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Archive for July, 2020

Spare Tire, Small Car?

July 27, 2020 Leave a comment

Weekend in Dusseldorf

July 26, 2020 Leave a comment

Four of us took a short weekend break in Dusseldorf, which is about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Amsterdam. A few things we saw were a crooked church steeple, Canadian geese walking down the sidewalk, things to encourage bee hives, not many old/interesting buildings since the city was almost flattened in WWII, and a unique green roof on a new building.

Human-Powered Cargo Movers

July 21, 2020 Leave a comment

There are quite a few ways to move stuff across Amsterdam with a bicycle and these are a few examples I’ve seen in the last few weeks.

Clearly, some are meant to put kids in them, some for random cargo, but my favorite is the one carrying 2 other bicycles. I had never seen it before, but on either side of the front wheel is a bike rack.

One is just a guy’s tricycle that he carries his fishing gear in. And another is a photo of an older photo showing a milkman’s delivery bike.

Neighborhood Gas Station in Amsterdam

July 20, 2020 Leave a comment

There are a few “normal” gas stations in and around Amsterdam, but a few neighborhoods have these. Usually outside of a car repair or rental shop, situated where bicycles would normally be parked, is a gas pump.

I Think My Dog Has ADHD

July 17, 2020 Leave a comment

Piper can’t pay attention to anything for very long, except maybe when she has a ball. She never noticed the big orange cat behind her. Even after walking by it and sitting in front of it.

Basketball on AstroTurf

July 13, 2020 1 comment

This is in Oosterpaark in Amsterdam; a mixed use soccer/football field with 4 basketball hoops. I’ve never seen hoops on fake grass before. I wonder how it feels to dribble a ball on it?

Shopping Cart “car wash”

Small Cars for European Cities

July 2, 2020 1 comment

After more than 3 years in Amsterdam, I am still entertained by the small cars that are a perfect fit for a busy city with small streets and limited parking. I often see small cars that are available in the USA, such as the Mini, BMW i3, Fiat 500, and the Smart car. But we also have (starting from the red one): Aixam cars, the Toyota iQ (the photo I have is of a bigger Toyota), Fiat Panda, Brio Bolt (the only 100% electric one listed here), Canta (mostly used by the elderly in Amsterdam), Volkswagen Up, Mitsubishi Mirage, and the Citroen C1 (the blue one).

I find it interesting that most of them are a similar size as my 1992 Honda Civic SI hatchback. So maybe I was ready to live in Europe 30 years ago!