Fish, boats, water... women!

[Patty&Rudi]

I'd promised Angie that I'd post photos on our return from Holland. We were mostly in Amsterdam other than a few visits to family in Haarlem near Hemestedte. Rudi's mom and dad were born there, raised there until WWII moved his dad into the resistance (sheltering a young Jewish girl in their home - she is now in her 80's and in either Brooklyn or the Bronx!) and then eventually to Indonesia, where Rudi was born.

It was fascinating to see Amsterdam, but - similar to Ireland - the EU certainly has changed the flavour of the countries. They are a blend now, not distinct anything really. Maybe that will shift over time, and I certainly hope it isn't too dramatic here when we have the NAU as it is there.

So I will attempt some photos!

I love the guy commuting in his little motorboat on his cell phone! The houseboats were near Anne Frank's house.
They'd begun filling in all the canals in Amsterdam until someone said wait! This is like a world heritage thing! We ought to leave them. So they stopped - and canals and boats are everywhere...

[Patty&Rudi]

But they don't compare at ALL to the number of bikes!
EVERYONE rides a bike.

We saw a man who had to be in his 80's with his wife sitting on the back, casually, as they pedaled through the streets. And where I'd be hanging on for dear life - they are casual about it! And the babes and kidlets have the best seats in the house!

For toddlers and up - they it on the seat with mom or dad and have two little pegs they put their feet on. No helmets, no fear, no weird North American panic about safety - and they tend to live!

[Patty&Rudi]

Okay, a wheelchair doesn't count as a bike!
But wheels are everywhere in this place.

The top bikes in the previous photo are taxis! They have the car kind too - but these are much more fun in the city.

The one bike shot is not posting - so I will go re-size it.

And the fish shot -- there were skillions of varieties in the fresh outdoor market every single day, but the best part is when the fresh herring is running!! YUM! Delectable raw!!

[Patty&Rudi]

Let's see if the bike posts.

In Holland (my daughter told me - good thing she watches You Tube!) you don't stop in a Coffee Shop for some tea. You go to a cafe.

Coffee Shops sell "other" things in Holland.

[Patty&Rudi]

And in the (real) cafes and restaurants -- ALL outdoor seating is arranged facing OUT, so you can watch the world go by, and all the people in the world, too!

Here's half a car, not sure where the other half went.

And a lady of the night, by day. The red light district has some interesting things like the Banana Bar (which we somehow neglected to visit), and women offer themselves to the passers-by. Nicely. They sit in windows, offer different views, some smoke and chat with the lady in the next window. Photography is not encouraged, but I tried to respectfully take a shot.

The best part of civilization, too, is that if you can't have Andrew and Heather's gelato from the Hope Town Coffee Shop, at least you can get some Haagen-Dazs!

[Patty&Rudi]

Unless someone is in love with graffiti and wants to see some of the most exceptional I have ever seen (and there was more than I had ever seen in my brief 54 years of life there - reported to be done by mostly the Muslim immigrants and their gangs) -- let me know because it is mind-blowing in Amsterdam! Or, perhaps their minds were blown before its creation.

One shot is the obligatory windmill. Yes, they exist and this one is in Haarlem. Mostly, though, they are the big and new-fangled turbine ones, all white and big and - no history.

And the other shot -- is for Pattie Toler! It means please don't park bikes or anything here, but how could it not remind me of her? So I too the pic for her.

[JJ]

Thanks for sharing and I would love to see the graffiti.

[HALF-A-HAMIAN]

Great pix, but God forbid a NAU. Sovereignty is slipping away too fast as it is, I'm for giving The UN to the EU and get US out. Kudos to Rudi's family and their stand for humanity and morality during WWII!

[Patty&Rudi]

Great pix, but God forbid a NAU. Sovereignty is slipping away too fast as it is, I'm for giving The UN to the EU and get US out. Kudos to Rudi's family and their stand for humanity and morality during WWII!

Thank you Half!

And sadly, Bush, Martin and Fox signed a treaty that will begin the "common security and prosperity" for the US, Mexico and Canada in just 18 months from now. spp.gov is the US website, though a google will get you all kinds of info on it.

And yes, Rudi's family is quite exceptional (I think!). His mom is 91, his dad 89 now, and they did what any normal human would/should in the same situation, nothing special, they say.

And actually, Holland was quite wonderfully aggressive with the whole Nazi thing, sometimes blatantly, sometimes insidiously, but it was there the whole time. They also had the only strike of any country in Europe at the time on the transportation of the Jews, too. Shut down Amsterdam for days.

