04-23 Arriving Amsterdam

It's a short travel day for as as we make our way from Lisse to Amsterdam. It's a short walk (3/4 mile) to the bus this morning and the 9:05 bus arrives on time. They have these wonderful electronic reader boards that tell you when each of the bus numbers are going to arrive. 

At the airport we go inside to the train station to the ticket window and buy our tickets into Amsterdam Central. By 11am we have arrived at the station and deposited our luggage in the storage area ($7 per locker; we can fit one suitcase and a backpack in the small units). Here's another time that all of our planning and reading has helped us. Each section of lockers has it's own terminal. Lots of people standing around with their luggage waiting in the close-by sections for others to get done with the terminal. We zoomed past them to terminals further back that were empty.

Lunch and WiFi were obtained at McDonald's. They have a few big screens where you can order your own food. Once you were familiar with the setup it would be quick to do. Our credit cards don't work in these machines, so we ordered at the counter. Want a LARGE coke light? Nope - the larges are really mediums. Want some sauce for your fries? Extra charge. Want to use the bathroom after your meal? Extra charge. These Europeans - I think they want everybody to pee on the ground. I just don't understand charging paying customers.

Walking further along the main street called Damrak we arrive at the start of our Rick Steve's Jordaan Walking Tour. WHAT? The whole DAM SQUARE is full of amusement rides. Dam Square today is full of carnival rides and carnival food booths.

The aim of today's walk is get far from the maddening crowds and into the residential neighborhood of the Jordaan.

Karen never met a canal she didn't like and the 100's of pictures she is taking every day is proof of that. Of course, when you put canal houses, boat houses, tour boats, private boats, horse-drawn carriages, trees, and cafes all along the canal the pictures are there for the taking.

Amongst the quaint shops of the Jordaan, we came across this pretty cool one selling miniature patterns to help YOU make miniature dioramas.

It was a nice long walk and eventually we circled back to the hustle and bustle around the train station where we picked up our luggage and took the train one stop east closer to our apartment that we'll be at for 17 days.

Dinner was at the Burger Bar, a really small place with good grilled, fried burgers where you get to choose your meat, cheeses and extras.

The closest grocery store is only 1/4 mile away, Albert Heijn. We bought some groceries and carried them back to our room, where we arranged our new room, put our groceries and clothes away and enjoyed the lovely view of the canal out the window. You know, there are more boats going down the canal than there are cars going down the street.