The cute part of HamsterDam

After about 10 minutes of jostling with tourists and freaks, we went a few blocks Westward into a more sedate area. For four blocks there is another canal at every intersection (that is to say, the blocks are defined by canals). We stopped at this pub to rest our feet and feed Arianne. Just watching the people go by on their bikes and scooters is endlessly entertaining. A cyclist passes by every second or two.

Note how the windows are a bit crooked? That is normal.

The pub we stopped at is the third-oldest in Amsterdam. It dates from the mid-1600's and is known as a "brown café" because the wood interior was turned brown from all the patrons smoking that new-fangled thing called "tobacco" that had been imported from the New World.

 

Scooting by (no helmets, naturally). One of hundreds of two-wheeled passerby we saw. A few minutes later some guy drove by in at 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle, all rumbling V8 and shiny chrome. Who cares about some old muscle car, you say? But take it in situ, and it becomes special. First of all, cars are pretty rare. You can't park anywhere. Gasoline is more than $2 a liter. And the streets on either side of the canals are wide enough for only one vehicle. If you saw a muscle car from the 70's at the Drive-Thru back in Generica, you wouldn't look twice. But given the context, cruising around medieval cobblestone streets in a candy-ass purple hot rod with racing stripes borders on performance art.

The intersection of canals right next to where we were sitting. Note the folks in the foreground lounging in the boat, perhaps enjoying a glass of wine, while putting along the canals.