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Location Date Europe 
1664924400 North America 1652310000 Asia 1520553600 Africa 1289520000 -
Location Date Ireland 1664924400 Germany 1652310000 France 1651964400 Spain 1651359600 Iceland 1624575600 Slovenia 1569884400 Austria 1569625200 Italy 1569452400 Portugal 1475967600 UK 1443826800 Czech Republic 1430089200 Slovakia 1428966000 Turkey 1428447600 Greece 1412118000 Switzerland 1348959600 Belgium 1269990000 Netherlands
1269903600 - Amsterdam
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Location Date Tue, 30 March 2010 1269979680 Tue, 30 March 2010 1269923340 Tue, 30 March 2010 1269911760 Tue, 30 March 2010 1269906960 Sun, 28 March 2010 1269760920 Sat, 27 March 2010
1269677940 Fri, 26 March 2010 1269644340
Unlike most other cities, Amsterdam has made no concession to the automobile.
Not that cars are not present. In fact, they are abundant. But they fit into this water-logged burg about as well as I fit into the trousers I owned in college.
Instead, the king of the Amsterdam's cobblestone streets is the bicycle. Everyone appears to ride one. Young and old, rich and poor, men and women, blue jeans or business attire, all are pedalers in this hill-deficient city. It is common to see a woman pedaling along while wearing fashionable stiletto heels.
Amsterdam's riders are not devotees of the latest 27-speed, titanium-framed hybrid bikes. Instead, the city's two-wheelers almost uniformly follow the same design as the bicycles found in 1960s television shows like "Leave it to Beaver" or "Dennis the Menace": Single speed models with coaster breaks and gently arcing handlebars. (With no cushioning, I imagine that riding on cobblestones can rattle a few teeth.) And their color, like Henry Ford's Model-T, is usually basic black.
Naturally when you own a bike, you must store a bike, and the clutter around the city of cached bicycles takes some getting used to. It's difficult to take a photo that doesn't contain at least one parked-and-chain-locked bone-rattler.
In addition to cobblestone streets, Amsterdam contains more miles of canals than does Venice, Italy. Consequently it is packed with canal boats and boat houses. You can see some of these in the pictures accompanying this update. (Click on the photos to enlarge the image.)
Not that cars are not present. In fact, they are abundant. But they fit into this water-logged burg about as well as I fit into the trousers I owned in college.
Instead, the king of the Amsterdam's cobblestone streets is the bicycle. Everyone appears to ride one. Young and old, rich and poor, men and women, blue jeans or business attire, all are pedalers in this hill-deficient city. It is common to see a woman pedaling along while wearing fashionable stiletto heels.
Amsterdam's riders are not devotees of the latest 27-speed, titanium-framed hybrid bikes. Instead, the city's two-wheelers almost uniformly follow the same design as the bicycles found in 1960s television shows like "Leave it to Beaver" or "Dennis the Menace": Single speed models with coaster breaks and gently arcing handlebars. (With no cushioning, I imagine that riding on cobblestones can rattle a few teeth.) And their color, like Henry Ford's Model-T, is usually basic black.
Naturally when you own a bike, you must store a bike, and the clutter around the city of cached bicycles takes some getting used to. It's difficult to take a photo that doesn't contain at least one parked-and-chain-locked bone-rattler.
In addition to cobblestone streets, Amsterdam contains more miles of canals than does Venice, Italy. Consequently it is packed with canal boats and boat houses. You can see some of these in the pictures accompanying this update. (Click on the photos to enlarge the image.)
- comments
Marvin J. Ward That pink duck, most certainly NOT its original color, is a famous (or infamous?) post-war Citroën 2CV = 2 Chevaux, literally 2 horsepower, but really 2 cylinder (I think) car w/ a gearshift that was a stick coming out of the center of the dashboard that you pulled or pushed in & out & twisted right or left to obtain the gears, 50 or 60 mpg, very inexpensive to buy, France's answer to the original Volkswagen, or people's car. They putt-putt along, & climb hills slowly; the roof of the original version was canvas, so all were "convertibles." I once owned 1 of those... In France, not in the USA, tho' some people did actually bring them over years ago. It was updated in the late 60s/early 70s & renamed the "Diane," bigger engine, heavier body, but very similar shape, also not imported to the USA. The only Citroën model imported here was the DS, pronounced & also often referred to as the "Déesse" = "Goddess," which had hydraulic suspension that raised the car higher off the ground when you started the engine, a suspension that made you feel as if you were riding on a cloud. There is a nostalgic mystique in France, & indeed in other European countries, to this day associated w/ this unique & now extinct brand. Even the inexpensive 2CV had this sort of floating feel to its ride, a bit disconcerting @ 1st, but the rod-based suspension was totally different.Glad you're having fun discovering Amsterdam. Copenhagen is similar as far as bicycles are concerned, but minus the canals, of course, & it is on an island, as I'm sure you know.Marvin