You will find the Amsterdam escutcheon everywhere you look. It consists of three white crosses of St. Andrew on a black pale on a red shield. The black probably represents the Amstel River while St. Andrew is the patron saint of fishermen and Amstellerdam began as a fishing community near a dam along the Amstel River. It’s an ironic symbol for a city known for its Red Light District.

After our flight from Copenhagen, our first day was primarily taken up with a tour of Keukenhof. I’d describe it as a flower child’s Disneyland. That evening we watched the Remembrance Day ceremony in Dam Square and were fortunate enough to be on the outer edge of the 20,000 people packed into Dam Square when the panic took hold. More about that here.

Day two, Liberation Day, included a tour of the Anne Frank Huis. That evening we watched the Liberation Day celebration along the Amstel. It was a panic free celebration.

Day three included a walk through the Red Light District, the Rembrandthuis, and Van Gogh Museum. We noticed more and more garbage in the streets as the strike entered it second week.

Day four was taken up with more walking along one canal after another dodging bikes, cars and trams. If you go to Amsterdam you need to always be aware of what’s going on around you. The Rijksmuseum was filled with all the Rembrandt’s, Vermeer’s, and Van Gogh’s (not to mention some other guys who seemed to know their way around a canvass) that anyone could possibly want to stare at.

Day five was a bit of a bummer…we had to head back to the airport for our flight back to Copenhagen, but that’s another slideshow.

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“John Linton is a floundering member of aamora. He lives in Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, the state with the biggest name and smallest size.” Check out John’s other aamora posts here and see more of his work by clicking here.