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2017 09 22 - day 6 - Amsterdam.
Walked to the station and caughtthe train. We are getting the hang of this! Arrived at Amsterdam Central and had a coffee. Today we are going to head down what looks like the main street of Amsterdam city.
We were mindful of where we were going as our first day on the cruise included a tour of Amsterdam and we didn't want to double up. We could not believe the crowds and how dirty the city was in places. The number of cigarette butts just thrown on the ground was amazing! Thousands and thousands of them! I hope when it rains all the run off goes through some filter otherwise there would be all these cigarette butts floating in the canals.
So we walked and pushed our way through the crowds. We always seemed to be going against the flow! We came to Dam Square (the Dam derives its name from its original function, a dam on the Amstel River, built in approximately 1270). At Dam Square we saw some horse drawn carriages. The sound of horse's hooves going clip clop on the cobblestones is always so relaxing.
Also on Dam Square was the Royal Palace. (The palace was built as a city hall in the 17th century and was opened on 29 July 1655. The building became the royal palace of King Louis Napoleon and later of the Dutch Royal House).
Next to the Palace is the Nieuwe Kerk. (the 'New Church' is a 15th century Church. The Nieuwe Kerk is no longer used for Church services but is used as an exhibition space and is also used for organ recitals).
Time to venture to the Red Light District again! Today we are going to go down some different streets. Don got a surprise when he looked in what he thought was a doorway into an apartment building! There was a buxom woman in her black lingerie sitting there. She got up and moved I guess thinking she had a potential customer!
Another thing that amazed us were the number of pizza parlours in the Red Light District. The size and variety of pizzas was incredible. I suppose do the deed then get a feed!
Our feet are getting sore so it was time to head home. We had two long walks ahead of us. One to Central then from the local station to the hotel. Of course there was the daily ritual on the way. Stop to get dinner supplies, have our coffee and tiny, tiny waffle cone.
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