling. With no sign of Mike, I decided to have a late nap.
I was able to chat with the littles back home who had just finished lunch and slept pretty well after all the fresh air and exercise!
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