Day 2 of our Amazing Journey began with breakfast at the hotel. As I am on somewhat of a restricted diet these days, I was pleased to see that there was a “breakfast salad” available, including spinach, broccoli, avocado, and a poached egg. Skip had eggs benedict. We both enjoyed our breakfast.

We met our Viking host in the hotel lobby at 9:30am for a walking tour of Amsterdam. Our guide, Lane, was very good. Listening devices for each individual meant we could hear everything even if he was several yards ahead of us. We learned so much about the history and architecture of Amsterdam as well as what it is like now. The captions of the pictures will tell you a little about all of this. 

The tour ended at the Rijksmuseum, the national museum of The Netherlands. Just the history of the building is fascinating, but the contents is amazing. There are so many paintings by great masters as well as furnishings and artifacts from centuries past. Rembrandts’ “Night Watch” was a highlight. On July 8^th it will not be available to see as it will be undergoing restoration. 

After a few hours in the museum we headed out to the “market”, a flea market sort of thing that is up and down one of the streets. At the corner where we entered the market were McDonald’s, Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Baskin Robbins. They could have called that corner “Little America”. 

After our walk through the market we headed for the canal where we were to embark on a canal cruise. We found the location that our Viking Host had shown us on the map only to discover that there is another location that our tickets were for. It was about a 15 minute walk from there, a block past the Rijksmuseum. Sigh. The good news is that we got in lots of steps (exercise). The not so good news is that it was 92 degrees and 50-60% humidity. It wasn’t terrible but a little cooler would have been more comfortable. 

Our cruise time wasn’t until 5:00pm. It was about 4:00 when we arrived at the dock and were happy that they could accommodate us on the next cruise. Entering the boat, the captain said, “Watch your step.” I thought I was watching my step BUT as I hit the last very narrow step my foot slipped and I went down ever so gracefully (NOT!), bumping my backside and, as I discovered upon rising to walk, rolling my ankle. I feared that the next days of our trip might be spoiled. While taking in the sites of the cruise I worked my ankle, moving it all ways but the one that hurt so badly. After taking some ibuprofen, I was able to start pushing in the direction of the pain as it gradually subsided. By the time we got off the boat I was actually in pretty good shape. Whew!

We crossed the canal to find a place for dinner, settling on Aran’s Irish Pub, dining on the patio overlooking the canal. While it was hot outside, it was hotter inside. The breeze outside was just enough to cool us a little. 

Ankle in fairly good shape, we decided to walk back to our hotel. I was quite happy that my silly slip was not going to result in a spoiled vacation. Unfortunately, we were about 2 blocks from out hotel when my foot found a hole in the pavement and my ankle rolled out again. Ugh!!! Again, determined not to have this ruin our trip, I worked on moving the ankle the rest of the way back to the hotel where we requested a bag of ice to avert any swelling. It was indeed swollen but a couple hours of icing and a lit ibuprofen helped tremendously - crisis averted. Yay!!

Day 2 was wonderful. There are so many pictures that we can’t possibly share them all here. In fact, it will take at least two posts to show you everything we want to show you. Watch for installment 2 later.

A cinema steeped in history, Kriterion began life as a student association involved in hiding and saving many Jews from Nazi persecution. 

This area was the rich Jewish quarter prior to WW2, built between 1815 and 1850. Sometime in the 1500s or 1600s the city outlawed the use of wood for homes because there had been a large fire that had burned through a major portion of the city.

Before WW2 the diamond industry was controlled by members of the Jewish community. This was the diamond exchange.

How do you get furnishings into one of these skinny houses with skinny stairways? You put a hoist at the top of each home. Under those beams that stick out at the top of each home is a large hook. A rope can be put over the hook then tied to the piece of furniture so it can be pulled up and put through a window. I seem to remember an episode of the Three Stooges and a piano being pulled up in a similar fashion. As I recall, that didn't end well. 

The Amstel River has locks to keep the sea water out and the city from flooding.

The bench with the Lion is a monument to surviving a great flood. The Lion represents the people rising from the water.

The old Heineken Brewery (Brouwery) includes the largest solid brick wall in the Netherlands.

This beautiful park sits on Singlegracht, one of the canals that circles the city. This canal was once the outer most canal of the city until building on the outside of the circle expanded the city.

