Vri., Zat., Zon.

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At Artis

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The weekend in Amsterdam sped by so quickly. We occupied ourselves with mong walks, coffee and beer, picnics (including a lovely one with friends and too much wine on a bench over the Singel canal, where gabbling ducks clamored for crumbs and finally got their way). The bars on Reguliersdwarstraat beckoned nightly, and a hearty English Breakfast fueled a Saturday outing to the zoo.

Artis is a 19th-century zoo which maintains the miniature habitats typical of a modern zoological garden. Their breeding program appears to be a rousing success - everywhere were newborn mammals, reptiles and birds, some still in nurseries, others scampering around with their mothers. The itsy bitsy mountain goat, leaping from a rock to the terrace below, with a slight wobble upon landing, sent a swoon through the crowd, audible in three or four languages' versions of ""awwwww!"" The baby elephant, born about the time of our 2005 summer visit, now is big enough to muscle into line for hay, annoying an old bull who felt the need to lay down a bit of discipline, sending the screeching youngster back to his mother's side. It was beyond adorable.

A beautiful sight

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Museums we passed on our wanderings without going into: The Amsterdam Historical Museum (we intend to go back on our return trip in a few weeks); the Houseboat Museum (it is small and we watched a line of tourists disappear into it while we stood outside evaluating whether the 3,50 Euro per person was worth it); and the Bible Museum (renowned by afficianados, should you be interested). We also looked in on the Begijnhof, a sort of inside-out street off a small courtyard entrance where religious devotees lived in sheltered circumstances).

Having seen so much of Amsterdam's attractions in the last several years, we contented ourselves with exploring the streetscapes, reconnecting with friends and with the city, trying to grasp what it would feel like to really live here - to work, pay taxes, endure the mundane realities of life while embracing the cultural, commercial and entertainment options which seem so rich to us, coming from a small Western city.