Today’s sign of the week is from the streets of Amsterdam. There are bicycles everywhere in Amsterdam, everywhere. My wife warned me to pay attention to the bike lane and I came close a couple of times, but I learned quickly – stay out of the bike lane and look left AND right when crossing it.
I had only been to Amsterdam once before this trip, it was when I was four in 1966. My dad had taken a six-month long assignment and moved us to Paris. My memory of our time in Europe is pretty limited. I do remember we flew from Houston to Amsterdam on KLM with a stop in Montreal. Somewhere I may have slides my dad took from our time in Europe.
Amsterdam is much easier to navigate than Paris or London. Amsterdam is smaller and one-eighth the size of Paris in terms of population but the trams and metro are easy to use. Also, there are fewer automobiles. The city is very walkable especially when you pay attention to the bike lanes.
Below is a clip from Ted Lasso, season 3 when Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) discovers the bike lane.
Though our time in Amsterdam was short – three full days. We packed in quite a bit, much of it I am still processing.
But I did learn, be careful in the bike lane.
Today is going to be an amazing day. I am on the move again, this time to the lake and back Sunday. There are twenty days remaining in summer break and I am going to make and each an every one of them count, just as I have with the previous fifty. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, reading the signs and being careful.
What is a sign that remind you to be cautious?
Yeah I remember those bikes and bikers. 🙂
They are aggressive and territorial!
Hi. I’m a big fan of Amsterdam too. It’s beautiful and culturally rich. I was there in 2016 and wouldn’t mind visiting again. Take care.
We had a fun time – there was a lot to do and see and it was nicer weather, too. Maybe one day I’ll get back, in the mean time there is a lot to see and do here in the states! Thank you for stopping by.
Watching out for bicycles is always a good idea, whether or not there is a bike lane or a sign. A few weeks ago, a kid riding a bike on the sidewalk didn’t stop for my husband’s car at an intersection, and he had to slam on the brakes. The kid got quite a scare—which, I hope, taught a much-needed lesson.
Kids on bikes, yikes. We had an incident at school when a kid ran into a car in the morning. Didn’t get hurt, but stunned. All he wanted to do was get to class! It’s a different league in Amsterdam. There were bikes everywhere. Watched a barge pulling them out of a canal on Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for stopping by and keep making your days count.
The signs that always make me feel cautious are those that show a steep mountain road going down with a truck symbol. I worry about trucks going too fast down those mountain roads.
Thank you Dawn. It’s pretty flat where I live, but I’ve seen those signs out west or traveling through the Appalachians or even out to Lake Michigan from Traverse City. You really have to pay attention when you are driving or walking. Stay well.
For you it’s the bike lane. For me, on the continent (I mean Europe!) I have to remember to look the other way from usual when crossing roads. I’m a bit hopeless…
I can only imagine, I discovered the same walking the streets of London and Swansea. I even drove a car in Wales. It was very different, thankfully the pedals were in the same position!
Phew! We may change our car soon as this one is getting on a bit. I’m terrified that we may have to have an automatic. I’ll never get used to not having a gear box!
when I was looking at renting cars in Europe – manual transmission was an option, I decided to stick with the automatic because it has been almost 30 years since I drove one!
Whereas most people here are still manual I think.
That’s interesting. It is more fun to drive a manual, but they are no longer common here in the states. I remember learning to drive a stick shift. I was terrified when I got ‘stuck’ on a steep bridge in stop and go traffic when I was learning… I learned fast!
Oh, hill starts eh? Nightmare …
snortfietsen niet toegestaan – I say that all the time! Great sign and trip report from Amsterdam, Clay!
Thank you Wynne. There is more to Amsterdam and the Netherlands. Ha. I wish I COULD say that! I was a fish out of water in Amsterdam with the language, fortunately most people spoke English well and I didn’t have to embarrass myself with the language. I am not familiar with Dutch as it is Germanic and French and Spanish are the Romance branch and related.