The Rijksmuseum - the national museum of The Netherlands. 

The four arches are a gateway into museum square where you will find the MOCO (Modern Art Museum), the Van Gogh Museum, along with a few others. A few years ago the museum wanted to close off the arches to bicycle traffic and make it the gate into the museum. The bicyclists of Amsterdam (at least half the population!) formed a union and fought against the idea and won. Bicycles fly in and out of those archways constantly. In the upper half of the picture you see a carving. Seated in the center is "The Lady of Amsterdam". On her left is "Justice" and on her right is "Education".

Street musicians are common in the tunnels of the museum. Below are pictures of things we saw inside the museum that we wanted to share.

Besides just loving pictures of these canals, they are important part of the city. House boats help solve a serious housing problem. Because the city is not issuing anymore houseboat permits, the price of the boats is high - $350,000 to $1 million!

It’s a bit of a kerfuffel

Blogger’s quirks are driving MB nuts. 

She’s been working on posts but the interface won’t leave the pictures where she places them. 

I would post but she has most of the pictures. 

The actual time we have for writing posts is limited because there’s something much more interesting to do. 

Saw this on a truck this morning. 

We were in a long line of vehicles on the autobahn going about 5mph when we were moving.

The first word seemed Appropriate. 

A last look at Amsterdam

Yeah, that’s not exactly what you were expecting, huh?

Well, MB took all of today’s photos Nd they’re in the camera. 

That photo is from our visit to the Rijksmuseum. 

It is the Nightwatch by Rembrandt. 

This morning, after breakfast and sending our bags off for transfer to the boat, MB and I took a little ride on one of the trams to the old part of the city. 

Yep, it’s old. 

She wanted to see the Red Light District. 

I’ll admit to some curiosity. 

We walked around a bit, then found our way back to the hotel, where we’ll be picked up for our cruise. 

It seems we’ve walked a little farther thanwe anticipated. 

MB is mid post about yesterday’s adventure. 

She’ll finish it when she gets her laptop back and, maybe, get going about today’s. 

Houston Blogger, we have a problem!

Try as I mightI cannot comment on any blog posts, even my own. 

Amazing Journey 2019

Our first day in Amsterdam - we checked into the hotel and with our cruise hosts then headed to the zoo, only a 1/2 mile walk from our hotel. The buildings are beautiful and I love the canals. There are bicycles EVERYWHERE! Bicycle traffic is almost more than cars because it is faster and easier to get around on a bike than in a car. Every street has wide bicycle lanes and every sidewalk has room for bike parking. Moms and dads have kid seats on front and back. We saw ladies my age and older with their grocery bags on the back. Business men in suits, ladies in dresses, you name it, they are on bikes.
We enjoyed our walk through the zoo then found a restaurant recommended by the cruise host and had a lovely dinner seated outside, watching the bicycles.

Since we had not slept since 5am Sunday at home and it was now 8pm on Monday in Amsterdam, it was time for showers and bed. Day 1 of our amazing adventure in the books. We are so incredibly blessed!

Love these buildings!

Houseboats along the canal streets.

Because pictures are always better with people in them, I made Skip pose by the canal.

Bicycles parked along the sidewalks. They are sometimes so close together that it is hard to see how anyone could get theirs out of the middle of it all.

Because granddaughter Hannah loves Llamas.

The elephants are enjoying their new habitat.

Giraffes feeding. There were two more giraffes headed in that direction.

This adorable baby gorilla had been asleep up on mama's back. There is video of him climbing around but no time to add it to this post.

Eating at the sidewalk café, you can see there are bikes everywhere, parked and passing by.

Waiting for dinner. 

Alrightythen!

It was kinda tense here in Amsterdam when we first arrived. 

That is after we finally found a place to park the airplane, wait while 280 others deplaned   . . . wewere in row 41, climbed into a bus to take us to the terminal, climb the stairs to wend our way through a maze and queu up to be sent back downstairs to Immigration, where the stamped our passports   . . . along with about 500 or so others, and we were released to locate our luggage an little more than an hour after the lane landed. 

There are upwards of 20 luggage carousels. 

Which one has our bags?

There was a reader board; flight from SF is listed; but there are no bags!!!

Not an issue. 

