Amsterdam....watch out for bikes!

Our first day in Amsterdam turned out to be a recovery day. We did not leave the hotel until mid afternoon to walk up what appears to be one of the main thoroughfares in and out of the Old Town, Leidsestraat. It seemed to be organised bedlam, what with pedestrians, bike riders, motorbike/scooters, cars and trams all vieing for their position on the street. Our heads were turning in all directions to make sure we weren't walking in the path of all these moving vehicals. DH worked out most pedestrians walked to the right, so when walking along the Leidsestraat, one walked on the right handside of the street.  It seemed to help.

Our little adventure gave us a taste of Amsterdam. We took a suggestion to go to Cafe Luxembourg for an early tea. This is where we sat and watched the world go past while we drank a local beer and ate a local favourite, Croquettes. (a deep fried ball filled with cheese or ragout that is spread across a slice of bread).  This turned out to be a perfect spot to people watch. The people who rode past on their bikes were dressed in various forms. Black bow ties and suits, work suits and jackets, long pants, short pants, long dresses and only a few riders in trackpants. We saw adults with young children either sitting in seats positioned on the handlebars or seats behind on a rack over the rear wheel.  All riding past with little effort or noise.

Leidsestraat

Decorations in the beautiful dinning room of the Hamphire Hotel.

Rijksmuseum (Dutch Art History museum)

1st June 2016

Vondelpark for a walk and lunch. The park is very popular for locals to enjoy the outdoors. At the cafe we had lunch, there were several young mums meeting each other with their babies in stolers or prams. Of course we still needed to be on the lookout for the bikeriders when walking through the park.

A canal tour started our morning off. There is one tour company right on our doorstep! Very convenient and a discount from the hotel!

Later we walked to the various museums located in the Museumplein. Modern Art, Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum of Dutch Art History. We tried to visit the Coster Diamonds Museum but at that time a group of Asians were streaming past on a guided tour which made the quiet tour we would have like, impossible.

Salvage barge full of bicycles and even a motor scooter, all dredged from the canals.

Near the Van Gogh Museum.

Prague to Amsterdam

Early start this morning. Left our K &K Hotel for the railway station with plenty of time to spare. Again we waited for our departure platform to appear on the electronic display, then it is a mad race to get onto the platform and in the area where our carriage will pull up with our suitcases and backpacks. Not a mean feat, considering lifts are scarce and sometimes the escalators are not operating.

This time a freindly and helpful local gave us a hand lifting our suitcases not only onto the train but up onto the overhead luggage racks. Gee, we were impressed with such a helpful individual until he put out his hand for a tip!. This was his way of collecting money. Poor thing wasn't getting too much from us as our Czech Kroner had almost been spent but he got all that was left in coin and the last of the notes, about $4 or $5.

Each of the three trains we travelled on were all a little bit different. The train from Prague travelled a considerable part of the way along the Elbe River and we were able to recognise towns, locks and sights we had seen on the cruise.  It took 4 and half hours to travel to Berlin, there we had a lazy 50 mins to change platforms, buy some lunch/afternoon tea then board the train for Duisburg.

The countryside we passed through showed the late spring richness of green crops and vegetation. Our change of trains at the Duisburg Station took longer than scheduled, a 110 minute delay caused us to be late arriving into Amsterdam by 2 hours. By the time we checked in at our hotel and into our rooms it was just before midnight. We were exhusted.

As DH and I are staying in Amsterdam for 4 nights before flying home and our friends, Brian and Roz and Roger and Merrilyn are joining another cruise to travel onto Budapest, we said our goodbyes at breakfast.

We have had a lovely time sharing our holiday experiences with them, along with lots of laughs. We would not have been able to have this holiday without them, especially Brian who planned all the details. Thank you.

Prague Old Town Square

In the square is a large art nouveau statue of a Jan Hus, a Czech priest who had been burnt at the stake for heresy against the doctorines of the Catholic Church. He is considered to be the first of the church reformers, another being Dr Martin Luther whose home town we had visited in Wittenberg.

Behind this statue DH was overjoyed to see a building which had firemen on the top of the main facade.

The twin gothic spires of the Church of our Lady before Tyn can be seen from the square.

Special horse shoes for the horses to walk on the cobblestones

DH in the Old Market Square. St Nicholas Church in the background.

Medieval Old Town Hall clock tower, the 600 year old Astronomical Clock is on the left side of the building. Crowds of tourists gather to watch and hear the clock strike the hour, it is a must to get there early.

I just couldn't resist.

View to the Powder Gate. It had been built as a ceremonial enterance to the city, but never completed until 300 years later.

Prague 29th May 2016

Arrived in Prague yesterday afternoon in time to walk into the old section of the town. The ship is moored alongside one of the main bridges which lead into the large square where everyone (all the tourists) tends to gather. DH and I tried to see the old Jewish Cemetery but it was locked. I don't know if it is always locked or only on Saturdays but we were not the only ones to arrive at the locked gates, I reckon in the 5 mins we were there, about 30 to 40 people went to the gate as well. Maybe that is why it is locked, all the tourists walking around could attract a higher rate of possible damage. I took a photo of the visible tombstones, all crowded together in such a small area. Apparently this cemetery was the only place where Jewish People could be buried during the 15th century through to 1787.

We walked through Down Town Prague past many high end shops, to the Old Town Square. People galore, mostly tourists from every part of the world.

Elbe Princess moored on the Elbe River. There were many tourist boats sailing up and down past us. No privacy if our curtins were open!

View from our cabin window.

Tombstones seen from the closed gate

Closed gate to Jewish Cemetery

Plaques in the coblestone outside the building where these Jewish people had lived before taken away to the concentration camp at Terezina where they were murdered.