When in Amsterdam, do it like the Dutch

In Amsterdam, we decided to pursue simple pleasures in life. As I write this, I also realize this statement can be misinterpreted. Of course, the city is known for the green thing and the glass windows. Anyways, that is not the simple pleasure we pursued. We decided to be a local, get on a bike and tour the city. Amsterdam has many places where you could rent a bike. With a bike, you can either explore the city all by yourself or sign up for the various guided tours. We opted for the guided tours.

Riding the bike and simultaneously trying to shoot pictures was the hardest part. The guided tours have designated stops. But shooting people in action is much more fun. Thanks to Canon's Creative Auto mode, you could use the camera like a point-n-shoot. The difficult part is controlling the bike to avoid people and other obstacles. Once my friends realized I was clicking successfully, they happily posed.

The weirdest part of the bike riding was pedaling backwards to reduce the speed. I am a traditional biker. For me, there are two contraptions parallel to the handles named as brakes, one for the front tire and the other for the back tire. But the bikes in Amsterdam is designed differently. Luckily, it doesn't take much time to used to.

Later in the evening when we were talking to locals about this system, one of them loved it and the other hated it. The former said the latter didn't grow up in Amsterdam which turned out to be true. Although a Dutch citizen, the latter was transplanted to Amsterdam in the recent years. That is the reason why latter has hard time adjusting to the way Dutch are used to,




Tags: Travel,Amsterdam,Biking


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Comments

  1. Nice post, despite the famous things in Amsterdam, there are many other things that can be explored...

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    1. :) And many people do not realize it! Hope this post helps.

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  2. nicely written and good pics... i hope some indian cities become cycle friendly...

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    1. Glad you like it. I think all cities are cycle friendly. It is tough in Amsterdam too. You just need to navigate smartly in the crowded city. :)

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