Appooppnathaadi -16

03.02.2011

Climate in Amsterdam at that time was very pleasant. Worst was over and the spring was round the corner. Unfortunately I missed the beauty of the city decorated with blooming flowers in the spring as I had to return to my motherland by that time. I am sure the entire Europe is now like a beautiful bride with flowers all over.


Beauty of Amsterdam lies in the umpteen numbers of canals that cris-cross the city. Banks of the canals give beautiful views. Lines of building that have uniform heights and remarkably good cover of greenery is nice to watch. No wonder if this city is called another Venice. We can come across a canal after every half a kilometer of walk to any direction. I narrowly missed a visit to Venice however. No worry anyway. My intention was to find out if Venice was as beautiful as Alappuzha. I heard that Venice was called in Europe as The Alappuzha of the West!


Due to the presence of large number of canals, houses in Amsterdam city are constructed with a difference. The staircases to the upper floors are narrow. It is difficult to take heavy and bulky things along these stair cases. So, every house on the banks of canals has a large metallic hook fixed at the top. Things are shifted from ground to top floors using these hooks. The tour guide explained to us how the houses on the banks of these canals that sank due to loose ground had been repaired using modern technology.

The best way to go around Amsterdam is on a bicycle. Cycles, cycles all around . W can see only cycles. There are a number of shops that offer guided cycle tours around the city as well as to the country sides. We can take bicycles on rent and go around independently also. Amsterdam does not look to be a big city. So, we can easily travel even unguided. People speak English well. Any queries are answered politely in English.

On the third day of my stay in Amsterdam, I decided to have an outing on a bicycle. I chose the country side tour as the guide also suggested me so. The bad luck for me on that day was the speed of the wind. The chilled wind has been blowing at a speed of around 50 km per hour and it was too difficult for me to ride the bicycle against the wind. I ventured out on a ride after a very long gap. By the end of the trip around the country-side, I was almost pissed off. The Europeans and Americans who were also in the group could easily ride their cycles even against heavy wind. Though my legs were almost immovable, to keep up the prestige of my country, I tried very hard to hide my discomfiture.

Before the start of the tour, the guide gave us an exhaustive description of the history and geography of Amsterdam that lasted for more than an hour. He spoke in British accented English that were relished by the Britons and the Americans in the team but I had to blink several times as I could hardly follow this accent. Still I got to know that cycles are an essential part of Dutch life and this city was built around the river Amstel

There are two rivers flowing in Amsterdam – Ij and Amstel. The two rivers and the umpteen numbers of canals, no doubt make the city breathtakingly beautiful. There are ferry services across river Ij. These ferries carry people to and from the other side to the main city. The ferry starts from near the Amsterdam Centraal Railway station. Centraal Railway station is a very crowded railway station here and the ferry service is also equally crowded.


There are so many houses floating on the river here. Boat houses with all facilities of a full -fledged house are a common site on the Amstel and Ij rivers. People are living in these houses for years, I was told by the guide of the cycle tour. These boats , once upon a time, were the dwelling places of Hippies. Of late Hippies vacated them and now the locals are using them as their houses. We can see many big buildings in the river. A large ship-shaped building that can be sighted while entering the city by train is a big attraction

Boat cruises are another attraction on the canals. We can go around the city on boats. There are hop on - hop off boat services that facilitate us to board and disembark the boat as we please. Going around these boats will definitely remind us of a journey through a canal in Alleppey district in Keralam. Only difference is that no other place in this world can match the beauty of our Alappuzha (Alleppey). So, next time if you feel like to have a cruise on a canal or a backwater body, never rush to Europe, right away come to the God’s Own Country and enjoy the nature’s wonder there.

For more photos of Amsterdam , please click the link : https://picasaweb.google.com/ppnatesan/Amsterdam?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ_SkeqhldH67gE&feat=email#