The carousel for ours wasn’t listed yet because the bags hadn’t arrived from the plane yet. 

Another few minutes and we are at the right one. 

MB’s bag is there. 

Where is mine?

Well, it does take time to unload all of those bags from that big ok’ wide body. 

So another half hour and all the bags are off, right?

Where’s mine?

Flashback!!!

(I would post the link but I am limited here)

It was like Shannon, Ireland in 2015 all over. 

Some of you will remember that tale. 

Anyhow . . .    we found the service desk and informed the young ladies of ou dilemma. 

One of them immediately went to check, taking my claim check with her, and after about ten minutes returned with my bag in tow. 

Someone had evidently removed it from the carousel and set it aside where we could not find it. 

There is a special place for them. 

So now we’re are in Amsterdam. 

We were pretty tired yesterday but did visit the Royal Dutch Zoo, which is only a few blocks from our hotel. 

Today we are taking a walking tour after breakfast. 

MB is posting all of this stuff to koobecaf so some of you may already know the story. 

Ooh, one more thing

I might have mentioned I do a little reading.
There's a partial list HERE.
I wouldn't mention it now, except I failed to post one of those reads until yesterday.
I still wouldn't mention it if I didn't consider it really worth the effort to check it out.
Yeah . . .   I'm actually recommending a book.
It was recommended to me by MB's oldest.

more HERE

Then there's that prize thing.

With any luck, we'll be in Amsterdam by the time you see this.

Where are we?

Except for the big windows and the fact there’s some    . . . okay, a lot of daylight, this gate at SF’s International Terminal seems like a dungeon. 

To whom it may concern:

If you haven't been receiving "Good morning" texts, you're not alone.

A little Saturday music

. . . because

One of those days

Sometimes you think you shoul just lick back to enjoy getting ready for a vacation. 

Then you realize there are four or five other events in the next 36 hours before you leave.

. . . and you realize you still have to finish packing

Friday cat

The experiment continues

It appears yesterday’s trial worked.

Today we’re gonna try the cellphone. 

I’m currently at the local dealership having the current    . . . and third airbag recall taken care of. 

UPDATE:

I see there's one minor glitch with how photos post

FURTHER UPDATE:

It's fixed . . .   the image orientation, not the glitch.
Evidently I had my mouth open while taking the photo.

Test...

If this works there is a possibility there will be regular posts here from our next adventure. 

Aftermath ll

My friend is retired from CalFire (formerly the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection).
He has been posting about wildfire issues since the Carr Fire broke out in July of last year.
I have done my best to preserve his formatting and include his images.
There are those who read his post and were offended, feeling that he was attacking them for wanting to rebuild to the same standards that did not survive the conflagration.

Royal Burnett

June 15, 2019

I started writing this blog during the Carr fire, 11 months ago. The Fire Agencies (CalFire, USFS, Redding City) were doing such a poor job of public information that I felt the need to post the news and commentary. My friends appreciated the updates, so I continue to comment.

The Fire Agencies haven’t improved much, and now my comments are about post fire reconstruction or hardening your existing home in preparation the upcoming season.
It disturbs me to see the reconstruction in the area West of Redding proceeding using the same construction and landscaping techniques...hundreds if not thousands of feet of new wood fences, wood bark being used for soil stabilization and wood decks. These are the things that contributed to the conflagration. I’m not saying that anyone with an existing wood fence should tear it down, but when it comes time to replace it fire resistant material should be mandatory. I’m surprised Insurance companies don’t require it.

Insurance companies and individuals are the ones who stand to lose during a wildfire...The Fire Department will do their best to save lives and property, but there are times when the best effort is simply not enough. When the wildland fuels dry out and the fire spread comes into alignment with wind and slope an average wildfire is unstoppable until the fuels or the weather changes.. That’s why most of them burn to the ridgetop… we don’t stop them mid slope very often.

In extreme burning conditions, The Fire Services will devote most of their effort to rescue and very little to perimeter control. Camp fire was was a Tsunami of fire and we were not going to stop it with air tankers, engines or bulldozers. Adding another firefighter to Redding City engines would not have stopped or prevented the Carr Fire...nor will new fire engines or helicopters. We’ve been throwing money at this problem, but it lands in the wrong place.
If we’re going to live in this Wildland Urban Interface, we’ve got to change our ways. The individual must prepare his home for the eventual fire. In 1972 I moved my family from Cobb Mountain into the town of Clearlake. I didn’t want to live in town, but realized I could not defend our mountain home… it burned down in the Valley Fire in 2014. Climate change, fuel loading and increased housing density have exacerbated the fire problem and Agencies and regulations have not kept up. 

