First an old neighborhood, then the EYE Film Institute. Wow.

Yesterday we first visited a less touristy part of the city as recommended by the owner of a local wine shop. We were looking for a neighborhood that was a bit less gentrified, and one with floating houses.  We went to an island just west of the central train station in Amsterdam - only a few minutes walk from there, but like another world.

Of course, on the way to the tram stop I took a couple of photos. Who could resist? Like men's leather shoes in many colors in a window...

 And Jim taking a photo of yet another canal.

This bridge is usually closed, but we saw it open for a motor yacht with insufficient clearance

Ok, so now we're on Bickerseiland - the small neighborhood we were searching for. Lots of canal boats, as always. This one is 65 tons and was built in the mid-1800s.
 One was built like an aluminum bathtub...

This one had a proper mailbox and many pretty flowers at the gangplank. It was beautifully maintained. I'd love to live here on a canal boat!

This one had a home-made wooden terrace with many potted plants and a hammock and lots of seating for parties.

 Because the bridge here can open to the Ij river and the sea, we saw boats with masts, like this one.

 And this was a real beauty.

 The island has old bridges that all open

 And a marina

 At the marina we saw a boat advertising Veuve Clicquot; it had solar panels on the sun shade

 Here's a row of old but superbly maintained houses facing the waterway

 I love the colors of these shutters

 Old bridges, new architecture, side by side...

 More red shutters in filtered sunlight

And people SWIMMING in the canal!!!!! While the canals are not crystal clean (about 13,000 bikes are pulled out every year and Sunday mornings certainly bear the evidence of Saturday night parties), the canals get flushed out frequently by pumping fresh water in from IJsselmeer lake and then opening the locks to move stagnant water out to sea. Houseboats are connected to the city sewage system and special cleaning boats patrol to remove debris. More and more tour boats are electric-powered, and the canals now support at least 20 species of fish and crabs.  

MORE red shutters...these opened directly onto the living spaces inside - people's kitchens, offices, whatever. Super common here, nothing hidden.

 Along one canal was a little area for sheep, goats, chickens, ducks and rabbits

 Jim walking along the fenced-in area for the neighborhood animals

 Another part of the marina. Lots of flags, lots of flowers.

 Big boats with masts - a rare sight here because of clearance under city bridges.

 Floating houses interspersed with big canal boats

 AND THEN... we walked to the EYE Film Institute on the River Ij near Central Station. The EYE is nothing short of phenomenal. We spent the rest of the day there. Many hours! This is the exterior...

 The current main exhibit is on the films of Martin Scorsese:

The EYE has archives of thousands of films. Exhibits show various aspects of the evolution of film, and there are "pods" where you can choose a film and watch the whole thing for free if you want. The current main exhibit shows clips of dozens of Scorsese films, and of other films that influenced him. I didn't know he'd made documentaries of the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, the Beatles and other musicians. Dylan then...

 And Dylan later...

 Lines from the film "Mean Streets"

 An interior view at the EYE, which has stunning architecture

The bar/restaurant overlooking the river and all its boat and ship traffic. We had a bite to eat at a table outdoors in brilliant sunshine and a light breeze with sailboats and big ships and barges going by. I could have sat there for hours.

And that was the way the day went - lots of wonderful surprises and experiences!