Amsterdam : The City of Canals

Amsterdam is a great place to visit. Water canals, boat houses, cute houses. Unfortunately it rained so much when I was there. The sky was extremely gloomy and the wind was crazy. We still got the best out of the trip. The moment I saw the sun shining, I took the opportunity to go on a canal cruise, one of the best way to see the city.

Canal cruises are everywhere in Amsterdam, run by several companies. They mostly cost less than 10 euros. One thing that I like about going on the kind of touristy cruise is that they'll tell you lots of things about whats around you. What it was like in the past, why they have boat houses, why their buildings are as such and etc.

Perfect timing for a round tour.

At its lowest point, Amsterdam is almost 7 feet below sea level and a quarter of the Netherlands is below sea level. The canals help keep the city dry and since a long time ago, the windmills are used to pump excess water off their soil. One day when global warming goes overboard, we might loose this city.

House boats are plenty along the canals. Once upon a time, land was very limited in Amsterdam so the Dutch decided to live in houseboats. They are all legally licenced and provided with electricity and clean water like a normal house. There are also houseboats for rent.

This might just be a float for the Gay Pride weekend which we just missed by 24 hours.

Because of the limited land that the city has, houses are made as high as possible to save space. Higher taxes will be charged on houses that are wider. This results in their narrow houses with really steep staircases that would be my nightmare if I ever have small children living here.

As narrow as the houses are, they have big windows and a hook hanging on the top of each house. This is to make the process of moving furniture easier since big furnitures can't be brought into the house through the door. A pulley would be hung on the hook and a rope would be tied on furnitures to pull them up or take them down.

Their houses were so cute and pretty like a scene from a movie. The top part of the facade which are called Gables are made famous during the Dutch Renaissance period and comes in many designs.

As we cruise along the canals, we went under many bridges that connects them. The sides of the parking lot facing the waters are fenced to avoid cars and bikes from plunging into the waters. I'm sure that had happend so many times before the fences we made compulsory.

I was wondering why this here does not have a fence

The day was sunny only for a moment. I was glad that I took the canal cruise. By the time evening came, it rained cats and dogs. After dinner we went for a stroll on the famous red light district. It didn't matter that it was drizzling.

Did you know that Amsterdam has been the City of Diamonds (literally) for the last 400 years?