Here are some random notes from my Amsterdam stay.

Lodging/Location:

I chose the Owl Hotel for my home base while in Amsterdam, a choice based almost entirely on the reviews I found on Trip Advisor. Located only 2 blocks from Leidseplein and a 10-minute walk from the art museums, it was a convenient delight. The room was impeccably clean, comfortable, & quiet, the staff was very courteous & helpful, and the complementary breakfast was plentiful & tasty. When I return home, I'll leave a more detailed review on Trip Advisor.

Over the weekend, Leidseplein (pronounced "ly-dzuh-plyn,") was an experience in mitigated chaos. A large Bulldog Café, one of the original brown cafés, anchors one corner of the plaza, so a youthful and highly mollified crowd filled the square. But there are also a number of decent restaurants, shops, and theaters to cater to the accumulated masses. Leidseplein is also a crossroads for several tram lines and a destination for all the airport buses.

Shopping:

Shopping in Amsterdam and Haarlem resembled shopping in the US, with a few exceptions. One was the selection of cheeses. I’ve included one photo of the cheeses in Albert Heijn, an Amsterdam supermarket. The Dutch clearly love their cheese.

One particular chain of shops would face difficulty in the US, if they kept their name. I am referring to “Sissy Boy,” a clothing and home fashions store with outlets all over the city, including one that served as the anchor store for a large downtown shopping mall. Perhaps one gauge of the acceptance of homosexuality is how much it is used in merchandising. African Americans felt more included in society when black models were featured in a Sears’ catalogue. I wonder when gay folks will achieve a similar milestone in the US.

Transportation:

I bought an “I AMsterdam” card, which gave me 72 hours of unlimited tram/bus use and 72 hours of access to museums, plus vouchers for other sites & facilities. (For example, this allowed me a 25% discount on my Concertgebouw ticket.) I recommend it for anyone else visiting Amsterdam.

Most Amsterdam tourists get around the city via trams and buses. They work incredibly well, and the fare system is more hi-tech than any I’ve seen in the US.

However, crossing the street is more complicated because most streets contain at least 6 lanes of varying types. It goes like this: Pedestrian sidewalk; Bike/motorcycle lane (which often looks just like a sidewalk, but believe me, it isn't); Automobile lane; Tram lane; Then, the opposite tram lane; The opposite automobile lane; The opposite bike/motorcycle lane; And finally back onto a pedestrian sidewalk.

And to add to the confusion, if you need to cross in the middle of the block, you must watch your step, because each lane of traffic is set at its own elevation, 2-3 inches higher or lower than it neighboring lane. Talk about an unplanned trip! The bottom line is be even more careful than usual when you play in traffic.

Getting Lost:

Amsterdam’s layout makes it easy to get lost. But then again, that is part of the adventure.

Rather than a squared grid, most of the streets & canals are laid out as concentric semi-circles. Centraal Station serves as the hub of this half-wheel, and some streets extend out from there as spokes cutting through the crescent-moon shape of the cross streets.

However, some of these spoke-streets also have canals running up their middles, just like the semi-circle streets. It is therefore easy to become confused. Having a map is essential, but because some of the streets in the older parts of town are little more than alleys, it is best not to expect a map to include every street.

Dutch Architecture, etc:

Included are some photos of particularly Dutch architecture that I found compelling or amusing, plus some of the waterfowl that enjoy canal life.