Ouderkerk aan de Amstel

Ouderkerk aan de Amstel is a small village between Amstelveen & Amsterdam. It is one of our favourite places to bike to during the summer with charming outdoor patios and superb restaurants. It has a tiny winding road that takes you back in time.

Above is the bridge of Ouderkerk - a very hectic intersection, especially when a boat comes along and blocks traffic. Along the left side are some of our fave beer drinking places on a HOT summer day.

On the right hand side of the bridge (above & below) are houses, that we often like to imagine or dream to be our future home. Imagine living in such a pristine place.

To be surrounded by pure simplicity and live on nature's door step with swans & ducks & more ... isn't she just gorgeous - I assume it is a she because of her beauty? Below photo is Arnie's with his new Canon 350D :) - the other's are mine taken with my little IXUS 50.

We were awestruck by the elegance of the swans in the Amstel and took numerous photos (but uploaded only a few to avoid boring you to tears). Below is my photo of a young swan - you can see he/she still has some brown feathers.

Below he/she (duuuh - don't know) is putting on a show with their wings.

Since we did not have any more bread for them, they quickly lost interest in us ... and turned their backs to swim away. Some long-term friendships just can't be bought.

Now for a photo along the Amstel - love this one because I captured the wind which I think illustrates how cold we felt. And just in case it DOESN'T, let me tell you ... it was -4 freeken degrees during our 4 hour "photo-taking" tour. Plus add the wind and it was MUCH colder. Yep ... I hear you folks in the snowbelt just-a-weepin' for my pain - NOT!

Have you gotten a taste of why we enjoy this tiny village so much. Now for the last photo ... of the countryside. Above was my viewpoint of the area and below was Arnie's - 2 totally different pictures, with different cameras, both in the same area.