The Ugly Ducklings

Yes, after a whirlwind weekend, we are back in Amsterdam, safe-n-sound. Well, at least I am, because Donica flew off to Belgium this morning, where she will be these next 3 days, arriving back on Friday. Thanks for all your travel wishes!

A week ago I took one of my daily walks here in Amsterdam and headed off to nearby Vondelpark and the Museum district. First things first, this was just the cutest thing I'd seen in a long time. (Ironically, the very next day, I saw something similar when we were in Leiden, but that's another post!)

Here's the overall context of Mommy and Daddy duck with their clump of 5 children there in the middle (click image to enlarge), that close to the edge of one of the ponds in the park. Mommy and Daddy were like sentries, guarding their kin midst the comings and goings of myriad park lovers.

Mind you, I have no clue what kind of ducks these are (can anyone help me?) but I do think this one is Mommy. Don't ask me why. Instinct, I guess.

And this one is Daddy (or the other way around). Back-n-forth, back-n-forth, the 5 ducklings waddled between Mommy and Daddy.

Sometimes they stuck together.

Sometimes they didn't.

This one was in its own world, I think.

I'm guessing they explored this area for half an hour while I crouched patiently nearby, mesmerized by the entire scene.

Then, as if on cue, all 5 ducklings started waddling to the bank of the pond, with Mommy (I'm still guessing) closely watching...

...and nudging.

The next thing I knew, they were all in the (full of flower-blossom fuzz) water, swimming off. Daddy (I'm still guessing) took a minute to join them before they sailed off into the wild blue yonder. Actually, they paddled over to the other side where humans started feeding them bread crumbs. Hmmm. Don't know how I feel about that but I guess ducks aren't dumb.

Anyway, I had my show for the day. Not something I get to see that often, mind you. So, yes, I was tickled pink. Welcome to a day in the life of Ginnie in Amsterdam. :)

Got Bikes?

If you didn't know this already, Amsterdam is a city of bikes! The canal-ring in city center actually has more registered bikes than cars! But that's because you can navigate and park your bike much easier than a car on the narrow streets!

Here are some random impressions:

Sometimes it's the color that grabs my attention!

Sometimes it's where you find it!

Or the size of it.

Or its silhouette against the picturesque canals.

One reason to NOT have a bike is all the flat tires you will invariably get. Or the fact you have as good a chance as the next guy to have it stolen! It's still a better "problem" than having a car!
For the time being, because we're there only half the year, we've decided it's not worth the hassle to get our own bikes, in case anyone is asking.


Ooops! See what I mean! Don't know if the tire was stolen or if the rider took it with him so the bike wouldn't be stolen??

Down but never out!

Flower power is very much alive and well in Amsterdam!


And there's always more than one way to skin the cat!

If you come back from a trip via train (that's the train station in the background that takes us to and from the airport!), and you want to park your car bike "safely," you can use the parking deck, of course. With thousands of bikes there, however, make sure you remember what tier, column and row!

In my last post I mentioned that Donica and I were flying back to Atlanta today for just the weekend. It's true. She flew on Delta and I flew on KLM, arriving at Passport Control at exactly the same time!. Donica's mom's 67th birthday was yesterday and we'll be home to celebrate it on Sunday, before Donica flies back to A'dam and before I fly back on Monday!

Talk about a whirlwind. But it's better than riding bikes back-n-forth! :)

ADDENDUM (Sunday 6/3/07): Donica was able to change my frequent-flyer flight back to Amsterdam for today instead of tomorrow. So we leave the house by 10a to go celebrate Mom's birthday and then both leave on separate planes around 5p for over the pond. At least we're both going back at the same time!