An American tourist in Amsterdam

This is the view from the roof of a bike ramp near Central Station. It has 4 levels.

This week I've had the opportunity to visit the zoo in Amsterdam (called Artis), to ride the train outside the city, and to take my first Amsterdam canal cruise. The adventures around the city are now possible because we are able to leave Max at home by himself. Last week leaving him alone wasn't an option because he was still adjusting to the new home and would bark and howl if left alone. After hours of training and the power of bribery (in the form of a juicy bone), Max has finally relaxed and allowed us to leave him alone for hours at a time.

The canal cruise was a blast. I love the water and the new perspective of the city that it allows. When we boarded the "Lovers" canal cruise boat (the title "Lovers" ended up being quite a joke; there were very few couples, just mostly families and groups of tourists) at dusk, the captain took a survey of the languages that everyone spoke. There were Dutch, German, Danish, Spanish, and English speakers on board. The captain had a computer system that allowed him to play the cruise commentary in many different languages, and he himself spoke at least 3 languages fluently. I loved the atmosphere on the canals. There were beautiful houseboats lining many of the canal edges, and the waterways were filled with people on their own boats, enjoying the weather. Many of the boats seemed to be floating parties, with many people talking animatedly while sipping on wine or champagne or beer. One boat even had a huge bunch of balloons adding to the celebration. Often I witnessed the people on the different boats waving to each other and sharing smiles. It was a great time and the bike ride home in the dark was beautiful.

Ralph is out golfing now with a friend, and I'm sitting in the living room enjoying the breeze before the heat of the day sets in. Max is of course sleeping on his throne in front of the bay window. I have opened all the windows in the apartment in anticipation. We have no air conditioning (residences here usually don't), so I'm very thankful to have an apartment with so many windows. It also helps the laundry dry, because homes in Holland usually don't have clothes dryers. That is another difference I am getting used to. I have to space my laundry out and do one load every 2 days, versus being able to do it all at once, because we have very limited space for hanging laundry to dry.


Max is also learning to ride in his bike basket this week. I am so thankful that Ralph is secure enough with his manhood to not mind riding around with a Chihuahua on his bike! I'm not secure enough in my biking to take responsibility for the Chihuahua basket :)