The next morning we woke heading into Amsterdam harbor. Our first stop was the flower market. Even though it was not in full color as the tulips were past blooming this year, it was still full of many seasonal flowers and booth after booth of bulbs for sale. Up and down the streets were pedal cabs like the one pictured here and everywhere there were bicycles and bicycle parking lots jammed with thousands of bikes. We certainly had to wonder how anyone could find where they had parked. According to our guide many of them are simply abandoned.
There was not a comfortable feel about walking the city streets. It was very crowded and everyone seemed to be in a hurry. We did take an interesting boat ride through the canals and saw lots of old Dutch architecture.
In the port guide we were given on the ship, Amsterdam was described as an "amoral city." We were intrigued by the captain's elaborate explanation of the difference between a coffeehouse and a cafe. If you want a cup of coffee in Amsterdam you need to find a restaurant or a cafe. Coffee is not sold at coffeehouses; there one buys and sits to smoke marijuana--licensed and perfectly legal. However, smoking cigarettes is not permitted!
As we walked along the downtown canalfront looking for a Christmas ornament, we passed the building pictured. Inside the doorway stood a wonam dressed in black fishnet stockings and heels with her leg up on a stool. This too was perfectly legal in Amsterdam.