Amsterdam (2)

I’m in Amsterdam, trying to remember to take some pictures. There are so many sights that seem unremarkable to people who live here. But I’ve been gone for a while so things like this stand out. These pictures are from parts of town you won’t see on postcards.

Here’s an average Dutch street with an average Dutch bike path. Nice.

When they do construction (and they always do construction here, and it can take years), they set up a “temporary” bike lane. Note that it’s still physically separated from car traffic. That’s my brother, posing. I have to apologize for his stupid mountain bike. There’s nowhere in the world a mountain bike is less appropriate than in the streets of Amsterdam. But it’s not his bike. Really. He just wanted to test ride what he thought was a “nice bike.” I mocked him.

A typical line of bike racks.
And finally, one of the many pedicabs you see here (or at least in the center). It’s not clear if this will become a normal mode of transit for some of just a tourist gimmick. My brother claims they’re pricing themselves out of the “normal” market.
They’re kind of complicated machines. I haven’t figured all the parts out yet.