People are still setting off crackers at 8am in parts of Amsterdam. The crowds have gone to sleep it off somewhere, and the aftermath of NYE in Amsterdam is piles of rubbish and smashed shop windows in Kalverstraat.
The hard working garbage collectors and street sweepers are up and about trying to shift the masses of rubbish of the streets – there is broken glass from bottles everywhere that are a hazard to cyclists and anyone daft enough not to be wearing closed in shoes.
Some colorful street art to detract from the rubbish…
In contrast to yesterday’s sunny weather, New Year’s Day is overcast and chilly. It’s a good day for some B&W photography on a long, scenic walk to Oosterdok.
With 4 hours to kill before my train leaves for Paris at 3pm, I stop for a second breakfast at this lovely cafe in Jordaan, where I’m the only customer until another woman arrives as I’m leaving.
The streets may be filthy in the Old Town, but at least they don’t smell like a pissoir, thanks to the strategic placement of these plastic urinals at regular intervals…
On my way back to the hotel to pick up my bag, I pass some beautifully restored and renovated warehouses – some with red shutters, others with green shutters.
After 4 hours of walking, and an evening stroll when I reached Paris, I’ve managed to rack up 18km on foot today. A new record according to my phone, but not my best ever, which was about 30,000 steps or 24km on my last trip to Paris.
