Getting To Know Amsterdam

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ding on how wide their front was. In the picture above, this house was only one window wide to save on taxes. Often these buildings would go back a long way as they wanted to save on width but were not limited on length.Amsterdam is littered with canals and you are never far away from one. The beautiful houses line the water with their triangular roofs and windows of varying sizes. Apparently, some houses have larger windows on the ground floor and smaller ones on higher floors, to give an impression of grandness.<figure id="9a07"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*h-w7bJEh9sXMq4jYNE-P-w.jpeg"><figcaption>Windows getting smaller as you look up. Source: my photo album.</figcaption></figure><figure id="4cd3"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*b7YhGWNrHeplwOVH5a3b6g.jpeg"><figcaption>Leaning houses — from my photos.</figcaption></figure>Some of the buildings famously tilt to one side. This is because the land is subsiding under the basements of many of those which are close to the canals. Of course, Amsterdam should be underwater, if not for these waterways. It is one of those

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places that would be massively affected by sea level rises if global warming speeds up.<figure id="4d0d"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*hC678EeY9NX4ndZSrjE7cA.jpeg"><figcaption>The Pancake Factory — from my pictures.</figcaption></figure>When we got off the boat, we sought out a place to eat involving pancakes. The obvious venue for this was ‘The Pancake Factory’ which turned out to be very popular, with a 20 minute queue. It was definitely well worth the wait, though. As it was lunch time, I wanted something savoury and I heard someone else order a bacon, cheese and pineapple one. Of course, seeing theirs arrive, I copied them and absolutely loved it with a chocolate milk. You rarely find milkshakes available apart from chocolate flavoured milk, but I was more than OK with this.Thank you for reading about my travels around Europe by train. My previous <a href="https://readmedium.com/amsterdam-days-43f560a92486">article</a> is found in Globetrotters and I appreciate being a part of this fun and informative publication. Look out for my next write-up of my summer adventures.</article></body>

A boat cruise is included.

Amsterdam cruise — photo from my album

The other day I introduced my recent trip to Amsterdam by train and now I wanted to talk about my first full day when I took the chance to have a little boat cruise around the many canals that intersect the city streets. It was easy to book a one-hour boat cruise using one of the recommended websites and before you know it we were on our way around, learning about Amsterdam’s fascinating history.

Nothing gives you a better insight into a place than a boat trip.

The slimmest house in Amsterdam — from my photos.

Along the way, we listened to an audio recording of someone talking about the significance of each thing that we saw. I discovered that houses used to be taxed depending on how wide their front was. In the picture above, this house was only one window wide to save on taxes. Often these buildings would go back a long way as they wanted to save on width but were not limited on length.

Amsterdam is littered with canals and you are never far away from one. The beautiful houses line the water with their triangular roofs and windows of varying sizes. Apparently, some houses have larger windows on the ground floor and smaller ones on higher floors, to give an impression of grandness.

Windows getting smaller as you look up. Source: my photo album.

Leaning houses — from my photos.

Some of the buildings famously tilt to one side. This is because the land is subsiding under the basements of many of those which are close to the canals. Of course, Amsterdam should be underwater, if not for these waterways. It is one of those places that would be massively affected by sea level rises if global warming speeds up.

The Pancake Factory — from my pictures.

When we got off the boat, we sought out a place to eat involving pancakes. The obvious venue for this was ‘The Pancake Factory’ which turned out to be very popular, with a 20 minute queue. It was definitely well worth the wait, though. As it was lunch time, I wanted something savoury and I heard someone else order a bacon, cheese and pineapple one. Of course, seeing theirs arrive, I copied them and absolutely loved it with a chocolate milk. You rarely find milkshakes available apart from chocolate flavoured milk, but I was more than OK with this.

Thank you for reading about my travels around Europe by train. My previous article is found in Globetrotters and I appreciate being a part of this fun and informative publication. Look out for my next write-up of my summer adventures.