Amsterdam, The Netherlands

     I find Amsterdam one of the prettiest cities I have seen in Europe. In the last generation they have done much to clean up the canals and streets. We rented a small boat with a guide for a tour. There were ten of us from four different countries. The smokers sat in back. The guide was an ex-pat who has lived in Amsterdam for many years and not only knew the sights and history, but he also could help us relate it all to our North American experience.  The bridges of the city are interesting and most of them are pretty. There are flowers everywhere in the summer. This city is very old and also very new.  We stayed close to the center by the train station, and made note that we need to go back.  We missed some of the great museums. The photo above is of one of the newer drawbridges on a main canal.