Construction and landscaping standards that were in place in the past are no longer acceptable. Just as we outlawed wood shake roofs, we may have to regulate wood fences or list some plants like Eucalyptus, Redwoods and Junipers as undesirable. CalFire needs to computerize its fire inspection data base and radically change compliance standards. No more 2 weeks grace period for a cleanup, be clean or be cited on second inspection. Insurance companies should be allowed access to the inspection reports. Just as a driving ticket raises your car insurance, non compliance with fire clearance laws should raise your homeowners insurance. How about a tax break for money spent on hardening structures similar to the tax rebate energy saving plan ? We need new ideas in our Fire Prevention Program.

Chief Darin Quigley from Weed shared a post about how he rebuilt his house following the Bowles fire ( September 2014). ..Darin used concrete siding, triple pane windows and poured a concrete pad 5 feet around the home to insure that vital 5 feet of clearance is maintained. Weed is in a wind tunnel and the wind blows every day. Chief Quigley knows he’s got to exceed minimum construction standards in order to survive.
Darin’s father Jerry Quigley and I fought fire together here in Shasta and his experience is sorely missed. I’ll also say that Darin Quigley is a hero… when it seemed like his entire town was burning, and he knew his own home was endangered or lost, he stayed at his post in command of that fire, ordering and directing the fire fighting efforts. Good job Darin, your Dad would be proud. 

A Fire Safe home and a Fire wise community will not guarantee your home won’t burn, but its got to start at the individual level. First the homeowner, then the Home Owner’s Association or community over watch… then the City or County and clear up to the Federal Government have all got to contribute to our mutual well being.
Just as we can’t condone or should not tolerate a neighbor who lets his property grow up with weeds and brush, we should not tolerate it from the City with its Greenbelts...or the Whiskeytown Park with its wannbee Wilderness Park Policy. There is a persistent Urban Rumor that Park officials prevented or delayed the use of bulldozers on the Carr fire...if that is correct, the policy is not acceptable. 

The Federal Government has got to change its fire management policy. No Man is an Island...nor is any entity. The Wildland Urban Interface can also be called the Urban threat zone...and in times of global warming its getting bigger.
The Eiler fire (July 2014) in Burney demonstrated that a “managed fire” policy in the 1000 Lakes Wilderness can be a direct threat to Burney...The Reading Fire ( July 2012) demonstrated that a “managed fire” in Lassen National Park can be a direct threat to the citizens of Old Station. The Federal Government is trying to use fire as a land management tool without the benefit of an Environmental Impact Report...and the results are too often disastrous. 

The times are a changin’ and we’ve got to keep up.

Prequel

My friend is retired from CalFire (formerly the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection).
He has been posting about wildfire issues since the Carr Fire broke out in July of last year.
I have done my best to preserve his formatting and include his images.

The following is a set up for last evening's post and other's which follow.

Royal Burnett

May 10, 2019

Benign neglect or malpractice ?

From the Collins Dictionary...benign neglect phrase If you describe someone's approach to a problem as one of benign neglect , you disapprove of the fact that they are doing nothing and hoping that the problem will solve itself

I drove out West of Redding today, through the Carr fire scar...The burn happened in about 8 months ago. In the Oak Woodlands patches of grass were showing and the Valley Oaks were stump sprouting. In the areas that were dense manzanita or Knob Cone Pine there was not much regeneration showing.
I continued my drive to Whiskeytown National Recreation Area... parts of it that were desolated. I drove the same route last fall and remarked in this column that the fire burned as hot and did as much soil damage as I’d seen anywhere in California and this recon re enforced that feeling. Much of the burned area is resprouting with oak brush and poison oak ; I saw scattered patches of grass. In a few short years this will be a horrendous fire hazard.

Whiskey town is a National Recreation area...which operates not as Wilderness area or a Preserve...the NPS is charged with custodial responsibility...Caring for the Land. This land doesn’t look very well cared for. We had a disaster, now we have a mess. If we do nothing it will take decades for this land to recover.

