Arriving in Amsterdam in the rain we had a bit of trouble finding our accommodation. We were to stay three nights in an area "a little to the north of the city centre with a direct public transport link on the doorstep".
Paul kept saying 'It's called the Kapetan Anna and the address is Pier 6'.
I could not believe that he had booked accommodation on a boat. I hate boats - the slightest movement makes me nauseous!
I was still looking at the names on the streets and buildings when I finally realised it was true. The Kapetan Anna was a boat and the public transport on our door step was a ferry and the 3 km from the city centre was across water.
On Pier 6 I scanned this derelict submarine looking for a name - surely this wasn't it. If it was I'd kill him.
Driving a little further, we found a half decent old ferry and sure enough, this was she - the Kapetan Anna.
Much better inside than out.
The cabins turned out to be small but excellent and we had a unique view of Amsterdam city, at night in the rain, from our two port holes. When the "public transport on our doorstep" went past, the wash hit these waterline cabin windows and rocked the boat. I got used to it!
The "public transport on our doorstep" ran every 30 minutes, was free and took us directly to the central transport hub - trains, trams and canal boats - in 11 minutes.
We used the ferry lots of times and it was always packed - pedestrians, cyclists, the odd motorcycle, wheelchairs, prams, dogs, tourists, fisher-persons, locals, young and old. No seats, every stood up.
At the next mooring on Pier 6 was the handsome old Pollux that offered a mean pub meal of steak and chips. I know it looks deserted but it was really humming - everyone either walked or cycled.
And speaking of cycling! Even though I realised that Amsterdam was a city of bicycles, until I saw the bike parks with my own eyes I never imagined what that really meant.
This bike storage was at our commuter ferry terminal on the city side.
Not one hundred metres away is the next one, servicing a bus interchange. And so it goes - on and on.
We toured the canals on the "hop on - hop off" canal bus.
The boat traffic on the canals is pretty intense during the peak tourist hours - 11am until 4pm, quieter in the evenings.
The buildings along the canals are beautiful and tell a wonderful story of Dutch maritime and trading history.
We only had three days in Amsterdam and struck bad weather, but could have stayed longer. It is a beautiful and engaging city.
The population of Amsterdam is only around 1 million people but the city hosts 17 million tourists each year and is now in the same position as Venice and San Sebastion, unable to sustain its touristic success.
We capped off our visit with a good food indulgence at An Der Pol which required driving 30 km each way across the city in heavy rain, the return trip in the dark. No pre-dinner drinks on the terrace overlooking the lake tonight!
Paul broke out the sports jacket again ..... and yes - shoes!
Oh wow Paul looking spiffo and we can’t even see the shoes!
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