Wednesday morning dawned cloudy and cool. We had already decided to spend
the day in Amsterdam touring the canals and other sights so we didn't let
the weather change our plans. By the time we reached our first stop the sun
was shining again! There are 1200 km of canals in this city, 1400 bridges
and over 200 houseboats moored to the sides of the canals. Old scuds with
paint peeling from their windows are decorated with lace curtains and
windowboxes full of red geraniums, and rusty tugboats proudly flaunt patios
surrounded with terra cotta pots full of marigolds and dahlias, each
floating home is most unusual!
Our first stop was Anne Frank's home. Bleak and empty of furnishings, it
was chock full of emotions. People walked up the steep staircase and
through the rooms speaking in hushed voices. I'm sure I'm not the only one
who felt tears burning my eyes as I escaped to the sunshine outside.
After another ride along the canal we stopped at the Rijksmuseum. It was
my first experience with a *real* art gallery and I was overwhelmed. Every
painting by one of the old Dutch Masters fascinated me, the detail, the
feelings, the interpretation, the use of colour, light and darkness, many of
the paintings touched me deeply. Until now I had no comprehension of how
people could feel so passionately about art. Poor Kees, I'm afraid he had
to all but drag us out of there to catch the boat in time. We could easily
have spent several days in that one place alone!
Next stop....The Flea Market and french fries with mayonnaise (a Dutch
favourite) for lunch.....cholesterol? Nah..... :-) We people watched while
the very bold pigeons and sparrows vied for our attention and any tidbits we
might toss their way. Amsterdam is a very old and very quaint city, we had
a wonderful day there.
By the time we returned to Centraal Station we were all tired out and fell
sound asleep on the train as we sped home. Kees and I were definitely POPs
that night! (Pooped-Out-Parkies). What a day it was -lots of fun,
extremely interesting, and very emotional.
Kees Paap
Oudedijk 56
3612 AC Tienhoven The Netherlands
+31 3469 1021 FAX + 31 3469 1017
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Age 45, 6 years PD, Sinemet 25/100 CR 3/day, Permax 1 mg 3/day
Sinemet 12,5/50 if necessary. Love working (120/week)
Collecting information BBS +31 3469 1017. Write articles and poems.
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