After last summer’s fires we have more than 500 square miles of fresh burned land in and around Redding. Much of that land is owned by the Federal Land Management Agencies… the US Forest Service, The National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management. As land managers isn’t it their job to clean up after a disaster and prevent the same thing from happening again?
Can we afford to have Federal Agencies allow their land to become brush choked snag patches in close proximity to town ? If private citizens are required to reduce the fire hazard on their property, shouldn't Big Brother be required to do the same ?

Roseburg and other timber companies did a very successful rehabilitation of the Fountain Fire scar between Redding and Burney. It can be done...it requires will and effort. I hope the managers of our Land Management Agencies are up to the task.

Aftermath

My friend is retired from CalFire (formerly the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection).
He has been posting about wildfire issues since the Carr Fire broke out in July of last year.
I have done my best to preserve his formatting and include his images.
There is more to follow.

 Royal Burnett
June 11, 2019

I spent yesterday with my friend Mike Terwilliger, riding through the area burned by the Camp fire last November. Mike is a retired Chief from Truckee FD who also functioned as Incident Commander of the Sierra Front Type 2 Incident Management Team...he knows a lot about fire.

The Camp fire as you may remember, burned about 153,000 acres, destroyed about 15,000 homes and another 600 plus commercial buildings. 85 civilians perished perished in this fire. Wikipedia has a very good write up.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Fire_(2018)

The purpose of our visit was to see if there were any lessons to be learned...anything I could glean from this tragedy that would help those of us not directly affected. Its been 6 months since the fire, a whole winter has passed and much of the forensic evidence has been destroyed by weather or rehabilitation efforts, but here’s a few things that stuck out.

1. Almost all of the structures that survived, both residential and commercial had clearance in the all important 5 foot Home Ignition Zone. Here’s a link to the NFPA website for more info.

https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/By-topic/Wildfire/Preparing-homes-for-wildfire

2. Many of the surviving structures both commercial and residential had metal roofs. I some cases we could see where patches of needles had burned on the metal roof and the building did not ignite. Older homes had composition roofs and several of them survived. Clean roofs and gutters are a must.

3. Almost all surviving structures were clean and well maintained. No urban clutter, no fire wood piles, no autos and other vehicles parked near enough to ignite the homes.

4. Several homes that survived had Trex or flame resistant decks.
Paradise and Magalia are older towns located at the 2500 foot elevation level where Ponderosa Pines and Black Oaks dominate the landscape. Ponderosa Pines shed a lot of needles, year round...most buildings and grounds are covered with needle drape if not constantly maintained...and pine needles burn hot ! 

The towns are both located on a ridge above the Feather River in a known fire corridor. The Jarbo Gap winds are infamous in the firefighting community. In recent years there have been repeated major fires in the Feather River Canyon, both above and below Paradise. You would think this would be a FireWise/ FireSafe community. In spite of planning and preparation the fire overwhelmed all emergency services. 

Just like in the Carr fire, the emergency notification system failed...same excuse, the cell towers burned down. This is simply not acceptable. Emergencies happen at all hours ...not everyone has a computer or a cell phone and during emergencies people don’t watch TV. Emergency Service providers simply must find a more dependable way to notify the public. I will once again recommend town sirens. They use them on the Coast for tsunami warnings and in the South for tornado warnings...why can’t we learn from this ? 

Again. like in the Carr fire burned area we noticed people starting to rebuild..one business had replaced the wood fence that burned down and replanted a series of young redwood trees..guaranteed to give a rapid start to the next conflagration. Wood fences are nothing but upright piles of kindling wood connecting houses and yards together. In the Carr fire they were the fuse that helped spread the fire from house to house. Redwood trees are dirty, shed a lot of needles and will burn readily from base to crown . In my opinion. Redwoods ( both species), Eucalyptus, Junipers and Palms should not be used as landscaping in fire prone areas. Decorative bark should be used sparingly and not within 5 feet of any structure. Same with wood fences...use metal for the last 5 feet between the fence and the house.

You’ll hear me harping about this...fire defense has got to be a holistic effort… every body at every level from the individual to the City/County State and Federal government has got to contribute. No entity can make its own rules or exemptions. But that’s another column.