SpiderBraids' European Vacation: Day 4

[spiderbraids]

Me up at 4am + Camera = Nice nighttime shot of Rotterdam :-) (Of course, I went back to sleep afterwards :-))



2010 saw the Tour De France depart from Rotterdam just a month after our trip. Naturally, one of the tallest buildings in the area (the Delftse Poort building) promoted this...



Today, sister's at work, so we're going to Amsterdam on our own. Here we're waiting for a tram to take us to the train station, and here's one of the more modern trams (compare to the "San Francisco" style tram from Day 1).



Also at the tram stop, this poster ad for a World Cup radio contest on "Your Football Station", Radio Veronica (it's supposedly usually an oldies station). The rest is pretty much self-explanatory ;-) Our trip came just a few days before the (soccer) World Cup began, so naturally there was some World Cup excitement. Just wait till the tournament actually begins... :-)



Train trip to Amsterdam, taking us past the airport...



And here's the view of the airport station from the train.



Arriving at Amsterdam Central...



...with a clock tower styled wind direction indicator. Weird.



As I said before, The Netherlands takes its biking seriously. Here's a really big bike parking area, from a boat tour of the canals (and the IJ river).



Random view from the boat tour.



Passing the house where Anne Frank lived.



After the canal tour, lunch at the train station at New York Pizza...



...with a very provocative (yet pretty accurate) slogan. My mom has actually said that this was the best pizza she's ever enjoyed.



The "I amsterdam" sign near the National Museum.



After walking in the area around the National Museum, we took the tram to Nieuwendijk, a local shopping street.



Another light meal at McDonald's. Instead of the typical fare one can get at most other Golden Arches, here's one of their local delicacies: a McKroket (a burger with a patty of fried beef ragout), and a mayonnaise-based sauce for the fries, which unusually has to be purchased separately.



After hopping the train back to Rotterdam, an all-you-can-eat rib dinner at Betty Beer. Before you ask, "Beer" means bear, and it's part of a nationwide chain of rib restaurants all bearing the Beer name.