Busy day here in Amsterdam, hence this long and late posting. I went down to the university with Michelle and Lisa this morning; I was thinking there were some interesting office buildings I wanted to take some pictures of, and the university seemed like a logical starting point for my other objectives (doing a hike and/or renting a bike). Objectives in this case are not make or break types of things since we are on vacation.

Objective #1: Photos of some interesting buildings (by my standards)
There is some interesting architecture here, at least interesting to me that is. Rather than blabbing about something I don’t really know anything about I will just direct you to look at some of the pictures I have included in this post.

Objective #2: Check out Vondelpark
(GPS data including map of my walk route)

This park is located not too far from the Rijks Museum and has a bit of a reputation for lewd behaviour after the sun goes down. I was inclined to think that this park was probably not unlike some of the ones closer to home with similar reputations — almost all of the time the parks are a safe and relaxing place, except for occasions when some choose to get busy, etc. I did a loop around the park this morning on foot and it was as expected, no freaky-deeky action to be seen, except for a guy doing crunches in an exercise clothing ensemble about 20 years past its due date. The loop was just over 3km long and flat as a pannekoek.

My walking route at Vondelpark in Amsterdam.

Objective #3: Rent a road bicycle and get out of the city
(GPS data including map of my bike ride route)

The lap of Vondelpark was a good warm up for a visit to Kaptein Tweewielers on Overtoom to see about renting a road bicycle. We were helped in our decision not to pack our own bikes by exorbitant and unpredictable airline handling costs. As it turns out, renting anything other than a city bike in Amsterdam is a bit challenging. My online research before arrival identified Kaptein Tweeweilers as one of the few options available and they came through with a respectable Trek unit.

Getting out on the road bike was great, in part because I like riding, but also because I am of the opinion that there is absolutely no better way of learning about an area than by getting out on a bike. My 80km loop through the Dutch country-side north of Amsterdam, including some GPS foibles, involved passing through, or by: Uitdam; Monnickendam; Volendam; Edam; and Purmerend among others. Once out of Amsterdam, there is very little traffic and for the most part there are bike pathways (fietspad) everywhere. To sum things up, the riding here is flat, but fun, there are lots of things to see (animals, interesting buildings, the odd windmill, and lots of water (former North Sea now a lake — Markermeer).

My bike ride route (to Edam from Amsterdam).

Coles Notes for riding a bike in Amsterdam:
Be one with the force; stop signs do not exist in many places; pedestrians do not have the right of way; one-way streets sometimes apply to cars, but not really anything else; scooters come in hot from the rear on roads and bike paths; cell phone talking and friend hauling recommended; helmets not recommended for any age; and so on. All of this makes for a challenging, yet entertaining ride in the city.

Photos from today in the order they were taken.

Michelle and Lisa off to school at the university this morning.

An office building near the university with some handy cut-outs.

More interesting office buildings near the university.

Cut-out action in office buildings must be the new Lululemon pants of architecture.

Oh come on, you could totally fit a few more sewing machines in there if you wanted to.

Film museum at Vondelpark. I think Amsterdam might be in the lead for the most museums per capita.

Tree shadows in Vondelpark.

The main route around Vondelpark in Amsterdam.

A parent and two kids on a bike is a common sight here. Kids mining their nasal cavities for snacks, as this one is doing, are slightly less common.

Benedict de Spinoza grafitti.

Heading out of town on the bike and nearing the first GPS challenge; the route I was following had me going through a no bikes tunnel. Interesting buildings.

This looked like a promising way to avoid the tunnel, but just led to a couple extra kilometers and a nice photo of a pedestrian bridge (next).

Cool pedestrian bridge. The steps on this thing are interesting in that they are kind of uneven layered planks of wood. Can't imagine this would meet North-American building codes.

Looking east towards some traffic on the main shipping corridor to the north of the city.

Ooooh, brick road. It's kind of like cobbles. This is the road heading into the village of Durgerdam.

The church in Durgerdam.

I rode along the top the dike for a good portion of my ride along the water. The village in the distance is Uitdam I believe.

Next up Monnickendam.

I caught up to these guys on the way into Volendam.

If ye be makin yer abode in Volendam, yer roof best be orange. Not sure what the pirate talk has to do with anything, sorry.

Volendam has a fairly vibrant waterfront.

More Volendam waterfront.

The last stretch of Volendam waterfront.

Boat lock at the east end of Edam.

The secret drawbridge entrance to Edam on the east side. No, it's not really a secret, but it is pretty skinny.

Looking west towards downtown Edam from the first drawbridge.

Riding through the old streets in Edam was an experience that does not come across well in these photos. Very cool.

Another drawbridge in Edam.

Houses on a canal in Edam.

I believe this is the main church in Edam.

Moo! If this stupid electric fence wasn't here I'd go for a swim in the ditch.

The fietspad (bike path) near Purmerend heading west from Edam.

Saw lots of sheep today. These ones have their work cut out for them if they are supposed to eat all that grass.

Token windmill photo taken near Landsmeer near the end of my ride.

Do you have any idea what this is? I don't.

The last leg of the bike ride involved a five minute foot-passenger ferry.