Exodus to Amsterdam Göteborg

On Saturday Scottie and I grabbed the train and headed out for a day in Leiden. Thank you Danny for the suggestion.

That’s it in the bottom left to give you an idea of where it is in relation to Amsterdam. We wandered here, we wandered there, those Kosmans wandered everywhere. 

First to a windmill then to a church.

Okay, Scottie’s 6′ 3″… holy that door is huge! I say holy because it’s the door to the Reformed Church in Leiden. It was built between 1639 and 1649. We also noticed it has been through a few fires in its day.

There are a number of gates into the city and the majority of them have the red keys carved like the one depicted here.

Just going for a stroll in the park. Thought I’d rest on one of the cannons, you know, totally normal playground equipment.

We found this gate as we were leaving a cemetery. Please note the skull and crossbones situated on the posts. In the cemetery we found a gravestone that also had a skull and crossbones on it… hmmm.

This is me at the Rembrandt statue. Rembrandt? But didn’t he live in Amsterdam? Well yes, but he was born here!

Rembrandt’s plaque and the alley where he was born. Exciting stuff people! See the mom riding her bike with her kid in the wooden box in front? Totally normal, you see it everywhere. I love it when I see 4 kids stuffed in the box with a dad puffing his way down the street… classic. 

We started the day with a windmill so why not end the day with Scottie behind a windmill? Just standing on a bridge enjoying the afternoon. And thus our wandering came to an end in Leiden. A lovely day was had by all.

leiden, you big tourist churches, Rembrandt, walking, windmill

Since taking the Kosman Household Tour videos Scottie and I ventured out to IKEA! Yay!

Technically this picture is from the second time I went with Sapna. Who’s Sapna you ask?

Scottie works with her husband Deeps and this us waiting for the metro after our successful venture. Some people have asked if IKEA here is larger/different from those in Canada. I think this one’s a bit larger but the set up is mostly the same with the showroom being on the top floor with the purchasing area on the main level. There’s a few differences in items but the overall feel is pretty much the same. They still have the first shower curtain Scottie and I bought for the 16th floor apartment! Yep, the stick drawn coloured animals, I’m sure you’ve seen it They of course have the restaurant and Scottie had his tasty meatballs while I ate my erwten soep. Mmm, split pea soup. Not that you care much about that portion of the journey so let me get to the really reason why I’m writing this post.

Ahh, a soft bath mat and shower curtain that’s a neat fabric so you don’t need the liner! Thanks for the tip Greg.

I believe the word delicious escaped my lips when I got under this duvet Nice neutral colours with no pattern so it won’t keep me awake, I love it! Vargos likes it too. Oh yes, the book on Scottie’s bedside table is The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire thank you Papa. He only brought the first four books with him and wow are they ever heavy!

Thank you once again for joining the Kosman Household Tour. Thank you also for your many reassurances that the stairs are in fact treacherous. They are more treacherous while carrying (clean) cat litter apparently but I lived to tell the tale… or should it be tail? (Boo, Shannie, boo, my jokes will never do!) So long for now from the Kosmans!

amsterdam IKEA, living in sin

Hooray for Scottie coming home before 3am! The pose he struck was one of sleep but lucky for him I did not capture the moment on film. Instead I wanted to show you a few statues I’ve found in and around Scottie’s office on Herengracht. Naturally there are copious statues all over so this is but a smattering in one concentrated area.

These are the loungers with a head bust. Scantily clad men surveying their dominion below with half a person in the middle. Perfect.

King Triton and his fish. This statue adds a very cool look to the overall building.

I’m looking across the building… window, brick, window, what? Right in the middle of the building is this righteous looking man carved into the wall. I loved it! I had to get the full look of just how much a part of the wall he truly is.

Don’t mind us we’re just holding up the balcony. I was quite taken with these two. I can’t find their feet, can you?

Last but not least a statue of kiddens in the windows. No, wait a minute! Those aren’t statues, those are our kiddens in our windows! Hee, hee! Vargos, our 7 month old male kidden, is the grey one on the left and Poe is the grey and white cat on the right. She is 6.5 year olds who once upon a time belonged to my sister.

