Amsterdam - a city of ABC's (Architecture, Bicycles and Canals)

Amsterdam has an extensive network of canals....much like Venice!!  It is interesting to note that home in Amsterdam are built on wood pilings that go down some 30 meters into the first layer of sand.. which preserves the wood since none of the wood is exposed to air and precludes it from rotting.  New pilings for property are done with concrete and are driven 90 meters into the 3 layer of sand in the earth.  Here are some of those properties.....

This house seems to be shifting...or the pilings are unstable.  It is the leaning house of Amsterdam.....

Bicycles dominate Amsterdam....approximately 60% to the population use a bike.  They have dedicated lanes and share them with motorbikes.  One needs to use caution and be aware of not getting of the sidewalks into the bike paths.  However most bike riders (who have to be registered)  have insurance.
I have to admit even with the large number of bikers and with some very close calls I did not see any accidents with other bikes, pedestrians or cars.  So many bikes the bike racks are double deck!!

...they are parked everywhere....

The hotel selection in Amsterdam was the Hotel Fita...close to the Van Gogh museum.  The lines to buy tickets were huge...and I had seen the Van Gogh exhibit before in Washington DC so opted to pass on waiting hours for access.  Here are some views of the museum....

The Anne Frank house was also on the list of sites to see...but the tickets were all sold out for the weekend.....so I settled for this picture of the statute of Anne Frank....born 1929 and died 1945...

Adjacent to the Anne Frank house is Westerkerk which conducted the first gay marriage in the world and Homomonument - the a three triangle monument dedicated to the homosexuals who were killed by the Nazis during WWII.....The triangles signified the identification used by Nazis in the concentration camps.

The beauty of the city is...as in most cities in Europe...in the Architecture and sculpture.....

While not really sculpture....this is an interesting piece of artwork on a home along one of the canals.

The Heineken Brewery provides an "Experience" tour of it's history and how the making and bottling of the product is conducted....plus you get 3 glasses of Heineken!!  The brewery is still very much a "family" affair....into its 4th generation Heineken family members in command.

Here are just a few photos of the "Experience"....

The horses and wagons used for parades and exhibition of the Heineken product were also included on the tour...

as were all the many awards received for their products....

plus....the beers were GREATTTTTTT

That's it for today....opps...almost forgot the "Photo of the Day".....one has always heard the expression..."Mind the Gap"...well known in the UK - London especially  to identify the space between the train and the platform...well in Amsterdam we have  "Mind the Head" ....or Watch Out!!

Next up....a ride down the canal....