Amsterdam: Day 1 & 2

I didn't have time (or much access) to Blog while in Europe on vacation, & I'm leaving for China in 5 days, so I will do the best I can to catch up the last two weeks in photos& Stories!

Two weeks ago I left on my first full on vacation in about 4 years! I had been putting it off each year, thinking "THAT" was going to be the year I traveled for the baby, thus I wouldn't be able to use my time off, so finally this was the year! No baby travel in 2007, so I found a ticket with miles & headed off to Amsterdam first to visit some friends who have been living there for the past two years.
Paul had given me very clear directions for getting from the airport to their flat, but I was SO happy that my London to Amsterdam flight was cancelled & I was rescheduled on a later flight, because after meeting Paul at the airport (it was late enough he was finished with work), I'm not sure I could have made it on my own!!
We went out for a great Indian dinner the first night, but due to the 23+ hour trip from Portland, I was a little too tired to remember much else!
Thursday Paul & Simon went off to work & I went exploring! After a breakfast of chocolate granola (ooh I just LOVE Europe, I mean- Chocolate granola??? Wow. Fantastic!), I set off to explore. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw this boat in one of the first canals I came to:

This was a department store. A wee bit different from our local Macy's!

Just a doorway I really loved...there were SO many bicycles everywhere. My friends were trying to convince me to rent a bike, I'm not sure they understood how much I love walking!! (besides needing to continually consult the map in an effort to prevent from getting inexplicably lost!). By friday I was thinking perhaps I'd rent a bike one day on the weekend so we could all go out together (with them at least I would not get lost), until I went into a market just half a block down from their house and while there, witnessed a major bike accideng: Cyclist hit HARD by a car, with no helmet! I sent Paul a text (he was at work) immediately and said there is no way I was renting a bike in Amsterdam! Partially that was also due to the incredible apparent lack of care on the part of the policeman who arrived & did not even get out of his car (and was not even facing the cyclist to see how badly he was hurt), the "ambulance car" in which the guy got out and walked only to the police officer to consult, and it was probably at least 7-8 minutes before the ambulance actually arrived. I'm pretty sure that the ambulance response time in Portland is 3-4 minutes from any location within the city. This was not a place I wanted to ride a bike without a Helmet!!!On the first day I went to the Ann Frank House (no photos allowed) and saw where it all happened. Quite an interesting museum- what surprised me most was that the 2nd attic where the Frank Family & the 2 other families were hiding was actually quite large. In fact, I know people with houses that are smaller than the space they shared. What made it more complicated though (and more cramped) was that they could not go outside, so looking at the whole big picture, yes, it was a pretty cramped area. I really did have this image though that it was a very small place & they were all in one room.

After the Ann Frank House I went to a museum called "The church in the Attic", also know as "Our Lord in the Attic." In the 1500's in Holland the ruling class was Protestant, and Catholocism was outlawed. In Amsterdam there were more than 50 Hidden churches/Chapels- apparently the local goverment touted the party line that yes, Catholocism was outlawed, but as long as it was out of sight, it was "okay." This led to hidden churches in attics & backs of houses. This is one of the few remaining ones, and it sits in the back & the attic of 3 separate Canal houses which were turned into a single house once inside. It was reported that it was hard to believe that this church was unheard or unknown based on the size of the Organ & the size of the Chapel, but perhaps this was just gracious city officials turning their eyes away.
Buttons on the Organ:
It was a "child friendly" museum, I heard another patron telling their group when I was near the end that everywhere you saw these little framed ladybugs, it meant there was a childrens activity in that cabinet or drawer. I had taken a photo at the first one I saw because, well, ladybugs, and just because I thought it was cute. And, because I couldn't figure out what it meant, but I was determined that by the end of the route through the house, I would probably understand!

A painting on a cabinet door, I really love how bored the man looks watching the women make bobbin lace...

Another door on the same cabinet:

This pan was hanging in the kitchen. I'm not sure if it was for cakes or muffins, but I really loved it. I think I've seen some bundt type pans with a similar idea in recent years, small cake molds- with many different molds in the same pan. Very clever!

There were several mirrors similar to this one with calligraphy etched into them. This one was really quite elegant. It's always a challenge when you are the photographer of a group or when you travel by yourself to have any photos of yourself on your trip- this was one of my meager attempts at capturing myself in the setting...

Everywhere in Amsterdam there was really beautiful tile. Many places you could see very very old tile- I saw old tiles in antique shop windows with price tags of 50-75 Euro apiece, with the current exchange rate that is around $75-$100 USD for one tile! Most of the old tile was this simple white with a central blue design on it. They all appear to be handpainted, and even though I could find relatively similar ones, I don't think I ever saw two exactly alike. Here they are lining the floor like a baseboard molding, but in the Kitchen of the Church in the Attic they covered an entire wall.

This is one of the tiles in the kitchen- I probably could have stood for an hour just looking and photographing each and every tile, but I'm pretty sure the other museum patrons would have thought I was nuts. It did make it easier to not do this since the light in the room was quite poor, so I just took a photo of this one with the little circus act going on.

More later today or tomorrow....there are a whole lot of photos!!