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Up at 7am and left for a guided city tour at 8am. We drove around Amsterdam in a coach, walked around for about an hour and then had a canal boat ride exploring the maze of canals. The 165 canals were created over the centuries to stimulate trade and transport and reclaim land to expand the city. We passed by Anne Franks House and saw her monument. There were many house boats moored along the canals that were used as housing and we cruised past 16th Century Merchant Houses, and charming Churches dating back to Hollands Golden Age. It was a unique experience seeing Amsterdam from the canals. We walked around Dam Square and the flower markets which were very interesting. The flowers were beautiful and reasonably priced. We were amazed to see the number of cannabis seeds for sale and the variety you could get. There were orange flowers and orange souvenirs everywhere which was to celebrate the "Queen of Holland Birthday", and this year she is handing to crown down to her eldest son William on Tuesday 30th April, lots of pre celebrations around town. We did some cheese tasting along the way and found the Dutch dip their cheese in different types of mustard, very tasty. The main mode of transport appears to be bicycles and you take your life in your own hands on the footpaths as they zoom past. We headed back to the boat and started to cruise to Cologne. At dinner our waiter, George, thought Bettys name tag said Buffy, so the name will stick I am sure. The meals on the boat are huge, 5 courses for dinner.
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