Amsterdam July 16, 2013

Today is Tony's birthday. Betty and I gave him cards, presents and sang for him in the morning. We left the house at 10:15 am and walked to the "Blue Line " canal boat launching place. It is across  from Vodel Park. Betty had done her research and recommended that an open smaller tour was better. She was right. Our guide was informative and funny. I would recommend this tour to anyone who wants a bit of a more in depth tour of the canals of Amsterdam .

           

In the small boat before the tour with our captain Eddie. A smaller boat can navigate the smaller canals, the big ones just go,around in circles.

             

The history of Amsterdam is interesting. The canals are well managed and the Dutch had no problems with the recent river floodings in Europe. That is because they have over 900 years experience dealing with floods.

      

The houses along the canal are built on wooden pilings. If the water levels drop, then the pilings rot and the houses collapse. It is important to control the water levels. The houses that are black are where the Black Plague hit in the 1600s. 

    

Real estate is expensive. The house boats on the side of the canal with the slips can be over 500,000 euros. There are many private boats that line the canals. They go up and down all day. 

    

Many bridges are draw bridges. One of the statues on this building was used in Rembrandt's painting the "Night Watch." Ater the tour we went to Vodel Park for a picnic. Everywhere there were people doing the same thing. We had a lovely day! Tomorrow we do the museums and board the cruise ship.