[Patty&Rudi]

Thanks for sharing and I would love to see the graffiti.

It was some of the best graffiti I have ever seen, JJ, but kind of sad to see it everywhere. The one store you can see it on in the photos is right on the walk to Ann Frank's house. On the way out of the train station it was on any surface that was vertical. The first photo was inside a train! And there was graffiti even on a bike bucket. I guess if it stands still long enough...

[BahamaAngie]

Very interesting Patty. Thanks for sharing.

[BahamaAngie]

I particularly like the pictures of the canal with the boats....it is so cool. I am so glad they kept it! The man's boat looks so great. I would love to be taking a ride in it. Graffiti ruins so many buildings. It was real cool that you got to see Anne Frank's house.

[South Pause]

Great photos. thanks for sharing!

[culp]

Thank you Half!

And sadly, Bush, Martin and Fox signed a treaty that will begin the "common security and prosperity" for the US, Mexico and Canada in just 18 months from now. spp.gov is the US website, though a google will get you all kinds of info on it.

And yes, Rudi's family is quite exceptional (I think!). His mom is 91, his dad 89 now, and they did what any normal human would/should in the same situation, nothing special, they say.

And actually, Holland was quite wonderfully aggressive with the whole Nazi thing, sometimes blatantly, sometimes insidiously, but it was there the whole time. They also had the only strike of any country in Europe at the time on the transportation of the Jews, too. Shut down Amsterdam for days.

Rudi and his family are very exceptional indeed. Correct me if I am wrong, Patty, but they are considered to be 'Righteous Gentiles', which is an extraordinary, honorable group of peoples who put their lives on the line to save Jews.

[DaGoose]

Wow, Rudi's mom got herself a younger man! That is a wonderful story about them and you are so lucky to have such incredible people in your family.

Your photos are beautiful. Loved the dapper gent in the boat and the 30% off mushrooms sign was a hoot!

Tina

[Beer Baron]

I think I found the other half of that car... Turns out they repainted it and took it to the Costa del Sol in southern Spain.

[TOLERance]

Thanks for thinkin' of me, ya'll!
Good to see "Tolerance" anywhere--Amsterdam does not look like it has changed a bit since I was there--my maternal gradfather was born nearby...
Pattie

[Patty&Rudi]

I particularly like the pictures of the canal with the boats....it is so cool. I am so glad they kept it! The man's boat looks so great. I would love to be taking a ride in it. Graffiti ruins so many buildings. It was real cool that you got to see Anne Frank's house.

I was thinking, when that nice guy went by on his boat, that I have a good friend who I'd like to match up with him! Wouldn't it be great to go to work on your boat?

And Anne Frank's house was interesting - it was much larger than I imagined, and because there are rows and rows of houses, all stuck together, there was no way for the Nazi's to see the back of the house to know its depth - and that is where they were, behind a bookcase was a door that led to the entire rear of the building.

VERY sad, but her story has lived forever, and had she lived I don't think that would have been the case.

[Patty&Rudi]

Rudi and his family are very exceptional indeed. Correct me if I am wrong, Patty, but they are considered to be 'Righteous Gentiles', which is an extraordinary, honorable group of peoples who put their lives on the line to save Jews.

Yes, Culp, they are - and in fact I just printed off the form for their names to be recorded at Yad Vashem, they call them Righteous Among the Nations.

The young girl they saved, now an older woman in the Bronx or Brooklyn, would have to fill it out, so I need to find her.

It is important to note that this is nothing they'd want to do themselves -- they say what they did is what any human being would do in a similar situation. Nothing extraordinary.

[Patty&Rudi]

Wow, Rudi's mom got herself a younger man! That is a wonderful story about them and you are so lucky to have such incredible people in your family.

Your photos are beautiful. Loved the dapper gent in the boat and the 30% off mushrooms sign was a hoot!

Tina

Thank you South Pause!
And Tina - yes, Rudi's mom is 91 now, and swims 28 laps when she goes to the pool, about 3-4 times a week. I was hoping I could swim 28 laps by the time I am 91! I can't do 8, or 2!

There was a news story about Amsterdam outlawing smoking in buildings, I just heard last week - and thus some concern for the "coffee" houses!

[Patty&Rudi]

Thanks for thinkin' of me, ya'll!
Good to see "Tolerance" anywhere--Amsterdam does not look like it has changed a bit since I was there--my maternal gradfather was born nearby...
Pattie

Do you know where, Pattie?
And of COURSE we all think about you no matter where on the globe we are!

Beer Baron - that car looks better suited to Conshohocken, no? Boy do I miss Philly most days... ;)