The Land of Canals

 

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Friday marked the beginning of the second leg of the trip.   We started the day with a meta discussion of our time in New York.  Afterwards we checked out and started to wait; we waited two and a half hours to be shuttled to Newark, and there we spent 3 hours in the terminal.  Personally, I was very glad when the plane was finally in the air.  The bird’s eye view of New York City was stunning.

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We arrived in Schiphol at 8:00am on Saturday.  The uncomfortable plane seats didn’t allow for much sleep, so most of the group was tired and tense as we tried to exit the bustling airport.  Luckily, it was relatively easy to get outside; the lines were short and none of our bags were given extra attention from customs.  I have nothing to compare this trip to, but later in the day, Our Dear Leaders mentioned that it was the smoothest foreign airport exit they had ever experienced.

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Our home for the next few days is NH Museum Quarter.  Although most of us needed a shower and a nap, we couldn’t check into our rooms until 1:00p so we took the liberty to explore a little bit.

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This photo is the canal alongside Hobbemarkade.  Amsterdam is prettier and cleaner than NYC.  There are fewer people here and biking is a major mode of transportation; bikes are EVERYWHERE compared to a paltry few in NYC.   The streets are narrow and most sidewalks are barely big enough for two people to walk side by side.  At first I was intimidated to come to a country without the language, but it seems like almost everyone in Amsterdam speaks english, at least the people in the cafes and shops.  Coffee and a sandwich were 6.50 euro (about $9.00), which would be high for Indiana, but the prices don’t faze me anymore after spending a week in New York City.  Our lunch took a long time, but long meals are part of the culture in Europe.

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Many group members got some much needed sleep before the canal tour at 3:00p, which Lowell and Dr. Pitts had graciously procured during the morning free time.  The photos above were taken on the tour.  The canals are a bit confusing because  instead of going north, south, east, west, the canals are concentric circles that surround the center of the city; it makes it difficult to remember where you have been and judge distances as well.  Although I think the boat ride was intended to make learning to navigate the city easier, I don’t think it helped much other than to show the beauty of the city.  Amsterdam is a very old city.  New York is an old city too, but most of the buildings have been replaced by skyscrapers so you can’t see the age on the street.  However the buildings here are only four or five stories tall because some go as far back as the 17th century.  Some are leaning to the side from age, while others lean into the street because they were made to do so as a status symbol.  House boats are also common in some canals, originally used because they were cheaper, but now the boats are valued real estate because the city isn’t giving out more permits.  I don’t know the housing market in Amsterdam, but I assume that rent is very expensive like NYC.  It’s a small city and everyone wants a piece.