You can't do that in America!- No. 2

In central Amsterdam there is a strange grid of one-way streets based on the canal system- Specifically these are the grachts which are streets on both sides of a canal. So you can be going one direction on Keizersgracht, or going in the opposite direction on the other side of the canal which is also Keizersgracht. If you are a hapless tourist in a rental car, you will suddenly be going the wrong way on the wrong side of the canal. I have seen this happen many times already.

And lets not forget about the bicycles which vastly outnumber cars. They 'sort of' go the same direction as the cars, but they are always in motion and don't slow down much, and may strike off in any direction at any moment. More on bicycles later.

Did I mention that these one-way streets are very narrow, you can't pass anybody, and nobody slows down- cars, bicycles, scooters (did I mention scooters?)- until this happens:

A big truck needs to unload something. There is no place to pull over, no delivery spaces, so the truck just stops in the street and calmly and methodically unloads its cargo. 

So the cars just sit there (including the hapless tourist who got lucky and is going the right way) while the bicycles just stream on by.

This happens all the time and Amsterdamers seem to be used to it. I talked to a lady sitting in a nice Audi and told her that if this was New York City, people would be going for their weapons. She just smiled- crazy Americans!

You can't do that in America!  

new digs

For the past week we have been in temporary housing, but we are moving in to our permanent apartment Tuesday (after we raid a bunch of ATM's to pay deposit and so forth). Its in the Haarlemmerbuurt (they love the double vowels here) neighborhood which is just across the canal from the Jordaan where we stayed the last time we were here. 

Since we are on a canal (you guessed it!) we live on a gracht!

Dark gray building in center:

what's on the menu.....

.....at the Greenhouse Coffeeshop?
http://www.greenhouse.org/

you can't do that in America!

This will no doubt be a continuing series.

In Amsterdam, in the previously mentioned Red Light district, certified, legal prostitutes can rent these little rooms, like a little tiny store-front, which is in fact a retail establishment. They exhibit their "product" and try to entice you to come in, where I suppose they take you to a storeroom in the back were you can examine more closely the "product", or they examine yours, whatever.

We were wandering thru this area today and Leslie goes, "did you see that woman back there?". Being sort of unaware in general, I go, "what?". Then she points across the straat, "look there's another one in that window".

Sure enough, a mostly naked butt can be discerned even from across the straat. As we get closer we can see the woman beckoning to the passers-by. I give her a thumbs up as we pass.

You can't do that in America!

(sorry, no pictures. taking photos of the windows is a big no-no)

Men in Skirts

Straat and Gracht

Getting around in Amsterdam, its important to know your straats from your grachts.

A straat is a street- that's simple enough

A gracht (city-canal) is a waterway in the city with streets on both sides of the water. The streets are lined with houses- ok

For instance, if you are on Egelantiersstraat and you don't see any canals, then you know that you are indeed on Egelantiersstraat. If you see a canal, then you are on Egelantiersgracht, or perhaps another gracht. Also, Egelantiersgracht runs along both sides of the canal. 

This is perfectly logical.

However, a singel is by origin a water-filled moat which surrounds a city for defensive purposes. When the city expands the singel is incorporated in the city’s structure and cannot be distinguished any more from a gracht, although the name ‘singel’ is usually maintained. You guessed it. There is a Singel here, and it looks just like a gracht- its on both sides of the canal!

Fortunately, a dijk is just a dike.

Obligatory Jet Lag Excuse

Well, its Day 2 (Thursday) in Amsterdam, and no posts. Lets blame it on jet lag.

We arrived in the city Wednesday about 10am, had to wait until 3pm to get the key to the 'temporary' apartment'. Checked our extremely heavy luggage at Drop-n-Go and wandered around. Finally got the key at 3pm and lugged/shoved the extremely heavy luggage onto a tram which took us to within about 8 blocks of the apartment. The nice thing about blocks in Amsterdam is that they are shorter than like your typical NYC block for instance, and much shorter than Starkville city blocks because there are none. The Amsterdam blocks have been, for centuries, at the human scale for walking.

This morning we checked out an apartment to rent for the next 5 1/2 months, scoped out the surrounding neighborhoods, and pondered the transportation system.

Maybe tomorrow I will be conscious......oh, and we had to lug the extremely heavy luggage up these stairs.

4:25 am EST

I'll Drink to That

Getting close to embarkation for Amsterdam.......which entails an 8 hour plane ride. Super!

the return of EuroGeezer?

EuroGeezer will be back in 2016, broadcasting live from canal-side Amsterdam. 
Stay tuned.......