April 6 April 7 April 8 April 9 April 10 April 11 April 12 April 13 April 14 April 15 April 16 April 17 April 18 April 19	Saturday, April 8, 2017 I slept okay, but the room was warm all night, despite the setting on the thermostat. I don't think it really works... (later edit - I found out on check-out that the climate controls were still on their winter setting, so there was only one way to cool the room - open the outside door.) I slept in, getting up about 8. Breakfast was here at the hotel. They provide a decent buffet. The scrambled eggs were a bit salty, but otherwise okay. After getting my act together, I rode the shuttle back to the airport where I learned the various options for train passes to get into the city and how to use each of them. I opted for the two day all travel pass which is good for 48 hours after the first check-in on any of the trains, trams, or buses that serve Amsterdam, and is valid for use on all of them. By watching others, I soon figured out how to check-in and check-out of each conveyance. Before going back inside the airport, I walked over to a welcome area out in front of the airport, where I took these three photos: The photo on the left is the large sign for Keukenhof Gardens and the one in the center is a large sign for Amsterdam. Both were crowded with tourists taking each others photos. The photo on the right shows some of the Keukenhof tulips that were in a large planter. I rode the train into Amsterdam, getting off at Centraal Station, which is the central transportation hub for the city. All modes of transportation will eventually come back to here, which is convenient. That even includes a ferry across the river to the northern part of the metro area. The metro (underground) station is not far away, but only has a few stops enabled at this time. The photo on the left shows Centraal Station (with its own assortment of people taking selfies in front of it). The photo on the right was taken by turning 180 degrees from the first photo and shows the busy canal in front of Centraal Station with some of the canal tour boats passing by. I wandered that immediate area for a little while before deciding which of the many canal tours to take. They all seemed to be the same price, so I picked the one that looked cleanest, which was a hard thing to do. Actually, I picked the one where the line for tickets was moving the fastest.... The photo on the left shows a canal tour boat in the same line as the one I selected. In the background is a bicycle parking garage - similar to an auto parking garage, but just for bicycles. There's four levels of parking, including the ground level. This one adjoins Centraal Station, so I assume people commuting from other parts of the country can store a bicycle here for the last portion of their commute to work. The photo on the right is another view of this garage structure. Once on board, I found that earbuds were provided to plug into sockets around the boat with a selection of 19 different languages for the audio tour. Easy to use, but very hard, uncomfortable earbuds. My ears ached for about an hour afterwards. The tour was good, but I won't be able to remember details... The three photos above were all taken while on the canal tour. The photo on the left is a large sailing ship that was anchored in the main harbor area. The center photo shows a lamppost and some of the more modern buildings that we passed. The photo on the right is one of Amsterdam's many churches (I can't remember which one). The photos above were also taken while on the canal tour. The photos to the left and center show some of the old warehouses that front onto Prinzengracht, one of the three major canals that circle through the heart of the city. Way back when, this canal was the commercial district and the warehouses built on the canal accommodated bulk storage. Most were built so that they leaned slightly over the canal fronting street below and have a large beam extending above the rows of windows. This beam has a hook on it that can have a block and tackle assembly attached to it so that cargo could be lifted up to the higher windows, which are vary large, especially for that time period. These buildings are no longer used as warehouses as the property is too valuable. Most have been converted into very expensive living quarters. Most are divided into exclusive flats. The photo on the right shows a row of planters full of pansies that someone had placed on the side of a houseboat. Most of the larger canals are lined with houseboats, most of which are also quite expensive and well kept up. These three photos are also taken on the canal tour and show some of the side canals we passed. These views are only available from water level. These two photos were also taken on the canal tour. The photo on the left shows one of the drawbridges that cross the canals. This unusual design seems to be found all over The Netherlands. We encountered it many times. The photo on the right shows some details of a bridge we passed by, including a sign for McDonalds... These three photos were also taken on the canal tour, after it left the major canals and was on its way back to Centraal Station by way of the IJ. The IJ is the Amsterdam waterfront and connects to the North Sea, eventually. The photo on the left is the NEMO Science Museum with a ferry boat in front of it. The center photo shows some whimsical building decoration. The photo on the right is a large floating Chinese restaurant that we passed. I spent most of the rest of the afternoon just walking up one street and turning at random onto another. Interestingly, one place I had decided early on not to visit (The Red Light District) is exactly where I found myself just minutes after exiting the tour boat! I changed directions and wandered some more. These three photos were taken during my wanderings. The photo on the left shows a typical street in the center portion of Amsterdam - the old town. The center and right photos are views up some of the canals, taken from the middle of a bridge. The photo on the left shows The Waag, which is the oldest surviving gatehouse for the city. It's now a large restaurant... The photo on the right shows a tub of tulips with one of the towers of The Waag in the background. The center photo is another view up a canal from a bridge over that canal. The photo on the left shows one of the bridges. Both railings were covered with planters full of daffodils! The photo on the right is a bell tower with a very nice carillon. It played for almost five minutes before stopping. I don't know what building it's attached to. Sorry. When my legs got really tired, I found a tram heading in the general direction I wanted to go and hopped on. The ticket worked great and I soon felt like a pro. When I got off the tram, I knew I was near the Royal Palace. When I spotted the building in the three photos above, I thought that I had found it. Nope. This is Magna Plaza, a shopping mall.... However, I think you can see why I was confused... . . The photo on the left shows part of the interior of the Magna Plaza. The stores inside are pretty expensive, based on the names... . . . The photo on the left shows the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), which was sponsoring an El Greco exhibit at this time. The photo on the right is the top of the Royal Palace, a rather nondescript, block square building that looks like any number of government buildings around the world. I gave up on the wandering about 5pm and headed back to Centraal Station to catch the train back to the airport. Well, it's not labeled Airport Train or Schiphol Train. It has a different name (either the train to Hoofddorp or the one to The Hague include a stop at the airport). Hoofddorp is the stop it makes just after the airport after leaving Amsterdam and The Hague is even farther down the line. Luckily, in the small print, it mentioned some of the stops along the way, which included Schiphol, so I knew which one to take. I had been looking for a replacement alarm clock while I was in town and had asked at several likely stores, but downtown Amsterdam isn't the place to look for such banal items, so I didn't have any luck. I did finally find a really cheap one at an airport store. In fact, a four-pack of AA batteries (it needed one battery) cost the same as the clock.... However, that should see me through this trip. (And it did) Anyway, the train got me quickly back to the airport and I was able to immediately catch the shuttle back to the hotel. Dinner was here at the hotel again. I had the pork medallions this time (off the small plate menu) with the same sides as last night. It was served with a red wine sauce that was quite good. I spent most of dinner people watching. It looked like there was a wedding reception going on in one of the auxiliary rooms, complete with fancy dresses for the women and girls and suits on even the littlest boys. And there was something that looked like a college track and field team having a celebration dinner going on in the lobby. I also watched an oriental couple with one of the mother-in-laws and two small kids eating nearby. The boy acted like he was the king of the world and the parents (unusually) weren't correcting him. In fact, the couple acted quite imperially, also, ordering staff around that weren't even assigned to that table. Very interesting... Then I went back to the room and downloaded, labeled, and backed up today's shots and crashed for the night. Next...