Typical Dutch parent's bike

This is a picture of a typical Dutch parent's bike for three. You can see that there is a child seat on the back and another one on the front behind the handlebars. When the bike only has one child seat it is always the one at the handlebars. I'm not sure why this is? Maybe it distributes the weight better and helps with balance? Most bikes with the front child seat have a clear plastic windscreen that shields the child from direct air. There is usually a basket over the front wheel, where the belongings and packages are kept. We have also seen dogs riding in these front compartments.

It is very common to see men and women in business attire riding their bikes to work. Even the elderly use their bikes as their major mode of transportation. As you walk up and down the streets you will see bikes locked to every possible railing, post, pole, or even mailbox!

Bicycles have the right-of-way on all roads. I have seen some really crazy moves where cyclists dart out in front of cars, cut them off, or ride behind them when they are trying to back up! Crossing the street as a pedestrian takes some practice because you must watch out for cars, bikes, and trams! If you step out in front of a biker they will certainly let you know it - most likely with a ringing of their bell and a nasty hand gesture!

SNOW!!

We came to a city that rarely has temperatures below freezing - until we got here! We're in the midst of a very rare snowstorm. The wind is cold, the sidewalks are icy, and the canal even forms a thin coat of ice overnight.

The top two pictures are of Justice (in red) and Journey (in blue) having a snowball fight in Spui square in front of the University of Amsterdam. They needed to get out of the house and release some energy and they had a lot of fun....until someone put snow down the back of someone else's coat....

The bottom two pictures are the view from the top floor window of our apartment. We have a beautiful view over the Singel canal. Many people stop on the bridge to take pictures, even more so now that there is snow everywhere! Last year at this time there were buds on the trees and the tulips were blooming!

The Anne Frank House

Today we took a long walk past the Anne Frank House (Ann Frankhuis). We toured the house on our last trip to Amsterdam. It was quite an amazing experience. The Frank family hid from the Nazis on the top two floors of this building, overtop of the spice factory where Otto Frank (Anne's father) worked. We were able to walk through the exact rooms that Anne and her family stayed in. We were able to look out the same windows, climb the same steep Dutch staircase... On the top floor we were able to look at the actual pages of Anne's diaries (there were actually three books full of her writings) and look up the names of Holoucast victims in a large remembrance book.

Pictures of the interior of the house were not permitted. Today we took some pictures of the area. I will describe them below....

The first picture is of the West Church (Westerkerk). The church is just a few houses down from the Anne Frank House. Anne mentions in her diary how the ringing sound of the church bells would soothe her. Unfortunately, after a time the large bells were taken down and melted and the metal was used for war weaponery. The bells were replaced sometime in the 1950's.

The second picture shows the view as if you were looking out of the window of the spice factory (the first floor of where Anne and her family were hiding) at 263 Prisengracht.

The third picture is of Justice and Journey standing with a statue of Anne Frank in the Westerkerk courtyard.

The fourth picture is of the outside of the Anne Frank house. The outside has been restored, but the inside still has the original structure and some of the original furnishings. The house to the left of this was purchased and contains information about the Holoucast and the role that the Dutch played. It also contains a bookstore, restrooms, and reception area.