Dig the digs

a view across the Brouwersgracht into the Jordaan.......

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