There are plenty of statues to be documented so I’m certain I will have more as time goes on especially since they’re not going anywhere!

amsterdam cats, Herengracht, statues

A few days ago I decided to photograph my walk along the Prinsengracht. Here are some of my findings.

First up, Noodermarkt Kerk. Just outside here in the square on Saturdays you can stop by and get your fresh bread, meat, fruits and veggies. Monday mornings is more of the flea market style which I’ve posted previously. This is the square we looked out on in the temporary place.

Every once in a while you can find a bench to sit at for people watching purposes or just to rest. There are a few I found along the Prinsengracht.

Okay, this one’s on a houseboat so perhaps not a seat for the public to sit on but it looks pretty funny sitting on top of the boat.

Need a hand? Have a seat! Hee, hee.

And finally benches with people actually sitting on them. These people are pondering life while the pigeons are waiting for the one lady to drop whatever she’s eating.

Here’s a quick shot of a trusty tugboat pulling along a boat needing some help.

These green wheel cars are all over Amsterdam. It’s a car coop program. Instead of owning a car you pay a monthly fee and sign up to take one of these cars out for certain blocks of time. I have to say I’m quite shocked at how many cars drive through these narrow streets.

Along with pigeons there are many seagulls who live here. They love trash day, market day or when people decide to throw bread in the canal. This is one of those moments.

I hope you enjoyed your wander along the Prinsengracht. I shall be back tomorrow so stay tuned!

canals benches, churches, houseboat, Prinsengracht

I figured someone would mention the lack of clogs, thank you David. For some reason I’ve been consciously avoiding taking pictures of them. In my travels yesterday I happened upon this and couldn’t pass it up. Enjoy!

you big tourist clogs

So we’re all moved in and the internet is hooked up at home. Yay! I put together a tour of our place but the file is too large to post so I need to redo it. In the meantime Carl has been requesting some “typical” Netherlands photos so without further ado…

We hope this meets with your approval Carl

you big tourist bicycles, horse carriage, tulips, windmill

Yep! That’s right. Shannie wandered for a total of 22 kms yesterday! Crazy? Why yes, yes I am.

I went to see Anne Frank’s statue which is on Merwedeplein. I know some of you have already found faster routes to accomplish said task but my goal is to get to know the city. So off I trekked in search of her statue. 

 The park is encompassed by a triangle of buildings that looks to be all one complex. The Frank’s residence I believe was 37C. I read that tidbit of information somewhere and have been unable to retrace my research to know absolutely. In any case the residence has been restored to its original 1930’s set up and is a writer’s residence for 1 year at a time for writers who cannot write freely in their country.

 I then retraced my steps as a test for myself. Along the Amstel River there are many true houseboats… 

I turned down one street too soon after a bridge I crossed and it was all head scratcher from there on in. A local, thankfully, was kind enough to come to my aid. Off I went to meet Corinna for a walk in Vondelpark and again I lost my sense of direction. Eventually she told me to meet her out front of the Riijksmuseum which is a hard building to miss. A stroll in Vondelpark with a stop at the Blue Tea House topped off the afternoon.

Today I decided it was time to hit the books so where to go to find some solitude… the Bibliotheek of course! Along my walk I passed Centraal Station.

So many buses, trams and subways. There is a significant amount of construction going on along that entire strip that I walked the wrong way. Bike paths are generally in red brick with pedestrian paths in grey. Well, the grey quickly disappeared and was replaced with a yellow curb. I suddenly had busses turning to the left of me and swarms of bikes to the right. Being an agile light-footed wonder I avoided contact and quickly found my feet beneath grey bricks again. *Whew* I eventually found a pedestrian who looked like he knew where he was going and followed him to this walkway that took me straight to the library.

It is such a wonderful open air concept library with plenty of work space available. Each floor is dedicated to a specific collection that is written in large letters on the ceiling of each escalator. There is also quite the security presence that I didn’t dare take out my camera for fear of it being confiscated. The top floor is a cafeteria so people could spend an entire day without having to leaves the premises. Hmmm, what a thought.

amsterdam, you big tourist Anne Frank, bibliotheek, houseboat, walking