After 6 months we are now back in Oz. But before we left we spent a couple of days in Amsterdam in preparation for next year’s trip through the Netherlands.
The hotel we stayed in was only 10 minutes from the centre of town by bus. The sign on the right greeted us in the hotel reception area. 
Naturally, we explored the food and merchandise around Amsterdam’s Red Light District. For purely educational purposes, of course! To stroll along the many old lanes with their bars, restaurants and interesting shops one gets the odd whiff of elsewhere prohibited substances, however or just as a result, the atmosphere is peaceful and joyous. Here is a research idea: "Does the intake of alcohol mixed with marihuana cause less violence than alcohol alone?” Any volunteers??
Maybe due to the incidental inhalation of drugs we got into the wrong bus the following morning and ended up on the other side of the harbour. Luckily there was one of the many free harbour ferries nearby. We crossed over to the Westerdock with its modern architecture, just a short walk away from the Central Railway Station.
From there it drew us back along the Grachten and the old world Amsterdam. In previous years we have taken tourist boats and visited many of the great museums and sites, but this time our destination was the famous Rijksmuseum.
And there is not much which can surpass the Dutch masters of the 17th and 18th century.
Another free ferry took us on our second day to one of the harbour’s leisure boat marinas, which we wanted to check out for next year. We also found a good place for parking our bikes.
It was difficult to fit in our other commitments, like a press conference with Angela
and a photo shoot with Queen Beatrice, but we managed somehow.
Whether you like the city's night life or not, you have to like Amsterdam! This is the third time we stayed here and there is much more to see yet.
We are already looking forward to taking the Freshwater into the Amsterdam Harbour next year.
Till then: Totsiens!!!