Getting Around in Amsterdam

The most fascinating thing so far about Amsterdam is just the crazy amount of people that are here - and they are all on the go!  Here are some of the things we saw as we explored!

Old Cars

Tiny Cars

These little cars are just EVERYWHERE!  We were told they are called Bedos and are free to park.  That makes them very practical.  They come in all shapes and sizes, and some are more like golf carts with clear glass sides.  They you get a view of a tall Dutch person, all hunched over, crammed into this tiny little car zooming down the road. 

While there are normal sedans, there are lots of these tiny mini-cars.  I was shocked to see two seats! Caleb joked that there are for two skinny Dutch people, not two Americans. 

A you an see from this photo, there are even skinnier ones like the blue one in the middle left, compared to a “normal” size tiny car in the middle right.

Tiny Delivery Trucks

Parked on the sidewalk

Riding a Pallet Jack?

Honestly, this guy was riding an automatic pallet jack down the street.  

Bikes…Bikes…And Even More Bikes!

Of course, when you go to Amsterdam, everyone tells you to watch out for bikes.  I knew this.  I heard about it…..I had NO IDEA.  The amount of bicycles is just staggering.  We heard from a couple people that there are something like 2.1 bikes for every person in Amsterdam.  I have no idea if that is really true, but it is true that there are millions of people living in a very small space and there are definitely millions of bikes. And all the bikes are pretty beat up.  You rarely see a fancy one.  Our tour guide told us that bike theft is the #1 crime in Amsterdam.  He said (only half joking) that if you get your bike stolen and go to the police, they look at you like “just go steal another one!”.  So no one really gets a fancy bike. It will just get stolen.  

In addition, there are just all types of bikes!  I saw skateboards on bikes, crates on bikes, baskets on bikes, everything!!!  And I only saw about three people wearing helmets - all of them were small children.  But most children didn’t wear a helmet.  Those must have been tourists!  

This kind of “stroller” is very popular! You can put two (or more) kids in this front compartment.  I also saw this style bike used to transport all sorts of things: trash, food, cargo, etc.  

In America, when you have a third child, you get a minivan. In Amsterdam, you use a bike to transport all three of your kids: two in front and one on back.

You don’t have to be a kid to ride on the back of someone’s bike.

Bikers waiting in the bike lane for the light.

There are these bikes covered in flowers all over.  It seemed to mostly be a way to draw the attention of tourists to different shops, spots of interest, etc.  

The crowds of bicycles at every possible location is just staggering.

Trains, Trams and Buses

Grand Central Station in Amsterdam.  It is impressive, intimidating, beautiful but highly organized and well thought out once you understand it.

Boats

Cargo boats

River cruise boats

Even the canal boats have stoplights.

Until the 1980s, the sewer system was connected to the canals.  Thus Amsterdam was given the nickname “The Beautiful Lady with Bad Breath” for quite awhile.  After the 1980s, the public sewer system was separate, but the houseboats still emptied into the canals.  However, starting in 2005 that changed and by 2021, all houseboats were required to stop direct waste discharge into the canals.  Now the water looks murky but is really clean.  You can’t drink it, but you can safely swim in it.  Our canal boats have stoplights tour guide took some water from the canal to show us how clean it is now.

This map on the table on the boat for our cruise was really helpful for those of us who like to know where we are at all time!

Those cranes are part of the lock system that is not really used anymore.

This is a time lapse video I took of part of our ride.

Everyone going everywhere

The city is pretty small in square kilometers, but there are so, so many people here.  Everywhere we went we had to constantly look out for bikes, trams, cars, trucks, other pedestrians.  It was CRAZY! There is an organizational system, and it work pretty well, once you get it.  The Dutch people we talked to told us that they can anticipate very well what pedestrians are going to do and they adjust well.  Their advice was to not hesitate, the bikers will adapt.  If you are going to go, just go! If you hesitate or change, you’ll just cause an accident. This intersection is typical in style, it is a cross for pedestrians, cars, bikes, buses and trains!