2000 September 22 : Friday

After my disappointing series of flights, I was happy to awake to a nice sunny day in Holland. We decided to spend the day touring Amsterdam.

01) DELFT | Morning at Eron's flat in Delft - about 35 minutes south of Amsterdam.

02) DELFT | On the way to Eron's car, we crossed one of the many draw-bridges in Holland. Eron and his father are checking out its operation.

03) AMSTERDAM | This is a typical canal in the downtown area.

04) AMSTERDAM | A typical canal house. Note the heavy-timber bracing. Most of these brick buildings have been around a while (a hundred years or more) and have suffered from being built so near to the water.

05) AMSTERDAM | The triangular shape is a piece of metal designed to keep people from relieving themselves on this building. Ironic, considering Amsterdam has many public restrooms - many of which aren't very much more elaborate than what you see here (though much more hygenic).

06) AMSTERDAM | Behold the ubiquitous Smartcar; the nefarious offspring of a partnership between Mercedes and Swatch. The body panels are removable and one can buy different colors/patterns to match his/her wardrobe. It's true ... and it's funny. The car itself is small - it carries two, is smaller than any Honda, and you could park 3 of them side by side in a typical American parking stall. Eron tells me that drunk people occasionally tip them into the canals!

07) AMSTERDAM | A typical business district. I know what you're thinking. You want to see the "red light district." Well, you're not going to. The prostitutes don't like to be photographed. You'll just have to imagine yourself walking through a Victoria's Secret photoshoot - only with more aggressive models. Eron told me that there is a plan to build an area for them within the airport. Gives a whole new meaning to the expression "lay over"!

08) AMSTERDAM | The brick building in the middle of the block was Rembrandt's home.

09) AMSTERDAM | A statue of a violinist in the lobby of the Opera House. This was something that I knew of that Eron didn't. I had seen a program on TV about the "hidden treasures of Amsterdam." One segment focused on 3 statues by an anonymous artist. They would just appear in public places - much like the monolith that appeared in Seattle on January 1st, 2001. Anyway, one statue is a man (located in a park) and another is a tiny (12 inches or so) woodcutter that's located on a branch of a tree. The story goes that one of the members of Opera (or perhaps another civic council) knew who the artist was and commissioned him/her to do this statue for the Opera lobby (anonymously of course!). Use the floor tiles to get a sense of scale. They are roughly 12" x 12" (the metric equivilent).

10) AMSTERDAM | The New Metropolis Science & Technology Center by the Renzo Piano Building Workshop - an Italian architectural firm.

11) AMSTERDAM | At the base of the stairs. You can walk right up...

12) AMSTERDAM | ...We did. Eron is at the left (talking to his dad who is off camera). The Amsterdam skyline is beyond.