I can go on staring at the Amsterdam canal houses forever, wondering just how they are so picture-perfect! Most buildings are very narrow, maybe 30-feet wide or less, with the slimmest side facing the canal. Apparently, the houses have narrow staircases, because we saw someone transporting furniture with the help of a pulley and lifting it in through the windows. We saw many houses that bore ‘establishment dates’…some from the 16th and 17th centuries…and most had richly ornamental ‘gables’ in shapes like steps, vase necks and bells. Those on the Keizersgracht (Emperor's canal) were grand and sober…inspired from palaces of the Roman Empire, perhaps??
We’d heard that people in Amsterdam prefer cycling to get around, but seeing it was a different story altogether. Office goers with formal suits and laptops, women with toddlers, school boys and girls, men with pet dogs on leashes, shoppers with grocery bags, and tourists with cameras, everyone seemed to be peddling away cheerfully. It’s almost infectious…you can’t resist the urge to cycle! So, hire a cycle at 10 euro a day and travel the way locals do.
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