Floating On Elm

Bikes and boats. Every citizen of Amsterdam has a bike and perhaps has a boat, or at least knows some one with a boat on one of the canals.

If you live in Amsterdam and you own a (small) boat, it is no problem to get a permit (for a small fee) for docking almost everywhere on the canals. When the weather is nice, the owners and their friends climb on their bikes and go to their boats. They step over the fence and the fun begins! Almost nobody knows the rules on the water, so on busy days it can be a bit of a chaos.

Alongside the canals there are a lot of Elm trees. At this moment they loose their seeds. The seeds also fall in the water. At some places, the canals are covered with it, giving it a special look.

In Amsterdam there are about 75.000 Elm trees, divided in tree (main) species (and 40 varieties):
-Ulmus glabra
-Ulmus minor
-Ulmus x hollandica