Day 2, August 25, 2012  Mileage: a mere 8 miles

After a great night's sleep, Paul was able to reassemble the bike successfully.  Midway through the assembly the skies opened and he quickly moved everything inside the foyer of the hotel and completed the task. We moved it outside, placed the bags on the bike, and we were ready to roll.

During our one tired day in Amsterdam (and reading that Paul had done), we realized that regular internet access would be a problem.  Karel helped in get set up with everything that we needed.  He also gave us some directions and wise advise for tourists in Amsterdam.

One of Amsterdam's most famous tourist destinations is the Anne Frank House. (Yes, I know there are other famous-or is it infamous-attractions, but I'll stick with the educational today since we had a Heineken yesterday.)  This part of the line was about 1/4 of the length, too long for me.  We went around the block and were able to see the canal that Anne referred to seeing from her window.  Also the carillon which she also mentioned played in the nearby cathedral.

As we approached Central Station, the skies opened again complete with thunder and lightning.  We were able to find shelter in view of all these parked bicycle.  That three tiered bike garage was something else.

As we pedaled toward the boat, we passed many houseboat/barges in the various canals.  Someone had artistically arranged mannequins all over his houseboat.  We also saw freight carrying barges with a car that could be off loaded with a crane.  The sights have certainly been varied.

Before going to the Angela Esmee for the boat-bike tour, we stopped and enjoyed a late afternoon coffee and goodies.  The sun was shining and our outdoor snack was a perfect way to end our short tour of this section of Amsterdam