Summertime goes fast and living away from your Home Country makes it sometimes more difficult to notice the different periods of time. If I would be in Finland now, we would be already celebrating the midsummer party somewhere in the countryside, probably by the lake at someone's Summer Cottage. Now we don't have any big plans, but for me the boat trip by the Canals of Amsterdam this week was like a little Holiday! A spontaneous invite from our friends to join them and enjoy the perfect weather with the water element and the City views. This was quite a big,old rescue boat, where three families could easily sit and walk without any problem when the boat was moving. The children in Holland have to do their swimming Diplomas and only the smallest ones without this certificate had their Safety Vests on. The perspective from the boat is amazingly beautiful, you see all the houses in a different light and there is a feeling of space around you. No cyclists and no busy streets with tourists, just sight seeing boats every now and then. The boat traffic would be totally different during the big Festivals and Parades when the Canals are filled with boats, music and party people. We instead had a nice, peaceful trip - Oh,I would like to do this more often!
One of the many highlights of our evening was to park the boat and get some Ice Cream for everyone! "Heel lekker", as the Dutch people say "Very Tasty".
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| Westerkerk, Prinsengracht(West Church) |
At the Sloterkade, in the South part of the City,you can often see some big and long transporting boats. It is a bit scary feeling in a narrow canal to pass these Monsters.
By boat you are going under many Bridges and some of them are low. You have to be careful not to hit your head when standing.
Many boats have the Amsterdam Flag set in the back of the boat when cruising around the water routes. The three crosses in the middle of the Flag are Saint Andrew Crosses. Some people say the three saltires represent the three dangers of the ancient Amsterdam: Fire, Floods and the Black Death. But this theory has no historical basis. The more official accepted meaning for the crosses, represented by Queen Wilhelmina in 1947 is: Compassion, Resolution and Heroism.
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| The flag of Amsterdam. |
Have a good weekend and thank you for reading!!
