Day 7 - Uithoorn to Amsterdam

We woke up early in Uithoorn to find that a street market was setting up right outside our boat!  David inquired but found that they didn't officially open until 10AM, more than two hours away, but a few vendors seemed to be already set up.  We decided to walk through the market and see if there was anything to buy.  There was a fresh fruit and veggie vendor and we bought beautiful raspberries from him.  Also, a cheese vendor (David has yet to walk by a cheese store without going in!)  David bought some cheese and was chatting with the guy.  When the vendor heard that we were going to travel back to the US, he told us he'd vacuum seal the cheese - otherwise it might be confiscated!  Uh oh!  We'd already bought about five cheeses from other places that were not vacuum sealed.  David asked if we could pay to have him seal our other cheeses.  He readily agreed, but didn't charge us. What a nice guy!  We also bought two eggs from him for our breakfast.  Yes, in the Netherlands you can buy individual eggs! 

Our cheese vendor - you can see the boxes of eggs near his outstretched arm.

We pulled out of Uithoorn by about 8:30 in the morning.  The nearby bridge opened at 6AM instead of 9 - the usual opening time for many bridges.  The trip was pretty quiet.  Our guidebook warned to watch for a mechanical ferry at one point.  It said not to pass until the chain was in the water.  We were unsure what that meant, but quickly understood when we came up to the ferry.  It was set up on a chain between two points on opposite sides of the river.  As the ferry crossed the river, you could see the chain pulling it tight.  As it moved across, the chain slackened and fell under the water.  A man working at the ferry motioned us across when it was safe to go.

The ferry - You can see the chain extending into the water.

I had also read on the map that there was a town, Oudekerk, coming up where we could fill up with water.  We arrived there and found a charming small town with lots of stores and an easy docking area where the water was.  We decided to wander around for a while.  I was shopping in a drug store when I heard an American voice speaking with the saleslady.  When she was done, I went over and asked where she was from.  It turns out she had lived in Lake George and Portland Oregon, but was now living in Oudekerk.  It seems her son had been transferred to Amsterdam and she and her husband decided to follow him and his family there.  She said she absolutely loved living in this small town outside of Amsterdam!  And, that there were a small number of other American ex-pats living there as well, so they had a nice social group!
Back at our boat, while we were filling up the water tank, I told David about the woman I had met. (If you're curious, water cost half a Euro for 80 liters and we needed one Euro's worth.  In the US, water is usually free at a marina.)  While I was telling him, I saw the woman again and pointed her out to David.  Also, the German couple we'd met the day before passed us by.

My American "friend" (older woman)

David adding water

Now we were heading back to Amsterdam, this time by boat!  There were two choices for docking there.  One marina was in the center of the city, right near Central Station, an area we knew was very crowded.  To get there you had to go right through the middle of Amsterdam.  The other option was a marina just on the outskirts of the city.  We chose the latter option, a marina (or Jachthaven in Dutch) called Weinslot. 

Amsterdam in the distance.  Note the Ajax soccer stadium!

When we got there, we found the marina on one side of the river and the tall buildings of Amsterdam on the other.  We docked on the outside of the marina and went on shore to inquire if we could stay for the night.  The very nice manager assured us that we could stay for 13 Euros (more than we'd paid before, but this was Amsterdam, after all!) which included electricity.  This marina was very secure and we needed a key to get in and out (on foot, not by boat!) Unfortunately, the city was taking over the property as of November 1, and after 85 years there, they had to close. 

Our boat (second from right) in Amsterdam Marina.

Rijksmuseum

Now we were off to explore Amsterdam again!  There was a train station a five minute walk from the marina.  For 7 Euros apiece, we were able to buy a train pass that was good for 24 hours on any subway or tram.  Our first stop was the Rijksmuseum.  When we got there, we decided to first stop for lunch.  We found a cute little pub called Hans and Grietje (Hansel and Gretel?).  I was in the mood for a burger and they had them on the menu (or lunch karte as it's called).  Delicious!  In the museum, we saw the magnificent artwork of Rembrandt, Monet, Degas, Renoir, and de la Croix.  

Just a few blocks away was the Van Gogh Museum, so we went there next.  I really loved the Van Gogh's and was saddened by his early death at 37.  It's so amazing when you are in a museum and see a painting in person that you've seen in books for years!  

Next, we went to the Houseboat Museum.  This was an actual houseboat sitting in the canal that was set up the way it would have been about 100 years ago.  Having seen a million houseboats all over the country, I was excited to be inside one!  It was pretty spacious inside, except for the "bedrooms" which were actually called sleeping cupboards and were nothing more than a closet with bedding.  

The large sitting room on the Houseboat Museum

Coming out of the Houseboat Museum

What is a visit to Amsterdam without going to the red light district?  My first surprise was that there were actual red lights!  I thought it was just an expression!  We walked down several narrow streets where there were floor to ceiling windows looking into very small rooms, closet sized, with young women standing there in lingerie. Most of them looked pretty bored and many were talking on their cell phones.  Amsterdam has a pretty substantial sex industry going on, in fact, with many stores selling sex "equipment", along with the many "coffee shops" selling pot. 

This is a condom store!  They're hanging in the window!

Do I even need a caption here?

We then spent a good deal of time trying to find the neighborhood where we'd eaten earlier in the week - the area where we'd seen the horse drawn carriages with the US Ambassador.  We managed to get on the wrong tram, or the right tram in the wrong direction.   We finally ate dinner at a nice cafe.  They forgot to bring our appetizer, but it was fine because we had so much food anyway.  My only negative was that I ordered fish but forgot to ask if it was a filet or a whole fish. I hate dealing with whole fish, and guess what I got!  After dinner we took the train back to the boat, ate pastries we'd bought earlier and fell asleep!

1 Comment 

Brian, September 26, 2011 at 9:58 AM

Two things: One, don't get any ideas from that Oregon lady. If I move to Amsterdam, I am not taking you along with me. Two, you can't go to the red light district during the afternoon; that's the C team at best. Weekend nights is when the A+ team comes out.