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We emerged from the Ijssel River into the
Ijsselmeer, which used to be known as the Zuiderzee. On the
eastern boundary of the Ijsselmeer, not very far from the North Sea,
the old fishing village of Enkhuizen has been preserved as an Open Air
Museum. This is the dock area of Enkhuizen, where the fishing
boats would moor and unload their catches.
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The entire village of Enkhuizen has been
preserved, and this is the main street. The row to the left is
mainly shops, and beyond the trees on the right you find homes.
The boat waiting has the familiar lee boards for stability.
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In order to manage the water levels in
Amsterdam and below, the Zuiderzee has been split into the outer
Ijsselmeer and the inner Markermeer. The two are separated by a
dike, and the locks boats use to pass the dike actually pass over the
highway that runs along the dike. The locks have two lanes, we
are headed south, and the boats we see here are headed north.
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The last stop before Amsterdam is the town
of Hoorn. It had a protected location on the Zuiderzee, so it
became an important port early in the 14th century. This is the
weighing station, an important spot in all of these trading towns.
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The river Gouw flowed to the Zuiderzee, and
now it is a shopping street. We have seen this style of bridge
everywhere in the Netherlands.
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For our last stop, the MS Switzerland
docked just in back of Amsterdam Centraal, the main railway station and
transportation hub. The highest deck and the pilot house on the
Switzerland are arranged so they can be collapsed, allowing it to pass
under bridges that don't lift.
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In central Amsterdam, canals are lined with
walkways and streets. Parking is clearly at a premium, and care
is required to avoid an inadvertent car wash.
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Bridges and boats. Some of the boats
substitute for cars or trucks, but may others are residential.
Living on a boat on an Amsterdam canal is very stylish.
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Amsterdam also has streets.
Particularly near Amsterdam Centraal, it is hard to forget that you are
in a historical port city. All nationalities are represented, and
there is no shortage of pubs. The abundance of orange decorations
are in honor of the Queen's official birthday, which was celebrated
while we were there. The Dutch royal family is from the House of
Orange.
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The historic palace in Amsterdam is still
used for official functions, but the queen's residence is in Den Haag,
the other half of the Netherlands capital.
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These bicycles are parked in a multistory
bike garage outside Amsterdam Centraal. Walking around Amsterdam,
it seemed like the bicycles were a bigger danger than the cars.
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