Day 3

The day began with another delicious breakfast at Fleur’s d’Amsterdam's B&B. We chose to explore bike shops this morning with the intention of going to the Rijksmuseum at noon.  On our way we discovered a Park and Ride just like you would see in a big Canadian city were people get on a train for a commute.  You might notice one subtle difference in the vehicles parked.

 By 11:00 we were experiencing another bout of jet lag so tried to drug our way out of that funk. 

I loved this table in the coffee shop made from an old pier.  The wood had a beautiful patina with the original saw marks visible.

 

It didn’t work so we headed home for a two hour sleep.  Much refreshed we headed to the Rijksmuseum just prior to closing and managed to get a thirty minute whirlwind view of some fabulous paintings, sculptures, carvings and furniture by Dutch artists. I thought my carving friends would be interested in these works from the 1600's. The pictures were taken with my phone in a dark museum so don't begin to show the detail.

The Rat Poison seller. Ambrosius van Swol (c.1620..in or after 1625) Boxwood.

Beggar with a wooden leg. (attributed to Albert Jansz Vinckenbrinck 1605 -1664) Amsterdam, c. 1650 boxwood

Vondelpark is an urban reserve close to the Rijksmuseum with an abundance of trees, paths, water and bird life.  I spent an hour wandering with my camera while Cathy sat on a bench and watched an endless stream of people and bicycles passing by. Here are some of my bird pictures.

Eurasian Coot.

I loved the color and texture on the feet of this Coot.

Moorehen with poorly applied gauche lipstick.

Not just your ordinary pigeon. These Wood Pigeons are a different bird.

A Eurasian Magpie very similar in looks to the Black-billed Magpie of the prairies.

A Male (top) and female Rose-ringed Parakeet. These birds have successfully adapted to the wild from captive birds let free.

We went for a late (for us) supper at 8:00 at a delicious Italian restaurant only two blocks from our B&B.  It was quite busy so we had a glass of wine outside while we waited for a table.