Hey - it's me again. Isla!

Isla Marguerite - Flying like a bird.

Since I've been keeping my mom and dad busy feeding me, changing diapers and keeping me entertained, it's been pretty much up to my opa and oma to get the word out on what I'm up to these days. So here's the latest.

This is me chilling in my new polka dot outfit.

When my oma and opa come over, I feel it's my job to amuse them and keep them busy (in between my meals). 

This is me taking my opa for a walk in Sarphati Park, near our home.

But to get a little snooze, I really like my mom's arms around me.

Back home  I've got oma completely captivated by my looks.

 I make it look easy, don't I?

But it's really great when dad gets home from work. He holds me like I'm ready to fly like a bird.

Amsterdam - More Adventures and a Collage of Isla

Around Amsterdam

Between our visits to Isla, we've been busily riding our bikes around Amsterdam to visit different neighborhoods, museums, a botanical garden and the tiny but picturesque village of Oudekerk aan de Amstel (old church on the Amstel).

Boat getting ready to go under bridge in Oudekerk aan de Amstel.

Time for refreshments after a long bike ride.

Boat waiting for the bridge to open.

Diane breezing along the Amstel.

Erika visits us at our flat for dinner.

A bike ride with Maarten and Erika along the polders.

Maarten and Erika riding near Purmerend.

Enjoying the garden at Maarten's home.

Just in from Madrid, a brief encounter with Gys at the Wildschut Cafe.

A visit to "De Hortus Botanicus" (botanical garden).

Time for an Amstel beer along the Amstel River.

Last but not least I thought I'd share a collage I made of some of the photos I have of Isla Marguerite at home and on some walks around the neighborhood.

The Netherlands - Visits to the Zaan and the Keukenhof

The Zaan and the Keukenhof

One of the places we had the opportunity to visit was De Zaanse Schans, an area just north of Amsterdam along the River Zaan. Historically, the people who lived along here in the 1600's developed the area by building lots of windmills. These mills processed spices, rice, paper, tobacco, milled wood and lots of other products therewith creating the first industrial region in the world.

Today, of the original 1,000 mills, only about a dozen of the Zaan windmills remain. We had a chance to see how the windmills worked and transferred the power of the wind to power large, wooden gears inside the windmill. The horizontal motion of the blades is converted to vertical rotary motion by the gears which then powers the machinery at the ground floor of the mill.

Maarten, Erika, and George at the top platform of one of the wind mills.

The Keukenhof.

With nearly 80 acres of flowers, the Keukenhof is an impressive and colorful flower garden attraction. Just south of Amsterdam, the garden is known for its tulips. But they also grow orchids, lilies, hyacinths, narcissus and many other varieties of flowers. Although we weren't there at the right time to see the huge fields of tulips, there were plenty of gardens to appreciate.

Getting Around in Amsterdam

Getting Around in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is an easy city to get around. It has a superb tram system augmented by a bus service. But, by far, the easiest way to get around the city is by bike. Amsterdam is just such an easy place to bike around in. With over 400 km. of bike trails and lanes, the infrastructure for biking is one of the best in the world. And it’s very flat - the hardest part of the ride is getting over the canal bridges!

The first thing that an American cyclist will notice is that no one here wears a helmet - men, women, adults, children, and even babies - no one. The other rather obvious observation is how at ease everyone is on their bike. It’s practically an extension of their limbs.

Here, the cycling culture develops young. When kids are barely able to walk, they are given a loopfiets (a walking bike) to learn to balance and ride around. When they start school they are taken there on bikes and when they can ride a bike, parents ride along side and take them to school.

A wooden loopfiets for young children.

One often sees mothers with their daughters riding side-by-side on their bikes, as you do fathers with their son doing the same. Or you see a parent on a bicycle with one child sitting in the front and one child in the backseat.

There are people talking on their cell phones with one hand and steering with the other. A couple, each riding his or her own bike, may be holding on to one another. A mother riding a bakfiets (a type of bike with a wooden box in front) with a couple of kids in it.

You see men and women dressed in proper office attire riding to work or home. Although most people are very mindful of the rules of the road, there are anarchist bikers who chaotically run red lights, ride against traffic and yet somehow don’t create massive accidents and pandemonium. No one bats an eye. Everybody takes it in stride.

In keeping with the Amsterdamers, Diane and I have been enjoying  riding bikes around the city, putting on lots of miles sightseeing as well as grocery shopping and doing other more mundane tasks by bike.We cycled to the northern part of Amsterdam, to what is called Java Island. On another day we rode along the Amstel. It’s a liberating feeling not being tied to a car or mass transit. 

Java Island

Along the Amstel.

Typical bike lane, left for cars, right for pedestrians. Tram tracks are in the middle of the street.

On May 4, we attended a gathering for those who were killed in WWII. There was a two minute observance of silence for those who were executed by the Nazis. The square we went to was one of the places the Nazis would take random groups of people and line them up against the wall and summarily execute them. This was to avenge an act the Dutch had committed against the occupying Nazi soldiers. Frightening to think about.

We met Maarten at the Stedelijk Museum, a museum that focuses on contemporary artists and designs. The two special exhibits were of Canadian photographer Jeff Wall and internationally acclaimed Dutch interior designer Marcel Wanders. Most of the exhibit pieces were truly creative and unusual.

This isn't a normal lamp - it's 10-12 feet high!

This sculpture also was  huge.

Not your average bathtub.

One of the large back lit photos of Jeff Wall

Scandinavian furniture design.

One of the most creative pieces we saw was a work called “The Beanery”, by Edward Kienholz. It is a nearly life-size model of a real bar that existed in Los Angeles. You can walk into the bar and really get the feel of what it was like to be there. But rather than ramble on about it, check it out here on youtube.