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2017 09 23 I day 7 - Amsterdam.
This morning we are venturing back into Amsterdam and this will most probably be our last!
We got to the train station and there were a few people standing around so we bought our tickets from the ticket machine. An announcement came over the public address system (in Dutch only) and everyone left the station and headed to the nearby bus stop. We noticed that some of these buses had an emblem on them but we didn't know what it meant.
We waited a bit longer and for the time we were waiting, and from past experience, a couple of trains should have passed through but none did. A woman came down the steps and we asked her if she spoke Dutch because we had discovered a sign (once again only in Dutch). No she didn't! But she did have a translating app on her phone. She photographed the sign and the app translated it! Trains into the city had been suspended due to track work!
So we headed over to the bus stop. First bus that came along wouldn't carry us as the train ticket wasn't valid! Second bus came along and it was packed. Wayne wasn't feeling well today and he had to stand on this over-crowded non-air conditioned bus for 20 minutes. Wayne was feeling even less well when we got off!
We went and had lunch at Julia's which had become our favourite coffee and lunch spot. It was underneath Amsterdam Central railway station and overlooked the main waterway out the front.
After lunch we stood at a 'T' intersection of two canals and was fascinated at canal boat manoeuvrability and the skills that the captains displayed.
We came across a pissoir (it is a structure that provides support and screening of urinals in public spaces and allows for urination in public without the need for a toilet building). They are very open as you can see the users head and legs. Only the vital parts are screened! While we were taking a photo of it, someone went in and used it! It must have been blocked as urine was running down the street and into a canal!
Just about every house that we saw in Amsterdam has a slightly angled front with beams at the peak of the roof. Because the houses are narrow, they have narrow staircases which makes it difficult for moving furniture in and out. The beam has a winch on it for lifting heavy and awkward furniture. A front window on each floor can be opened as the furniture is moved in or out. It is passed through the open window. The angle on the building means the furniture doesn't hit the building.
Another thing that amazed us were the cheese shops and the array of cheeses they displayed and sold. There were hundreds and hundreds of wheels of cheeses in each shop.
Time for home. We decided to walk home from the station a different way. This took us past the old sugar mill and on the other side of the canal.
At the old sugar mill, we saw some interesting coats of arms. Wayne tried to research their origin but wasn't able to find out any details.
We came across some interesting infrastructure from the mill in the river. There were old cooling towers as well as the wharves for unloading the sugar cane.
Another interesting aspect of the sugar mill was the old stone fence with statues of swans on top. Again not sure of the significance of them as no details could be found.
We passed the local church but couldn't get close to it as it had a fence all around it. It was an unusual design and the body of the church was designed like a barn! Maybe the design was to allow for the snow to slide off.
As a main road passed over the canal, it was fitted with a lifting bridge. The bridge had an office and an attendant which looked like it was manned 24 hours a day.
Not too far now for our daily ritual, coffee and mini ice cream!
In for the night!
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