Today we decided to take a canal cruise. There are many large tourist-oriented canal cruising operations, from large glass-topped river boats to small do-it-yourself options. We took a tram back to the Central Station where most cruises operate from. Trams are pretty easy - you can just get on and pay 3 euros to the conductor using Paywave. That lets you ride trams and trains for up to one hour.
Some businesses do not take cash - the trams for example - so almost everything can be paid using a card. However yesterday we found the supermarket did not take Visa! Fortunately I had enough cash to save us having to put our groceries back on the shelves.
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| Amsterdam Trams |
Here are boats the same as the one we went in. They are very low to the water, but only just fit under many of the canal bridges.
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| Canal cruise boats, in front of the Central Station |
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| Sue ready to get the cruise under way. |
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| The famous "Dancing Houses" - because they are all at different angles. |
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| The cruise finished with a lap around the outer harbour - the IJ. |
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| One of the numerous smaller cruise boats. |
The prices for tourist attractions do not seem too bad here. The one-hour cruise was 12 euros each.
Back at our home canal, we stopped for a drink beside the water. We watched a great variety of boats go by. The water is not a nice colour, so you wouldn't want to fall in! However the Dutch are very proud of the purity of their drinking water which is apparently very good.
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| Our house is the plain grey one straight across from here. |
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| A table on the edge of the canal to watch to boats go by. |
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| A classic cruise boat, in immaculate condition. |
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| The Amstel River |
One block to the east of us, our Prinsengracht canal joins into the Amstel River, which looks like a larger canal. This is the original river after which Amsterdam was named, when it was first dammed long ago. The flow is now controlled by a series of locks which manage the water level throughout the city.
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| Crossing the Amstel on an old wooden bridge, which can open to let larger boats pass. |
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| One of the thousands of house boats along the canals, which never go anywhere. |
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| This bike must have been in the water a long time. |
The canals are home to thousands of house boats, which became popular as the price of housing increased. Now they have become a problem and the city is gradually reducing the number allowed, to help unclutter the canals over time.
