Amsterdam By Canal
October 12, 2009 
Boy, is Amsterdam busy!
After I arrived early Saturday morning in Amsterdam, I wandered around the city as much as my aching feet would allow me. What startled me most about Amsterdam was the traffic. Not the automobile traffic (although I’ve found that’s horrendous, too), but the foot, bicycle, bus and train traffic that whizzes by you in every direction. You can’t walk two feet in Amsterdam without looking both ways. If you don’t, a Moped rider or a pack of bicyclists is bound to mow you down.
Fortunately, I didn’t do much traveling on foot Monday in Amsterdam. I was, however, fortunate to take an hour-long canal boat ride through the city. The two things I learned about canal boat navigation are:
-Don’t put your canal in a situation where you need to go in reverse! Other canal boat captains may get irritated, and you may cause a traffic jam.
-If you need to turn around, don’t attempt a U-Turn. You may wind up wedging your boat between the canal walls!
It was fascinating to see some of the city’s oldest buildings teetering and tottering in their place, as well. Apparently, the base of some buildings is purely sand and not concrete enough after all these centuries to withstand the weight of some buildings. Some buildings actually lean forward, appearing as if they may topple into canals. Other buildings seem to be standing OK, but it’s obvious which buildings have foundation problems and which buildings don’t.
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